After more than a decade of Danish hygge, cycling through sleet, and learning to pronounce words made up mainly of vowel sounds, my family and I have moved back to the UK. And it’s been … bewildering. My Scandi adventure began as a one-year experiment when my husband’s job at Lego took us to Jutland, and I worked as a Scandinavia correspondent. But we found we loved living Danishly. We had three children – all born into a health system that to this day leaves me in awe. And I dedicated 12 years to researching what makes the Nordic countries so special (as well as where they fall short). I enjoyed a more straightforward existence, where once you knew the (very clear) social rules and how to play by them, life was relatively easy. But in September we head back to the UK, driven by family and work commitments. We moved to the countryside, swapping Danish bakeries and design shops for tractors and a scarcity of street lights. My children miss their friends, their school, the only home they’ve ever known and the culture they have grown up in. We’ve had to start over. The question is: can we bring a slice of Denmark home with us, or have I ruined British life for ever by becoming too Danish? Here are 10 lessons I’m holding on to.
