A place to call home

Whenever we visit a city, I like to try to figure out whether or not I think I could live there. We're not actually looking to live anyplace else, but it's sometimes kind of fun to figure out if a place is just fun to visit but maybe wouldn't be the easiest place to live (e.g., Barcelona). I end up concluding that I could live in most places that aren't too hot and humid (e.g., Hong Kong and Singapore would be difficult...which begs the question of why my home in the States is Washington, DC, but that's a whole other issue). Gretchen, on the other hand, is much more discerning--most places have something that would make it difficult to live there.

We were both in agreement, though, that Copenhagen was one of the most liveable cities we've visited--I was ready to start looking for housing! The city is attractive and pleasant and clean, the people are friendly (and blonde), there's a really good vibe, a counterculture that I would probably never partake of but would be glad it's there, lots of culture and fashion and design (the latter two of which I also would not partake of), etc. Dogs and kids seemed to be welcome everywhere. Outside of the historic centre, it's amazing how much it reminded me of San Francisco--not so much the architecture, but the atmosphere and the people and even the climate. Or perhaps a cleaner Amsterdam.

On top of that, everyone spoke perfect English but didn't make us feel like idiots for not speaking Danish. On the other hand, we got to hear a waitress ask us if we would like to try a dessert called Rødgrød med Fløde, the pronunciation of which requires indescribable lingual contortions and sounds like it's being said by a Muppet.

So big ups to Copenhagen--now, if I could only figure out how to find a job there (of course, ask me if I would say the same thing after a visit in January and I might have a very different perspective)...