In recent years, #livingabroad has exploded as a content category across social media. Denmark is no exception. Over the past decade, creators from around the world have grown substantial followings by sharing their lives as internationals in Denmark.
Each has carved their own niche. Yoshi Murata, @den_japanske_mand, showcases his life as a new parent in Aarhus to more than 70,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok. Brooke Fossey of @nearlydanishdame shares funny, insightful musings about learning Danish with her 20,000 Instagram followers. Copenhagen-based Americans Ellie Owens (@fleurdellie ) and Annie Samples (@annieineventyrland ) are amongst Denmark’s most popular creators—each has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on social media by creating content that is simultaneously aspirational and accessible. They showcase idyllic countryside getaways alongside the realities of parenting young children.
Samples and Owens are examples of creators who have built careers online. Others, like Murata and Fossey, treat social media as a passion project. But one thing unites them: they have used their experience as internationals to build big digital platforms.
In this story we meet some of Denmark’s biggest international content creators to find out what it’s really like to do their job.
Elements of Escapism
American Brooke Black moved from Los Angeles to Jutland in 2020 with her Danish husband and young daughters. She began sharing content on her platform @brookeblackjust as a way to make sense of her new life in Denmark. For her, social media is a hobby that sits outside of her full-time job, but she does work with brands on paid partnerships from time to time. She has found success online: she has more than 43,000 followers on Instagram and 21,000 on TikTok, where she shares snapshots of Danish culture ranging from language learning to fastelavnsboller tastings. Currently, she is celebrating her 45th birthday with a year-long series dubbed “45 Things I’ve Never Done in Denmark”. So far she’s visited Møns Klint, visited Bakkehuset and eaten at FlyverGrillen (amongst other activities).
When I ask her why life abroad is such a popular content category, she pauses. “There’s just this aspect of escapism, right? I follow other people because I want to know what day-to-day life is like in other places—the good and the bad.” From time to time, Black’s followers will even reach out to ask about how to relocate to Denmark: “Some people actually ask me how they can move here. What are the realities of life here? There’s the appeal of a different work-life balance.”
Spotlighting Cultural Differences
Danish work-life balance is what first made Ilana Buhl, an American teacher in Copenhagen, go viral. She currently has 65,000 followers on Instagram and 101,000 on TikTok. She started sharing her life on @thelykkecharm during the pandemic, with a specific focus: “When I started my TikTok account, it was mostly about teaching and the process of getting my job teaching in Denmark,” she explains.
For Buhl, social media is a side hustle. She works as a teacher at an international school, so it makes sense that her first viral video was a breakdown of the differences between teaching in America and teaching in Denmark. “I actually have a lot less contact time with students and a lot more planning time. Teachers in the US often get very little planning time, and that’s why they work outside of contract hours. They’re not being paid for that time, and that leads to a lot of burnout.”
Her accounts have since evolved to feature more lifestyle content. She shares recommendations for things to do in Copenhagen, guidance on Danish social infrastructure (like tax returns) and the ins and outs of her daily life with two kids. She is currently on maternity leave with her second child and makes weekly posts on Instagram summarizing her experience. These posts are sometimes simple, heartwarming photos of her family enjoying sunny spring weather. During other weeks, she makes videos breaking down key differences between Danish and American parenting.
Videos highlighting these kinds of cultural contrasts are often amongst creators’ most popular. Kriti Prajapati of @kriticalcomedy is an Indian comedian who moved to Copenhagen in 2017. She uses humor to poke loving fun at the challenges internationals here face, like navigating SKAT and spelling “selvfølgelig” (which means “of course” in Danish and is considered one of the trickiest words to learn). She has amassed a following of more than 20,000 across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Prajapati sees social media as a critical part of her comedy career, which she started in Denmark. When she arrived with her husband—who is also Indian and works for a Danish company—she began looking for jobs in IT, the field in which she had worked in India. But it didn’t feel right.
“I think I’ve always been in comedy, and I was pretending to work in IT,” she laughs. “When I came here, I wrote about a few things I was observing. Culture shock, comparison of India and Denmark.” Prajapati began performing at a local Toastmasters club, the Copenhagen Theater Circle and, eventually, Danish open mics. She began posting on social media to promote her work. Soon, her comedy took off.
Danish and International Followers
59% of her Instagram followers are in Denmark. “I get my biggest validation when Danes are laughing at the jokes about themselves,” Prajapati says. “I realize that this type of content is not only compelling for internationals, but it’s very interesting for the people of the country.”
Buhl and Black also have Danish followers. “Danes that have moved abroad or who have Danish heritage will tell me they love seeing stuff from their old culture,” Black explains. Her content focuses on family life, language and culture—but her plan was never to become a creator. “We moved to Denmark in 2020—it was an accident. We were living in Los Angeles and came to visit family in July, but we just kept staying.” She had a private Instagram account, because her job at the time didn’t know she was abroad. “I was gaining all of this experience and learning all these interesting things, but just keeping it buried to myself,” Black explains. In 2021 her family decided to stay. They bought a farmhouse, Black got a job in Denmark and took her Instagram account public.
Scandinavian Parenting
Buhl notes that while her followers are international, her content is particularly appealing to American parents: “When I first came to Denmark I learned about the stroller nap situation. I was in a class about childhood in the Nordics, and the teacher said that somebody might steal your stroller, but nobody wants your baby. To me, that was groundbreaking.”
“American parents don’t have paid maternity leave, don’t have affordable child care, they’re worried about gun safety, they’re worried about paying for medical bills,” she continues. “Sometimes I say that feeling safe is my biggest culture shock here. When we talk about government-subsidized child care, people want to learn more about how that’s all possible. They are interested in this version of being a parent.”
Scandinavian parenthood is often idealized, but it can still be divisive. Buhl recently shared a video of her daughter sleeping outside a café in her stroller while she had a coffee inside. Buhl could see the stroller and used a monitor. But the internet did what it often does—attacked. “People feel really entitled to say horrible things online. I don’t think I’m obligated to receive that, or reply to it, or give it any space.” She keeps her children’s and husband’s faces and names offline.
Setting Boundaries Online
Prajapati and Black are similarly mindful of boundaries. For Prajapati, her social media platforms are a source of joy. But they are also her job: “I see myself as a comedian creating content on social media. I love to share content about day-to-day life…but I don’t want to share every detail of my life.”
As an American, Black is a bit more cautious now than she has been. “You know, a lot has changed in the beginning of this year. So I don’t know. I mean, it’s a loaded topic,” she says. “I do feel more conspicuous, and I have to be more sensitive,” she explains. “It’s a balance, regardless of what the political climate is.”
There is also just the pressure of being a public figure in a small country: “I get recognized in the streets, and I feel like I’m not allowed to ever be in a bad mood,” Black says. “I got yelled at by someone on a bike, and I wanted to yell back, but I feel like I can’t.” But even with the occasional heckler (in-person or digital), Black is excited about growing her content creation. “About a year ago, I met with a social media guru who talked about scheduling and content pillars. I often want to post things in real-time, but then I end up on my phone all the time. I would love to get to a place where I could really map it out.”
Danish 101
One thing international creators don’t worry about? Fumbling Danish. Learning the language is a struggle that unites all internationals here, and creators frequently post lighthearted videos about their own journeys. Buhl, who speaks very good Danish, shares tips for language learners that are rooted in her own experience: “When I was earlier in my Danish learning journey, I’d made a stupid mistake at the supermarket. I didn’t understand what somebody was saying, and I just fumbled it. But my husband told me that guy had already forgotten it. It can be frustrating and embarrassing, but truly nobody is thinking about it as much as you are.”
Black has a heartwarming series where she pronounces Danish names with her children, who are fluent in the language. Prajapati often posts skits about navigating Danish numbers and vowels.
For all the joy it brings, living abroad can be isolating from time to time. Content like this is a kind of antidote.
“It makes me happy that my content is relatable to people,” says Prajapati. “As an expat, you’re always thinking about your home country, your food. There are many things to miss, but adding humor is important.”
How to Start a Career as an International Content Creator
For those curious about starting careers in social media, the consensus is to jump in. “I feel like this is so cliché, but just start,” says Buhl. “Almost any content creator you see now—if they looked back at their oldest, oldest videos they would cringe. That’s true for me too.”
Despite cringeworthy moments and other challenges that social media occasionally presents, all three women agree that they run their accounts because it’s fun. Prajapati sees social media as a tool to grow her comedy career, and Black and Buhl have built significant platforms as passion projects. From the outside looking in, a key to their success is authenticity. Each of these creators—and their peers—have built unique, relatable personal brands that speak to Danes and internationals alike.
