1. The happiness study is flawed: We are not happy; and if happiness was a one-dimensional measure that was comparable across countries and cultures we would not be number one, nowhere near.
2. We are overtaxed, our welfare system is too big and bureaucratic: Filled with freeloaders, unmotivated cival servants, unsustainable rising pension costs, ill incentives that are destroying innovation and initiative.
3. Globalization is killing us: Our industries are being outcompeted, our welfare system is being exploited thru an influx of poor immigrants, our internal solidarity is gone; the beggars, petty thieves and hookers you see on the street are foreigners (though they live here for years) with no entitlements to any social support and no one is helping them since everyone thinks it is the job of the state.
That's why the article covered this view point but ultimately concluded that when those Danes were asked which other country they would rather live in, the response was silence.
I live in the US and pay an enormous amount of taxes that do not go towards improving society the way they would in Denmark. Close to 80% of people routinely vote in general elections in Denmark. This means that by and large Danes have the government and the polices they want.
And I guess you can dismiss what I as say as merely a political view.
But Denmark is an extreme with the biggest welfare state and the highest level of taxation of any country plus having a "small open economy".
That makes the mechanisms I listed much stronger here than anywhere else.
The comment about beggars & hookers being foreigners also rings true with my experience of CPH. I'd been led to believe that everyone has access to welfare in DK, but it would make sense if non-citizen non-EU immigrants do not.
Fwiw this is corporate propaganda, not state propaganda— it's a Carlsberg poster. Like Corona trying to sell beer on a certain image of Mexico, Carlsberg is trying to sell beer on a certain image of Denmark.
Copenhagen had lots of visible social issues.
Interesting. Coming from the U.S., the lack of visible social issues is one of the more surprising things. Compared to other places I've lived, like San Francisco and Atlanta, everything feels much safer and better run. I don't worry about walking home alone at 3am in Copenhagen the way I would even in nice parts of Atlanta. The public transit system is also much, much nicer than any other one I've used, generally being clean, on time, and running 24/7. I think the only place I've been that felt better-run and safer than Copenhagen was Zürich.
My friends all stayed at different AirBnBs across the city, and yet all of our apartments looked nearly identical: same floorboards, same IKEA furniture, even the exact same brand & size of TV.
I think this is more that AirBnB is only used by an narrow social segment. Residences I've been in vary from quasi-aristocratic decor (chandeliers, classical busts, etc., especially common in the inner city and Frederiksberg), to a minimalist "design apartment" style of all-white and geometric, and to a rustic look of dark wooden paneling and heavy dark-stained wooden furniture. The latter is what I think of as a "typical" Danish furnishing, but it's more common in the homes of older people.
Aha! I'd thought it was a Copenhagen Tourism poster, this helps make it less creepy.
Compared to other places I've lived, like San Francisco and Atlanta, everything feels much safer and better run.
I can agree with that, Copenhagen feels safer than many US cities (SF, Seattle, Vegas, Philly) but I think Portland is nicer & friendlier than Copenhagen. Copenhagen really made me appreciate Australian cities, and places like Berlin (my favorite city).
The public transit system is also much, much nicer than any other one I've used
I thought Malmö's transport system was better than Copenhagen's, love their trains & buses and the JoJo system. Triangeln Station was just beautiful[1][2][3]. Malmö's disco taxis with mirrorballs & flashing lights & iPad controlled video jukebox were so much fun. Germany's U-Bahn is still my favorite public transport system though.
[1] http://pfnphoto.com/new/malmo-triangeln/
[2] http://www.arkitektur.se/ur_arkitektur/station-triangeln-mal...
[3] http://railzone.nl/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/5234...
Copenhagen banned begging so they all came the to Sweden. I have no opinon on this.
Malmö as a city is supported by other cities. Malmö itself is in deep debt and not self sustainable. It's not going to make if you ask me. This is why I don't invest in OMX now.
Also, major homophobia and anti-semitism, but maybe that falls under "colourful".
You're right that Malmö (and Sweden) has racism issues, so it's not utopia. Not sure about the homophobia in Malmö though: Eurovision 2013 in Malmö was fine, but at Eurovision 2014 in Copenhagen I had a DR reporter try to interview me for a story on Eurovision bringing immoral gay values into Copenhagen. I was stunned at how open the homophobia was in Copenhagen.
By "colorful" I meant literally color - the bright colors & grassy rooftop garden of Malmö's Emporia Shopping Center vs Copenhagen's more grey tones. (I tried to love Sønder Blvd, it was nice but not quite as pretty as I'd hoped.)
Copenhagen had lots of visible social issues. There were lots of people begging for money in the train stations, which seemed to belie Denmark's generous welfare. Graffiti was everywhere. If you had the misfortune to have to walk down Istedgade to your accommodation, you were accosted & grabbed by several desperate & grim looking prostitutes. Everything was disorganized & broken - midway through my trip I started taking photos of Windows blue screens & Windows XP rebooting on the trains, just because I saw it everywhere. Ticket machines & ATMs often didn't work. My internet wasn't reliable either, despite the claims of superior Danish internet. No one seemed to care that things were broken.
The monoculture was eerie. My friends all stayed at different AirBnBs across the city, and yet all of our apartments looked nearly identical: same floorboards, same IKEA furniture, even the exact same brand & size of TV. It was as if no-one dared admit they might want something different or more than their neighbors have. The housing made me feel very fortunate for what we have in Australia. The Danes didn't seem happy, just that they were equally grumpy. It felt "communist" to me, though I suppose "socialist" would be more accurate.
The truly bizarre thing is that just across the water, barely 20km away in Malmö (Sweden), things felt so much happier, more diverse & vibrant & creative & colorful, no-one begging, everything "just worked" and the people were friendlier.
I don't want to be so down on Copenhagen, I've seen some awesome design & software come from there. I did like Copenhagen Airport, and they have the friendliest customs officials I've ever encountered. Tivoli theme park was nice. But for the most part, Copenhagen gave me a really creepy and unhappy feeling that I never forgot. Hawaii was a far happier place.