In this solo, fifth‑anniversary episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish reflects on his personal migration from Manhattan to Copenhagen, the early career setbacks he faced (two bankrupt internet companies, a year of unemployment), and how he eventually secured stable work at Danske Bank, Carlsberg, and Saxo Bank before launching his own voice‑over business. That venture led to the creation of the podcast, whose transcripts later became his first book, How to Live in Denmark, and inspired a second book on working in Denmark. Mellish shares anecdotes from his extensive travels across Danish regions, highlighting cultural differences beyond Copenhagen, and recounts a memorable game‑show appearance in Central Jylland. He also reveals that the podcast’s theme music is a surf‑punk rendition of Denmark’s national anthem by Greek musician George Glavas. Throughout, he thanks listeners for their support, acknowledges occasional inconsistencies in episode release and sound quality, and provides contact information for speaking engagements, book purchases, and further episode ideas.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. This is a special podcast because it is the It's the 5th anniversary of the How to Live in Denmark podcast. Hard to believe, I know, but this podcast began in the summer of 2013. At the time I'm recording this, it's near the end of summer 2018. We've had more than 80 episodes and around a million downloads and streams. More importantly, I've received a lot of messages from people like you saying that the podcast and the books that have come out of the podcast have been really helpful to you in adjusting to Denmark. I'm really happy to hear that. For me, one of the best things to come out of the podcast is that I've gotten to see so much of Denmark. As some of you know, I work as a keynote speaker. I'm booked by organizations and schools and companies around Denmark. So over the past 5 years, that's helped me get out of Copenhagen and get out of the mindset that Copenhagen equals Denmark, which I think a lot of people suffer from. I've been to Odense and Aarhus and Aalborg. All exciting cities with distinct personalities. I've been to Sondreuland and seen how much high-tech industry is there. To Blinköbing and Kø and seen how cute and well-preserved wealthy small towns can be. And been to some less wealthy and less well-preserved small towns. I've been to Esbjerg and found out they have a really good modern art museum. And to Kalundborg and seen some of their great World War II artifacts. I've also got a chance to see how people are different all over the country. I'll never forget bringing the How to Live in Denmark game show, which tends to be a loose, fun party game— everybody's happy— to Ikastbrænde in the middle of Jylland. These are rural people, very quiet. We played the game, and they seemed mildly pleased but not overly enthusiastic. And I whispered to the organizer, Did they like it? Oh yeah, they're really thrilled. They're from Central Jylland. This is what excited looks like around here. Anyway, when I travel, I'm always asked why and how I came to Denmark. And I explain it to my audiences, but I realized I'd never explained it to my podcast audience. So I thought the 5th anniversary episode might be a good time to do so. I originally came to Denmark on vacation. I was living in Manhattan at the time, right downtown in Greenwich Village. But I'd been living there for about 10 years, and I was really ready to try something new. I visited all the hip cities in the U.S.— Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Texas— but I just didn't find a place where I really felt that I fit in. At the same time, I had a friend living in Paris. We'd meet up and check out different parts of Europe, and one September we thought, hey, why not Copenhagen? It was a beautiful September, warm and sunny, and I thought, well, here's a country with good weather. But I also liked Copenhagen for other reasons. It seemed sophisticated without being too intense. And I really liked the bicycle culture. I do have a driver's license, I like to drive a car, but I really think it's fun getting around by bike. I liked it so much that I went back to New York, job hunted online, Got a job, and was on my way back to Denmark just a few months later. The company I got a job with was an internet content company, which treated me very well. They did what was called an executive move, so I was allowed to bring all my furniture with me from New York. That was really nice, but it became a handicap when the company went bankrupt shortly after I arrived. I found myself alone in a foreign country with a lot of furniture. I didn't speak the language. I didn't know many people. And I had all these tables and chairs and a couch. I did get a job at another internet company, and then that company went bankrupt too. And then I was unemployed for a year. And of course, as a newcomer, I wasn't eligible for dagpenge or any of the other unemployment compensation programs. So I lived off my savings. I went to Danish classes. And I picked up some extra cash writing about Denmark for airplane magazines. You know, top 10 things to do in Copenhagen on a rainy day. And I went to every museum in town on its free day. Seriously, I got a list and I went to every single one. I ended up finding a job at Danske Bank, where I was for 8 years. And then I was at Carlsberg for a couple of years and at Saxo Bank for a year. And then I left to start my own business. I thought I was going to work full-time as a voiceover for corporate videos. Turns out I got into the business at exactly the wrong time, when more and more work was being done outside of Denmark. But in order to practice for those voiceovers that I hoped to do, I started— a podcast. And that's worked out okay. Anyway, after a few months, I started putting the transcripts of the podcast online, where they were very popular. Popular enough that they became my first book, How to Live in Denmark. Then I noticed that the most read posts were the ones about working in Denmark. So that was the basis for my second book, How to Work in Denmark. And now we're here. I really have to thank all of you for supporting the podcast all these years. I know I'm not always consistent with the timing. That's because I have other work and family stuff to do. I'm sorry about that. And I'm also sorry about the sound quality. One thing I am not is a sound engineer. I've had more than one very kind listener offer to help me out with my terrible sound. Today I'm lucky enough to be in the studio of one of my favorite professional engineers, Johan Højer. Now, when I came to Johan's studio today, I also brought a file with the podcast's theme music. I discovered after many years that some of you did not know that the music is Denmark's national anthem, There Is a Lovely Country, done in a surf-punk format by the Greek musician George Glavas. One listener told me he went to a football game with the Danish national team and was surprised to hear them play the theme to my podcast, and everyone stood up. That's because it's the national anthem, not because they're really big fans of mine. Anyway, that's the story of how this podcast came to be. Thank you for listening. I'm always open to ideas for podcasts. You can contact me via my website, howtoliveindenmark.com, or on our How to Live in Denmark Facebook page, or via Twitter @how2liveindk. The 2 is a number. And if you don't want to listen to all the episodes, you can buy the book. It's available at the National Art Gallery and the National Museum gift shops. And you can book me for a speech. There are lots of places in Denmark I'd still like to visit, like Ribe and Silkeborg and Randers and Viborg. But booking me for a speech in Copenhagen is just fine too. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. Thanks for listening. Here's to another 5 years. Cheers.
