How expensive is housing in your country?

[Hitcore]

I just read that first-time buyers must earn 1M Danish kroner annually to buy a small apartment in Copenhagen. That's about 117K pound sterling for you Britishes. And 156K dollars for our American friends here. Do you make this kind of money? I don't. Not even close.

First-time buyers now need 1-million yearly income to buy a small property in Copenhagen - The Copenhagen Post

First-time buyers now need to earn at least 900,000 DKK per year to take out a mortgage for a 60-square-meter apartment in Copenhagen, a 22 percent increase from 2024. This is shown in Copenhagen Municipality’s annual housing report, which also concludes that the city will need 77,000 new homes...

cphpost.dk

I've been looking around what an apartment typically costs in the Danish capital. It's not uncommon to see apartments listed for 10M Danish kroner, some bigger ones for 20M. So ten to twenty times the annual minimum requirement (of that paycheck only 1% of starters earn). The "cheapest" I found on a whim was this:

https://eltoftnielsen.dk/bolig/gernersgade-9-4-tv-koebenhavn-k/

4.5M kroner. Or 525K quid. Or 700K bucks. For that you'll get a reasonably centrally located apartment in Copenhagen, but it's small: 38m² (409 sq.ft).

As most of you know: Denmark is the country I live in, The Netherlands is where I am originally from. And I regret to inform you that the house prices in Amsterdam and Rotterdam are somewhat comparable with Copenhagen's rates. Even in the countryside it can get pretty pricey, as The Netherlands is seriously lacking space.

This however is a problem that Denmark doesn't have: rural Denmark has a low population density, and therefore land and house prices can get surprisingly low. Add to that that these small towns and villages are mostly inhabited by the babyboom generation. The oldest of them are in the phase of moving to retirement homes, if not worse. So plenty of houses are for sale here, which lower the prices even further.

A great example is my house. It was built in the 50s. About three and a half years ago I moved into it. I'm only the second person ever to inhabit it. The original owner was a lady who has been living there all of her adult life. But as she got older, living in this house got too difficult for her health to keep up. So she moved to a retirement home about six years ago. The house then stood empty for two and a half years.

What is it worth? 250K Danish kroner. 29K pounds. 39K dollars. Just three months of income of what is required to buy a house in Copenhagen. Again, my income --unfortunately-- isn't nearly that high, but even with a rather modest blue collar income it's quite doable. The best part: the space. While the house itself isn't very big (69m²/742sq.ft), I do also have a barn of 250m²/2690sq.ft), a greenhouse, and a garage. This all sits on ~1000m²/10,763sq.ft of land. So much room for activities!!

If I tell my friends and family back in Rotterdam about what I have and what it costs, the reaction is always the same: "WHAT!".
Like, those prices are sorta unheard of, where I'm from. It would barely cover the bathroom. It wasn't always this crazy. A good friend of mine bought his sizable house about a decade ago for a decent price, right before the rates started going up. And especially the last five years or so it went completely through the roof.

Of course, if you are a city dweller who doesn't make ludicrous amounts of money and haven't bought a house back in the good old days, then renting could be an option. Emphasis on could be, because you have to be really lucky to find a decent rental in a major city, or even not so major cities. Back in Rotterdam I've rented absolute dogshit apartments in dodgy neighborhoods for way too much money from landlords that exactly fit the stereotypes of exploitive landlords (and barstewards!)

Living in the middle of nowhere is bliss. For only a relatively small percentage of city living costs I live much larger, with a higher quality of life. Especially if you're an autismo such as myself you'll fare quite well on the lack of the hustle and bustle of the city. Above all it's very safe where I live. I can honestly say that there is still somewhat of a high trust community here. The only considerable downside of living so remote is that everything is far away. My commute is kind of insane. But it's a price I gladly pay in return for all the other things and I can't see myself living anywhere else ever again.

Do you live in a city, a suburb, or more rurally? What kind of house or apartment do you live in? Would you like to move some day?

 

[Retro]

Ah, good to know that the housing crisis of unaffordable homes isn't unique to England. But seriously, that really does suck. I'm glad you've found a spacious place that works for you as breaks like that in life don't tend to come that often, if at all.

Moving out of the cities gets dramatically cheaper in the UK too.

Talking of inflation, I've been watching sitcom Are You Being Served - the whole lot is currently available - from the 1970s and it's astounding the tiny prices they talk about. They sound totally ridiculous until you put the money into an inflation calculator to see what it would cost today. For example, they were pleased with £5 per day for doing something, which is around £40 in today's money. Not a huge amount, but could be worth it depending on what you're asked to do and the time given to the company for it. Another is a wage of £5000 which was comfortable back then. In today's money that's £39200, a very livable wage, even in a city.

Do you live in a city, a suburb, or more rurally? What kind of house or apartment do you live in? Would you like to move some day?

I'm not going to answer this one as I feel that the info is a little too personal for me to put out there. Others can though, but be aware that this is a public thread.



ppl, if you're able to watch this, I thoroughly recommend it and it well deserves its 8.0 IMDB rating after 69 episodes and 50 years.

It's got a lot of funny innuendo in it, for example, it's hilarious watching Mrs Slocombe talking about "my pussy". She's actually talking about her beloved cat and always refers to it like this, oblivious to the other meaning of this word with the other characters often responding with mock aghast looks. Classic comedy, love it.

Are You Being Served? (TV Series 1972–1985) ⭐ 8.0 | Comedy

28m | PG

www.imdb.com

 

[Mars]

I'm not going to answer this one as I feel that the info is a little too personal for me to put out there. Others can though, but be aware that this is a public thread.

yes, too personal.

 

[Mars]

Above all it's very safe where I live. I can honestly say that there is still somewhat of a high trust community here.

@Hitcore, to me, your place sounds like a dream.
You will not find anything like this, at such price, in this country. I mean, £29K?.....will not even get you a room in a slum here.

I must admit that its remoteness has a downside to it, but on reflection, I think you chose well. You are surrounded by the peaceful countryside, rather then by people, and are a part of a community of people you get to know and trust.
Adding to it, the freedom that a square km of land offers is totally priceless.
If I remember correctly, you once sent us a pic of your place? and I think you had something like a little bird house in the front porch? maybe I don't remember it correctly, but what I do remember still, is the general impression of solitude and bliss, that your place had conveyed.

 

[Hitcore]

a square km

I will reply more later as I am at work right now, but for now I just wanted to comment that 1000 square meters does not equal a square kilometer.
Yes, while distance wise 1000 meters is 1 kilometer, for surface the calculation is a bit different.

1 square kilometer = 1,000,000 square meters.
So: 1000 m² ÷ 1,000,000 = 0.001 km²

A square kilometer to myself, oh my... Now that would have been something. That's like 140 football fields, lol.

 

[Mars]

oh Hitcore oh gosh, you are so right!!!!.....Shame on me

 

[Retro]

dw Mars, maffs ain't me strong point either.

 

[Hitcore]

You Britishes aren't fully native to the metric system, so you're off the hook! You have miles, feet and inches to worry about.

Moving out of the cities gets dramatically cheaper in the UK too.

That's interesting. Is it like in Denmark, where small towns are mostly inhabited by older folks, and younger people who grow up there tend to eventually move to larger cities, where there are more educational opportunities?

I'm glad you've found a spacious place that works for you as breaks like that in life don't tend to come that often, if at all.

Thank you. Though it didn't just blow into my direction by chance. Rural Denmark is slightly nepotistic, as an outsider it's incredibly difficult to get established here, not to mention the wall of bureaucracy I had to face when moving into the country. Therefore I wouldn't directly call it "a break", but you are right that -- in hindsight -- the trouble is worth the effort, indeed.

You are surrounded by the peaceful countryside, rather then by people

Wouldn't have it any other way. Here's my view:

and I think you had something like a little bird house in the front porch?

I don't have a little bird house. Not that I don't like birds -- because I do -- but I don't want to encourage them to stay in my garden for too long. My place is a cat hotspot, and they are very good at catching birds. Especially in the summer the number of half eaten birds that I have to dispose of is kinda crazy.

but what I do remember still, is the general impression of solitude and bliss, that your place had conveyed.

That however is absolutely correct. Whenever I have guests coming over, especially old friends from the city I grew up in, they're just gazing upon the serenity that surrounds this place. That peace is something I consciously appreciate every single day. It's more than my home: it's my sanctuary. The only place where I really can unwind.

 

[live627]

You have miles, feet and inches to worry about.

God bless the Imperial system! May it live long and prosper.

 

[Hitcore]

May it live long and prosper.

 

[Retro]

You Britishes aren't fully native to the metric system, so you're off the hook! You have miles, feet and inches to worry about.

The irony is that I'm all-in on metric as imperial is garbage with its odd unit sizes, the thing that metric was created to fix. Unfortunately, here they mix the two all the time, so my feel for measurements is confused because of it. In particular, a person's height, weight and speed in miles per hour, while for everything else I feel it for metric. My car's speedo is primarily in mph for example. I'd be happier if they just ripped off the bandaid and just went metric for everything, then I'd just have to do rough conversions in my head and would soon get used to it. As it is, for these things, I have to convert metric to imperial and it sucks.

That's interesting. Is it like in Denmark, where small towns are mostly inhabited by older folks, and younger people who grow up there tend to eventually move to larger cities, where there are more educational opportunities?

I think it's something like that. tbh I don't know that much about it, but I do know that older people with money tend to like to retire to the countryside.

Thank you. Though it didn't just blow into my direction by chance. Rural Denmark is slightly nepotistic, as an outsider it's incredibly difficult to get established here, not to mention the wall of bureaucracy I had to face when moving into the country. Therefore I wouldn't directly call it "a break", but you are right that -- in hindsight -- the trouble is worth the effort, indeed.

It's a "break" that you had to work hard at, I get it. Nice when it's all behind you, glad you made it.

 

[Mars]

dw Mars, maffs ain't me strong point either.

oh my, unfortunately I can't use this excuse, as I actually liked maffs at school.
Just too many moons ago.....

 

[Mars]

You have miles, feet and inches to worry about.

...miles, feet inches, as @Retro said, it is all mixed up here, for a while, even the supermarkets had prices for weights in pound per/£ and kg/£. Not anymore, thankfully. As far as I see it, the metric system is a no-brainer-all-out-winner.

I don't have a little bird house. Not that I don't like birds -- because I do -- but I don't want to encourage them to stay in my garden for too long. My place is a cat hotspot, and they are very good at catching birds. Especially in the summer the number of half eaten birds that I have to dispose of is kinda crazy.

oh, I didn't mean a proper bird house, I thought it was like a little wooden thing on the floor in the porch? looked like a little birdhouse...
I can totally see what you mean about not encouraging the birdies into your garden, as you are visited by predatory felines.
Only one cat visits my garden, not very often; used to be more cats around, some I have befriended in the past, but this is no longer the case now.
I have Foxy coming round though, is used to me, sits there and waits for his little bowl of crunchy cat food, bless his bushy tail.
In the warmer weather he would come into the garden and go to sleep in the high grass; you could see the sweet indentation of his body in the grass where he had lain. Or he would curl up under the shade of a tree and go to sleep there.

That however is absolutely correct. Whenever I have guests coming over, especially old friends from the city I grew up in, they're just gazing upon the serenity that surrounds this place. That peace is something I consciously appreciate every single day. It's more than my home: it's my sanctuary. The only place where I really can unwind.

Marvelous view. Me too, home is the only place where I can totally unwind and shut the world out.

 

[Hitcore]

I thought it was like a little wooden thing on the floor in the porch? looked like a little birdhouse...

You mean this? This is a kitty shelter!



Insulation added, in an angle so the kitty is completely out of the wind. Under that rectangle there is a wooden box with a hole in it.



Stuffed it inside with an old Santa suit for comfort.



Unironically me in the Santa suit.

 

[Hitcore]

Only one cat visits my garden, not very often; used to be more cats around, some I have befriended in the past, but this is no longer the case now.
I have Foxy coming round though, is used to me, sits there and waits for his little bowl of crunchy cat food, bless his bushy tail.
In the warmer weather he would come into the garden and go to sleep in the high grass; you could see the sweet indentation of his body in the grass where he had lain. Or he would curl up under the shade of a tree and go to sleep there.

That sounds like quite the lovely setting. Foxy is also a good name for a cat with a bushy tail!

 

[Retro]

oh my, unfortunately I can't use this excuse, as I actually liked maffs at school.
Just too many moons ago.....

Indeed I like it too, it's just that my brain usually stutters and stops when I'm trying to follow it. Quite frustrating, really. Here's the latest Numberphile video to break your brain. Not watched it yet, but it looks interesting like all of their videos. btw, this is the first channel that I subscribed to on YouTube and it hasn't lost any of its quality.

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Numberphile

Videos about numbers and mathematics. Videos by Brady Haran since 2011. Our thanks to Jane Street and our Patreon supporters.

www.youtube.com

 

[Hitcore]

In particular, a person's height, weight and speed in miles per hour, while for everything else I feel it for metric.

Having spent considerable time in America, I am used to how the height thing works (I'm 6'3" for example) and speed (if you go 88 mph you're going to see some serious shit). Weight in pounds (lbs) I also kinda know, but stone is definitely more British than American. Things like ounces and fluid ounces are a bit weird to me, I have some trouble with those. But I do perfectly know what a gallon is.

But yeah, metric is pretty sweet. It just makes the most sense.



It just occurred to me that in America besides the military and the scientific field, the only group of civilians that regularly use the metric system are.... criminals.

I'mma pop a cap in his ass with my 9mm!

This cocaine deal is gonna be huge. Talkin' kilos, not grams!

Tony is selling moonshine in two-liter bottles.

 

[Retro]

I do like that chart. Metric is so elegant, isn't it? I have to confess that I like mph though, as long as one doesn't start dividing it into feet, then what an imperial mess. Did you know that the official worldwide standard for specifying the altitude of an aircraft is in feet, as in the imperial feet? In the end, it doesn't cause a problem, because those feet are never subdivided or converted to miles so the fact that they're imperial doesn't matter, usually, at least.

As far as 88mph goes, I did notice that if I was late somewhere, like left after the event started and drove at precisely 88mph for a bit, I'd usually arrive before it started, sometimes way before and I'd be twiddling my thumbs for some time. btw, do you like this science movie? What a classic from 1985, well worthy of its 8.5 IMDB rating. There might be a connection...

Back to the Future (1985) ⭐ 8.5 | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

1h 56m | PG

www.imdb.com

 

[Hitcore]

Did you know that the official worldwide standard for specifying the altitude of an aircraft is in feet, as in the imperial feet? In the end, it doesn't cause a problem, because those feet are never subdivided or converted

I did know this, but when I hear that the altitude is 33,000 ft I subconsciously do think "oh, that's like 10 kilometer"

btw, do you like this science movie? What a classic from 1985, well worthy of its 8.5 IMDB rating. There might be a connection...

Possibly.

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[Hitcore]

Numberphile video

Some cool number tricks in there. I particularly like the multiply by 1001 trick with numbers like 417,417 and how that in turn is divisible by prime numbers.

 

[Tiffany]

It is very expensive to buy used homes and especially to build in the US. Most builders prefer Canadian wood, from what I've read. With the tariffs, finding good wood at a decent price is a main issue. Young people can not afford their first home until the forties if this crises in home buying and ownership continues. It's very sad.