Gyorgy and his family moved from Hungary to Denmark because of a job opportunity and the possibility for the children and family to get some international exposure. They found their home in Fredericia because of the unique closeness to nature and the sheer beauty of it.
-My wife and I had discussed living abroad for some time, learning a new culture and language, while getting the kids some international exposure. We had actually planned it for a few years from now, but here we are. Last year my family and I was living in Hungary, when I started working for a Danish company in Copenhagen, It was only on a contract basis from Hungary. In January of 2016 I was hired by a company in Kolding and part of that agreement was that I moved to Denmark. Therefore, I came in January and my family followed me in the summer, when the children finished school.
-We also considered moving to Britain, but we had a few concerns with that. We have some friends there and it is a great country, but we did not really think it was the best choice for the kids. We like the school system in Denmark, with the project-based education that focuses more on collaboration and active participation. It is a bit of a contrast to the more strict system in Hungary, but it is very similar to some of the private schools we have there. In addition, I like the whole idea of the Nordic culture, I have worked with people from Denmark and Sweden before and my experiences have been good. We had also heard a lot about Denmark in advance and it has only met and exceeded our expectations. We never knew the country was so beautiful.
Closer to nature
-We are from Budapest, so we come from quite a big city, but to be honest we never really enjoyed what a big city has to offer. Therefore, we were sure we wanted to move to a smaller city, but what really convinced us to settle in Fredericia, was the beach and the open sea.
-When I first moved here I lived in Kolding, so when we were looking for a place for all of us, we looked there of course. Then we started looking outside Kolding and fell upon Fredericia and when my wife saw the beach she said, “We are moving to Fredericia”. She wasn’t that direct of course, but she made it very clear that she likes the city a lot, and I like it as well. That is how we ended up here. We still think it was a good decision, it is a nice city and we practically just liked the way it looked.
-It is a big contrast to Hungary. In Hungary there are no open seas or beaches, nothing like here. Here we live only two blocks from the sea and for us, living so close to the sea is just very special. The nature here is just beautiful.
Settling in
-It is somewhat challenging settling in, but we made the decision that we want to be able to speak Danish before we try to socialize. That does not stop our kids from socializing and making friends though. In spite the fact that neither their English nor Danish skills are that advanced, they are making do with what they have. When they hang out with their friends, they use a mix of English and Danish and that gets them by.
-The two oldest kids are in a special language program at their schools. Our 9 year old daughter is in a 3rd grade language class and our son, the oldest one, goes to a 4th grade class. My wife is in a full time language course. We thought it would be best she learned the language before applying for a job, because it makes it all a lot easier. I am making do with my English right now, but it would be a lot easier if I could speak Danish, both professionally and personally.
