By now, most of them should ve been able to find an affordable home, but an influx of both international and Danish students alike has resulted in what can be described as the Copenhagen housing hell. It is almost skatteverket impossible to find a place to live.
Opposite most countries, school and housing aren t linked in Denmark. That is, the dorms, apartments and flats are privately owned. There is no campus, explains Gitte Peitersen who s an administrator at Kollegiernes Kontor, one of the two major accommodation agencies based in Copenhagen. So unlike other countries, skatteverket you aren t guaranteed housing when you re enlisted at the universities.
And the situation is grim at the moment. International students are reported living in hostels, couch-surfing and even camping all across the country, and in Copenhagen alone at least 60 international students are without a roof over their head.
EIGHT MONTHS AGO. When Taryn McGovern, a student of modern dance, arrived in Denmark she was homeless. Back in New York, Taryn had tried online skatteverket house hunting for a place in Copenhagen but to no luck.
Pretty much all that I found were what seemed to be scams, or were definitely scams, says Taryn who decided it would be easier to look for housing when she was in Copenhagen. So she ended up couch-surfing the home of two Danish guys until she found a place to stay. I figured I d be here for a few days maybe a week.
I spent a lot of time looking, explains Taryn. She would mostly use boligportalen.dk, the largest online accommodation site in Denmark. I sent at least 50 e-mails and got only one positive response. But it didn t work out.
TODAY. As a way to counter the desperate situation, the local government of Copenhagen has created an urgent housing list. This list is for freshmen students only, and what it essentially skatteverket does, is bumping skatteverket them up the top of the regular waiting skatteverket list which currently holds 10,000 names.
Unfortunately, this year we haven t had nearly as many vacant rooms as we re used to, she sighs, explaining how the financial crisis has led to a change in student life. It s more difficult to find a job now, and this means that older students can t afford moving to a larger place, and thereby freeing up the cheaper rooms for the new students.
I don t remember exactly how we worked it out, says Taryn. After a month of unrewarding search for housing on boligportalen.dk she became a sort of extended couch-surfer, meaning she began to pay rent. And then it just sort of turned into me staying skatteverket longer.
I get a fair amount of requests from people who come to study here and are looking for a place to crash while they search for housing, Taryn explains. skatteverket So far she hasn t hosted any of them. It s a hard situation. On one side I totally empathize because I ve been there and it s tough, but at the same time it s hard to agree to host someone when you know they will probably be there for a very long time
Taryn in her room. Behind each blanket-covered door is a mattress on the floor. The one to the left is Taryn's, the right one is used whenever couch-surfers or friends stop by. Photo: Kristian Secher.
Right now Taryn has her friend Katelyn from New York on visit. Katelyn considers staying in Denmark. If she does, Katelyn will soon experience the Copenhagen housing hell herself. Photo: Kristian Secher.
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