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Moving from the US to the EU soon... Any advice? (sopuli.xyz)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by frank@sopuli.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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Hi all!

We're very excited to move to Denmark soon as lifelong Americans. I have a good job lined up, and we're set on a place to live for a while.

Any advice from people who have done it, looked it up, had friends who have done it, etc? Just in general :)

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[–] falkerie71@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago

It's not just communicating, it's also stuff for general living, like recognizing road signs, paying bills, dealing with government paperwork, ordering food in restaurants, etc. They won't always have an English translation beside it, nor do they have an obligation to have it. Same goes for people too.

Say for example, a Japanese just showed up in your hometown, knowing not a lick of English, and planning to live here long term. I'm sure people in your hometown are more than willing to help, but how much stuff in your general life is in English? Surely you can't expect someone to be able to help them around 24/7, and with a language barrier too.

You gotta know that not everything is going to accommodate for you in foreign places. OP might be able to do well enough since people in Denmark probably speak English well in general. But if you want to truly know the people, their culture, or even form deep connections with some, you have to do some work, and language is a first big step.