Photo by Clive J. Harris

I won’t be jetting over to Copenhagen any time soon, but watching Oprah today I was ready to pack up my life and move to the happiest country in the world. (and of course Aaron is game to be dragged along)

Free health care, college education, cheap childcare, 6 months to a year of maternity leave and if you lose your job the government will pay up to 90 percent of your salary for four years? I’m in.

No wonder those people are so happy. I have three doctor bills sitting in my planner right now that I have to figure out when I can pay. I’d happily hand over half my paycheck for a little stress relief, to know my family and friends can go to the doctor whenever they need to, and to not drive by homeless people on a daily basis and wonder what they will do when snow starts to fall.

I’m sure it also makes for a lot of positive energy when the majority of the country is not worrying about paying bills, getting sick, losing their jobs and homes. We need some of that in Michigan!

Photo by Tia Borg Smidt

So instead of trying to work out how I can move across the ocean, it might be better to bring Danish values into my life here.

Photo by Tia Borg Smidt

What I took from the show was that Danish people put their focus on family and try to find a balance between work and home life. I think everyone tries to do this, but they seem to really have it figured out.

One of the fundamental aspects of Danish culture is “hygge”, which, although translated as “coziness” is more akin to “tranquility”. Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is often associated with family and close friends. – Wikipedia

They value a marriage more than a wedding and therefore get hitched much later in life. One woman said she and her partner had three children and then got married as almost an afterthought.

Photo by Tobias & Hanne

The Danish also find it important to have dreams and choose an occupation based on their interests, not how much money they will make. How easily we get wrapped up in our to-do lists and forget to dream. We settle into a career and stop thinking about what we want to be when we grow up.

Danish homes are small and minimalist. I really liked the one that was like a little box with wall-to-wall closets throughout – though post-children I’ll keep the doors on my bedroom thank you very much.

Smaller spaces mean they have less stuff, which puts the focus on living instead of buying things. This is a big one for me since I am queen of internet shopping and over spending.

According to Wikipedia, punctuality is also an important aspect of Danish life…I’ll have to work on that one.

* I’m well aware that this post lumps all Danish people into one happy-go-lucky group and I’m sure, like all countries, there are grumpy people living in squalor. But I’d prefer to focus on the positive and living in a happy sparkly world.