To feel settled was of such importance to me when I moved to Denmark. I wanted to dedicate all of my time in the first couple of weeks to feeling more at home in my new surroundings and making sure I regretted nothing. It was physically and emotionally a lot of work but was made easier by me taking some logical steps before and after I stepped down in the new country I now call home. Here's what I did to feel more settled in a matter of 5 weeks.
1. Exploring my surrounding
These things will eventually feel like an old hat to you, so don't forget to experience them with fresh eyes while you can! You may be surprised at what you find and how quickly this new world will soon feel like home.
Although I had been to Denmark a handful of times before moving, I had only visited the town I now live in, once, and that one time wasn't enough to know where everything was and feel confident in leaving the house on my own. Exploring and taking long walks around my neighbourhood made it easier for me to know how to navigate. Taking those walks was also my little break from the madness that was making furniture and unpacking back at the house.
2. Decorating with reminders of home
When I lived in the UK and called Denmark my home away from home, I had reminders of there so I didn't miss it as much- a favourite of mine was the Copenhagen scented candle from Wijck. Now Im based here I've bought the London scented candle and a print of London I intend to personalise with a highlighted heart where my parents live on the map. It's the little reminders of where I came from that make my space feel more personalised. Wijck is a great brand for if you want a minimalistic style to your home decor that isn't as corny as a wall hung canvas print of the Eiffel Tower or a union jack covered cushion sitting on your bed. Their candles are subtlely scented as well which always wins me over as I hate an overly powered scent that you can smell for days on end.
3. Cooking my favourite meals
Although Denmark's variety of food is smaller from the U.K's (I'm starting to think us Brits are spoilt), I have managed to find some products I used back home that are my favourites in my vegetarian diet. Things like bagels, Quorn meat substitutes, and curry pastes have allowed me to feel like barely anything has changed. The only thing I'm missing is Itsu sushi now but I have found sushi that comes close to Itsu's, though still not close enough.
4. Creating a space that is just mine
This is still a work in progress but I have found an area in my new home where I'll be working from. A home office is something I did have back in London and as much as at the start of moving in I was against the idea, I have warmed to it now and seen the logic in having one since my actual job other than my hobby of blogging acquires me to work from home. Currently, I'm searching for the right desk that will suit our furniture in our dining room and not look at all out of place. With the help of Pinterest and a friend whos likeminded to me in interior design styles, I've found the look I'm going for. The real challenge now is to do it all on a budget and not rush the process.
5. Creating a new routine
Probably one of the most important things for me personally is to have a routine set in place and follow it. Im definitely a creature of habit and It's been fun creating a new routine alongside Nicolai's to suit both of us collectively and individually. It's been a trial and error process as well that has left some things working and some things being complete fails, we reevaluate and tweak. Things like a set wake up and bedtime, weekly meal plans, and set days for doing laundry (as we have a housemate) has resulted in me feeling at ease and less stressed.
6. Using my go-to products while introducing new ones to my collection
I can't recommend this enough. It may seem obvious but to me, it was something I didn't give much thought to until I was packing and then was reminded of again when I had a wander into some local shops. Products that were important for me to carry on using were my holy grail shampoo and conditioner I couldn't buy over the counter here in Denmark. Products I could find dupes of were skincare products and drug store makeup (which I intend to do a blog post on soon). I do miss my trips to Lush which isn't here in Denmark but that does give me reason to be more excited for trips back to the U.K. and to instead look into smaller brands- let me know of your recommendations if you have any.
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