The Year of Living Danishly: My Twelve Months Unearthing the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
Helen Russell
Top 10 Best Quotes
“... if you're not happy with who you're waking up with most mornings, make a change -- if you want something (or someone) else, go for it.”
“I am not important. If I take a break, no one dies. And this is A Good Thing.”
“It’s no wonder Danes are so happy. They have an obscenely good quality of life. Yes, it’s expensive here. But it’s Denmark – it’s worth it. I don’t mind paying more for a coffee here because I know that it means the person serving me doesn’t a) hate me or b) have a crappy life. Everyone is paid a decent wage, everyone is looked after, and everyone pays their taxes, just as I pay mine. And if we all have marginally less money to buy more stuff that we don’t really need anyway as a result, well I’m starting to think it’s a deal worth making.”
“There is not truly bad weather, just bad clothes.”
“Being an immigrant is not for sissies.”
“You’re more likely to be able to get on in life, get educated, and get a good job, regardless of who your parents are and what they do in Denmark than anywhere else. It turns out that it’s easier to live ‘The American Dream’ here than it’s ever likely to be in the US.”
“Unlike in the US and the UK, where already stressed out and underpaid women were being told to ‘lean in’ and do more, it looked like you could pretty much lean any way you fancied in Denmark and still do OK. Oh, and women weren’t handed sticks to beat themselves with if they weren’t ‘having it all’. This, I decided, was refreshing.”
“Vikings, it seems, make their own way.”
“Psychologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that the better educated and wealthier a nation is, the less likely its population is to believe in a higher being. The Global Index of Religion and Atheism also assessed that poverty was a key indicator of a society's tendency towards religion - so that poorer countries tend to be the most religious. The one exception to the rule? America. But in the strongly religious USA, despite the country's wealth, there's no universal healthcare, little job security, and a flimsy social welfare safety net. This means that the USA has a lot more in common with developing countries than she might like to think.”
“Being too thin isn't particularly desirable here. Women eat.”
Except where otherwise noted, all rights reserved to the author(s) of this book (mentioned above). The content of this page serves solely as promotional material for the aforementioned book. If you enjoyed these quotes, you can support the author(s) by acquiring the full book from Amazon.
Book Keywords:
denmark, love, travel, relationships, confidence, danish, self-love, advice, self-help, danish-culture, zen, danes, optimism, immigration, humor, women, adventure, memoir, vikings, viking
