Civic participation Settling in and adjusting to life abroad can be quite a handful – how do you engage with locals if you’re not currently holding a job? Julia Gaska came to Denmark from Germany about a year ago together with her boyfriend Tom and their two children. She found that there are plenty of opportunities in Denmark to meet the Danes and become part of local life.
In 2013, I became a mother for the first time, but I couldn't imagine staying in Germany for the rest of my live and raising my children there. So, when my boyfriend graduated and became a Diplom-Brewmaster in Berlin, and I was pregnant with our second child, we decided to go abroad together for a couple of years while the kids were still young. Since I was pregnant with our second child, it was up to Tom to look for a job abroad. What is your current situation?
Why did you and Tom decide to move to Denmark? Before and during my studies, I went abroad several times. I studied a Bachelor’s degree in social sciences at Universität Bielefeld and the University of Bergen, and did my Postgraduate Master in European Studies in Berlin. I also did an internship in Poland and spent a working holiday in Australia.
Around Christmas in 2015, Tom applied for his current job in Aalborg, and got invited for a job interview and accepted this in January 2016. Our daughter was born in February 2016 and Tom had to start his new job at Søgaards Bryghus in April. Until the end of November 2016, the kids and I were still staying in Germany, so Tom could get settled in Aalborg and have enough time to find a proper apartment for us – during the first months he shared a flat with other people. The kids and I visited their father twice, before we moved to Aalborg. He tried to visit us once a month. This was a crazy year for us. Today, he is the brewmaster at the aforementioned local brewhouse. He is happy there because he has the opportunity to experiment and learn a lot. This step was a great opportunity for his career.