Oddbean new post about | logout
 Traveling to is one thing, living in is another. I've been there last 10 months. There're more things that they recent idea of banning encrypted chats that made me leave, and 'nevet get back'  
 Tell us a bit more. What turned you off from staying in Denmark long-term? 
 More than complete lack of sunlight/daylight throughout most of the year ;) ? Problems I see include: 1. A lack of independent thinking and too much trust / dependency on the system --- e.g., shallow arguments from people who live there when asked how they can accept such high taxes (generally above 50%, sometimes even 60%, just for income tax, add: capital gains, property tax etc, this one even for your property abroad, crazy) - "We have free schools" doesn't matter if someone has children or not, do actually care or not. 2. Hypocrisy: public transport, which most people could use, is so expensive that people tend to drive cars instead coz it's cheaper (central city zones-single ticket will cost you 24 DLK = above €3, even for one stop, generally you won't go more than 2-3 for this price), so while the whole country talks  about being so "green" having so many cyclists (it's true, but I don't think people who face wind, rain, and temperatures around 0-2 Celsius degrees would choose bikes because they like it; rather, it's because public transport and cars are too expensive for them), they don't help it's citizens to get cheaper public transportation (even with those huge taxes). 3. More hypocrisy: on average, one household has about 5 different recycling containers (of course, you pay for all of it), but in stores, most stuff, including vegetables is unnecessarily packaged in plastic (ignoring the fact that those vegetables themselves taste like plastic); markets go overboard with plastic/shitty clothing, decorations, and knick-knacks for all kinds of "holidays" - which are already useless after one use or just end up in the trash because they're so unnecessary when the holiday is done. In October, for example, the same spot in the supermarket can have Halloween and Christmas items to sell, it's pathetic. Extra to that, oooh, all those "eco-friendly" cosmetics that so often have special packaging with eco labels, but you still get dozens of the same products just to tempt and lure. By the way, toilet paper  rolls also have "lower CO2 emissions" labels. See, I don't care about the recycling container if the overall consumption is structured this way. 4. Mass-Media and convenience: most people feed on mass media and blindly repeat headlines and statements from TV without forming their own opinions on anything, including geopolitical and financial topics (not to mention covid and their love for vaccines of any type actually with 'the more the better'); 4.1. They don't need or care about Bitcoin because "the crown is stable enough" (inflation doesn't exist, after all), as an investment, it's like 'a casino' or not need coz they still believe in 'a good pension'. In short, this is what I think. I've omitted many other examples. Of course, I'm only expressing my own thoughts and observations. Advantages: People are generally very friendly; Copenhagen is clean and charming (to visit, except for autumn and winter), but the overall picture makes it an ideal country for WEF policies, ie. uncle Klaus & Co. ...