[rickmb]

Wow. Just wow. You've basically managed to reinforce just about any stereotype of an ignorant, unprepared American who shouldn't even be trying to live abroad.

This quote says it all:

> The building looked like a century old, fourth floor with no elevator (seems to be the norm almost everywhere)

BTW, one of the first things you should figure out when relocating is how the local housing market works, otherwise you will get screwed. Guess what: it works the same way the other way around (what do you think a European will experience if they try to move to NYC unprepared?).

[0x12]

My least favorite bit is the part that says "I'm now seriously considering to cut my losses, call it quits and fly back to civilization.".

As if civilization is determined by the housing situation and/or your own efforts required in order to get affordable housing, and any place that doesn't instantly give you a place to live within your means is not civilized.

[cipherpunk]

Nevermind that Copenhagen is arguably one of the nicest cities in the world, in one of the most "civilised" nations in the world. Ugh.

[Uchikoma]

Copenhagen is a wonderful city, with astonishing people.

But if civilization is determined by whether a house has an elevator or not, I'm out of words.

[cphhell]

> managed to reinforce just about any stereotype of an ignorant, unprepared American

Thanks for the compliment but I'm a fellow European, not American.

> who shouldn't even be trying to live abroad.

Too bad I've tried it successfully three times already, one being in America.

[rickmb]

In that case, you're just trolling and your story lacks all credibility.

For starters, because you should know damn well what you get into if you try to find housing in a major European city outside the normal housing system.

Also, because there's absolutely nothing abnormal in Europe about a century old building or four floors without an elevator.

My guess is you are well aware you screwed up by being unprepared, and now you're just trying to externalize the blame, hoping the readership here won't know any better.

[cipherpunk]

You use American spelling. I call shenanigans. At the very least, your view comes across as definitively US-centric.

[product50]

I don't know that what this quote says that relays your point. Offer solutions rather than chastising the OP.

The idea is simple: - OP moves to a new city - He checks out popular rental websites to look for a rental house - He applies to more than 30 of them without any replies - One where he manages something is dingy and unlivable based on American standards. - He rants

I do not see anything wrong in this. This method of finding rental houses works in several cities throughout the world - I have tried it in Singapore, New Delhi, Bangalore, NYC, Los Angeles, Sydney & San Francisco.

Also, I do not know about Copenhagen, but NYC is a very crowded place loaded with people with high income. Houses - especially in areas like Midtown or Downtown Manhattan are bound to be expensive (though you will still get responses for emails even there). However, it doesn't take rocket science to do a basic Craigslist search and check if things are cheaper in Uptown Manhattan or New Jersey.

[loevborg]

I must say I had a similar reaction to the post. I'm sure it's hard to find a flat in Kopenhagen. On the other hand, that's just what I would expect: big cities in wealthy European countries are crowded and the rents too high. You would have similar problems in Munich, Amsterdam or London. What is surprising about your experience is less your difficulty finding a place than your prior expectations. You thought that going to a small country (outside the "civilization" of New Jersey) you would easily find a cheap flat, without doing much research, without knowing the language or making an effort in that direction, looking for a new building in an old city (why?). My suggestion would be finding a temporary place and a fresh, more humble start, realizing that you're in a different country.

[hmmokay]

As I mentioned in another comment, the rent is not particularly high in Copenhagen compared to other cities (although living costs in general are high), and Copenhagen really isn't that crowded. It's hard to have a crowded city in a place where most buildings are four to five stories high.

As for knowing the language: You don't need to learn Danish just to get an apartment - I know a ton of foreigners who got by for years here without knowing a word of Danish. But you do need to realize that one way or the other you have to talk to people - they'll help you find a place or help you translate ads.

[michaelcampbell]

And you've managed to reinforce just about any stereotype of the arrogant pretentious European that assumes ignorance is a strictly American trait since as you saw, OP is not American.

Neither are nearly as true as many like to believe.

[Mz]

I missed that as well. I based my assumption on the comment "student in New Jersey". I missed the annotation on the side indicating nationality. Regardless of nationality, he is explicitly comparing the housing market there to the US housing market. So, um, not quite sure how foolish to feel.

[michaelcampbell]

Yeah, I wouldn't either. I found the blog post a bit grating as well; we all have expectations that when not met can be a maddening ordeal, but this one just seemed uninformed from the get-go.

[Mz]

FWIW: I'm not sure I trust the listings: Living in Iran, nationality is Korean and the only language listed is English (and no gender specified). So I'm not sure that information is trustworthy. He/she might actually be American. I have a hard time believing someone is Korean (nationality, not ethnicity) and only speaks English and also lives in Iran but only speaks English. The hodgepodge of answers might indicate "I desire to protect my privacy" more than anything else. (And the writing sounds "American" in style to me. I didn't notice any expressions typical of, say, Brits or Aussies. Many foreigners who speak English as a second language speak/write British English rather than American English.)

And I suppose I found the post rather grating as well. I'm annoyed it got my goat. I wish I hadn't said certain things in some of my posts, regardless of what this individual's nationality turns out to be, presuming it can ever be realistically determined/verified.

Peace.

[cphhell]

The amount of discussing the messenger instead of the message in this thread is staggering but I'll bite anyway:

- Country, nationality and language are required fields in this site. Since leaving them blank was not an option, putting some blatantly bogus values was the second best.

- My nationality is besides the point but I'm not American. The "American" writing style may be thanks to watching too many American movies, frequenting too many American speaking forums or - guess what - living there as an expat for several years.

[Mz]

Thank you for clarifying that.

FWIW: I tend to attract way too much attention to me instead of my message. I have used that fact as a means to help me learn to express myself differently. That is not intended to blame you. It is intended to empower you: How we present information has a significant impact on how people respond to it.

Best of luck with your situation, whether you stay in Copenhagen or not.