Ilana Buhl, 30, is an American living in a luxury, 2-bedroom apartment in Copenhagen, Denmark with her husband and son. The couple pays $2,100 a month in rent. Ilana is a primary school teacher and shares snippets of her life abroad on social media.
Check out Ilana’s social media profiles:
@the_lykke_charm
https://www.instagram.com/the_lykke_charm/
Unlocked is a home tour series focused on how much people across the globe spend on their housing, what they get for the money and what they had to sacrifice to make it happen.
Produced by: Valentina Duarte
Managing Producer: Beatriz Bajuelos
Camera: Daniel Silva
Additional Camera: Nuno Lourenço
Editor: Nic Golden Henry
Animator: Elham Ataeiazar
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Additional Footage: Ilana Buhl
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I’m Much Happier Living In Copenhagen Than In The U.S. – Look Inside My Home | Unlocked
it was kind of random that I chose Copenhagen for study abroad I think when I first got here I just thought it was so beautiful and Charming my dorm that I stayed in for study abroad was right by new Hound which is that iconic canal with all of the colorful houses and that whole part of the city is old and historic which you don’t get much of in the US especially in Texas where I’m from so I think I was just very Charmed by Copenhagen from the very beginning hi Welcome to our Copenhagen apartment come on [Music] in my name is Alana bull I’m 30 years old and I’m an American living in Copenhagen Denmark our rent is about 14,600 Danish croner a month which is about [Music] $2,100 I’m a primary school teacher and I work at an international school here in Copenhagen before I moved to Denmark I was living in Dallas Texas and I had been there for about 3 years the first time I came to Denmark was when I was studying abroad in college I did a summer program in Copenhagen and absolutely fell in love with it so a few years later I went on a backpacking trip with one of my friends and of course I wanted to come back to Copenhagen so we did and that is when I met my husband who is [Music] Danish when I met my husband and we were doing long distance of course we were talking about who would move where and he was very open to moving to the US actually but ultimately we decided that I would come here I really love the size of Copenhagen I love that it feels like a city it feels very International but it’s small enough that everything’s still very accessible especially with the public transportation that we have I never lived in a city with good public transportation before so so I really appreciate it as a parent I also am so happy to live in Copenhagen the whole city feels very familyfriendly like you never feel like you’re a nuisance going around somewhere with your stroller I can speak Danish I’m not fluent but I tried to cram as much Danish learning into the first like year and a half that I was here especially before I started working I can have most everyday exchanges and conversations in Dana [Music] right before I moved I was mostly just really excited I guess I was just really ready to not be long distance anymore I was also feeling really burnt out from my teaching job in the US so I was just really ready for a change we started looking for apartments online and browsed around a bit and then we decided that a new build was probably best for us for a couple of reasons we knew that we wanted a fairly modern kitchen and bathroom which are harder to come by in the city center especially if you have a budget as we [Music] did we found this apartment online when I was here in Copenhagen and we were looking together but then I had to go back to the US so my husband came to a viewing of the apartment by himself and he you know sent me pictures and he said it looked good I trusted his judgment and then we fed and were able to get a lease am I used to be the place where they would dispose of waste until the 1970s and so it was referred to by some people as Island not anymore though I don’t think people still call it that but it had that reputation 1 2 3 D I would say our rent is higher here compared to Dallas Texas cities have a much lower cost of living I think it’s a good value for being in Copenhagen and for the amount of space that we have especially because since we moved in the landlords can’t increase the rent very much every year it’s tied to inflation so kind of the longer we live here the more reasonably priced it seems compared to other things in the area before we moved in we had to pay two months of rent upfront and 3 months of rent as a security deposit so that was about $110,500 I was really surprised I think my last apartment in Dallas I paid like $250 as a security deposit and the rent was like $1,500 so it was like a fraction of my monthly rent that I paid for the deposit and I got it all back too and that’s generally what I hear is people often don’t get their security deposits back here so we’ll see when we moved here we didn’t really have furniture because I moved with three suitcas es I didn’t ship anything from the US and my husband had been living with a roommate before we moved in together so he didn’t have a ton of furniture either basically I think he had a desk and a couple of bookshelves so we had to buy everything else we also had to buy like light fixtures because those don’t come installed in our apartment and most Copenhagen apartments and that’s apparently something that a lot of Danes like they like to choose their own light fixtures and make it fit their style and kind of set the mood of the room but it was definitely not something that I ever had to do in the US so I was surprised that we had to do that I’ll show you our main living area so over here is our living room and also office when you go into different Danish homes you’ll notice that a lot of them have the same kind of like little Danish pieces so we have some of those scattered around one of them is this little hoptimist which comes in a lot of different like colors and then this monkey is ubiquitous in Danish homes this is our kitchen and dining area our one wall of kitchen uh which is definitely much smaller than I was used to in the US pretty limited counter space I do love that the appliances blend in with the kitchen this is our dishwasher when we moved in the apartment was a really good size for just me and my husband but now that we have a child and my husband works from home sometimes it is feeling like it would be really nice to have an extra room that could be an office but for now this is our best solution this is our bedroom we likeed that it had a great size this is probably almost a king-size bed we have not adopted the European model of two separate duvet mostly because when I moved here I just didn’t like the look of it we were very lucky to have builtin wardrobes most people have to build their own wardrobes and like bedroom closets are definitely not common in Copenhagen this is my son’s room uh when we first moved in this was our office/guest room so when I first moved here I wanted to have a guest room so that if anyone came to visit me they would would have a free place to stay but then we had a child so now it’s his room this is our bathroom SL laundry room we have a shower but no bathtubs so like many people who have children in Copenhagen we have this little plastic bathtub that we use for baby [Music] baths I could see myself here I’m not going to say the rest of my life but like indefinitely I certainly could see us moving a bit outside of Copenhagen but I don’t want to go too far and it’s always a possibility that we could move to the US or somewhere else I would say I’m happier living in Copenhagen than in Dallas I think a big part of that is job satisfaction honestly I work much more reasonable hours the expectations are more reasonable my salary is reasonable we all spend a big chunk of our life working and so I think that that makes a big difference but I also Al think that I’m able to enjoy the time that I’m not at work more because I’m not stressed about things that I probably would be in the US don’t want to get too controversial here but one of those is gun violence I don’t have to worry about gun violence for myself or my child and I think that that’s just a big stress on so many Americans right now um that I am very fortunate to not have to think about and you know I don’t have to worry about if I lose my job are we not going to have Healthcare I think that the Danish social system does so much for its residents that just allows you to live your life with less stress and enjoy it more and that’s something that Dan’s really value yeah oh you did oo how was it [Music] yeah
44 Comments
Why Danish.
As a Danish citizen I agree with most comments being made here – it´s always fun to hear someone from outside Denmark talk about the small differences 😃
However, if I should mention ONE thing that really annoys me in Denmark, it´s the weather. We get a lot of rain and wind and often overcast and grey days with low clouds. Especially in the winter time where daylight is short and everything just is a blend of brown and grey colours. Having said that, some years we are lucky with blue frost clear sky and snow so you never know….Summer time is usually good with nice temperatures. Not to hot and not to cold.
love and light to you and your family, from a Dane.
Copenhagen is small? xD
To me Herning is big….
Your rent is not tied to inflation, but an index. If it was tied to inflation, you wouldn't have been able to afford living in it, nobody would.
2100$ (14500DKK) a month is absolutely bonkers for a small apartment. I live in the outer part of Copenhagen (Brønshøj) and the rent here is around 7000-8000DKK for a 75 square meter 2 bedroom apartment.
Copenhagen is stupidly expensive, even the grocery stores has a higher cost compared to the rest of the country.
Yup, gun violence and healthcare are enormous factors for living outside the US. Our country has many flaws but there are still nice spots. 😊
Please dont make it a thing moving to denmark. Dont tell your friend.
cheers from Aalborg 😁
The name " lorte øen" (sh*t island) dates back many centuries, when we didn't have a sewer system, the latrine barrels were transported by train to Amager and dumped there. Wanna say not everybpdy can afford a 1000 square meter apartment. Just saying.
This is pathetic. Sweden has its problems just like anywhere else. How many middle aged white ladies in the US actually face gun violence? Its statistically negligible.
After watching this video, I am even more disappointed in my current life. My flat is so tiny, with one bedroom and one bathroom, and it costs me US$3,500 monthly. Don't even mention the electronic bills, WiFi, and so forth. My monthly essential expenditure is US$4,500, and I didn't even eat out often…
$2100 a month is "budget" man this whole video is just about her getting an apartment. Ceap vid
Snobbing it, stuff can be had way cheaper in the outskirts, New Haven is a tourist trap!!!
Copenhagen is just a part of denmark, there is so much other thinks to see🤗
How do you feel about the current mass immigration?
It will change the areas you visit for sure
I think most people would not want to live in the U S loaded with weirdos and gun slingers.
I just want to say that the average dane does not live like that. Especially not in Copenhagen It's very expensive so they must have an above average income. Living in Denmark is not as easy as this and many other vids makes it seem like.
You made the best choice in leaving the US for Europe. At 77 I am seeing things getting worse every day, every year here. Smiling is nonexistent & nastiness is the norm. Caring for community is frowned on.
5:20 That sounds like Manhatten's "entry fee" that tenants don't get back because it was really a bribe for the realtor.
I can sacrifice sunny weather for healthcare and no gun violence
Yeah wait till winter or when you het sick and all you got are racist doctors.
Do you use Zendium toothpaste? Is this better than US toothpaste? Denmark is listed as best oral health and I saw they have different toothpaste 🤷🏼♀️
How does the kid have blonde hair and both his parents have jet black hair?
Her husband needs to do a DNA test.
Nordic countries fulfilled have successfully built Socialist system that USSR strived for and failed. Hope immigrants don’t ruin it, like it’s already happening in Malmo
Scandinavian living is great quality. great video
She said the people often do not get their deposit for the flat back? I do not live in Denmark, but paying a 2-3 months deposit in Europe is very common, and I do not know one person who would not get the whole money back. Sometime the landlord might take a fraction of the deposit if the flat was damaged in some way, but it us quite rare. I would expect that this is also rare in Denmark with their very high living standards.
10k moving expenses is insane 😰 and people in us complain about 1-2x time rent as deposit 😂
I feel like i just walked into an Ikea display….so little personalization, so little color, so cookie cutter
Hair in India 1.5 billion people everywhere people government don't control population people are starving.
But what about the winter??
Norway and Denmark. Most peacful countries in the world.
Couldn't be less controversial for speaking the truth. I live in Vermont, so I think I feel far safer than I would if I lived in TX, but simply being in the US the last 8+ years is its own sort of constant stress. It's not a coincidence that I found this video since, like you, relocating out of the US has been heavy on my mind. If rent increase is tied to inflation, the last few years must have been rough.
You way too adorable love
we're living in the freezing cold and paying more than we did in a warmer and relatively inexpensive state…
Too expensive for that tiny apartment.
I live in the U.S. and I am NEVER stressed out by gun violence. It's all in where you live. I even lived in Texas for five years and never once worried about gun violence. I am 66 years old and have never even seen a gun except on a police officer's hip. As well, all the "free" stuff isn't free. It is paid for out of taxes and at a much higher rate than in the U.S..
At the beginning God created the world and saw that was good, then he created Florida and saw that was very good. Where do millionaires from the world move to. Florida.
Hi. Is it too cold there?
Well well CNBC promoting White flight. Or should i say Middle Class flight. Well Europe is OK with that. You people are not refugees are you??
Ok guys leave if you want, Government ain’t stopping you.
The US is on the decline badly. Its a society like a modern day Sodom & Gohmorrah, total loss of values, our children are terribly disrespectful & most of our women are NOT marriage material. Get the heck out, the world is a big place and so many nice places put there
I'm not mad at all about her gun violence statement. She's right. In most 1st world countries I've visited, that's not an issue. Today I visited a school here in the US and the front door to the school was locked and a police car was outside. It never used to be like that.
"im rich and can live wherever I want" solved that for you