Moving to Copenhagen as an expat opens up all sorts of questions about where and how to live. Many opt for the city centre, others the countryside, but both can be lonely choices.
What often eludes the internationals is a sense of community – a quality at the heart of the ethos of LIVING BY ALFA.
Offering spacious, far more affordable accommodation than the city centre, and more social possibilities than the countryside with plenty of outdoor options, it’s a happy marriage of everything new arrivals to the capital could wish for.
Years of research
LIVING BY ALFA is a convenient, social and intergenerational community, a little similar to the Danish tradition of Bofælleskaber, but one that is professionally-managed. Offering a mix of amenity spaces, services and activities, it’s a coliving concept increasingly being referred to as the ‘hotelisation’ of residential real estate.
Both spacious and reasonably priced, its community offers effortless interaction, as many events and activities are facilitated to bring the customers together, across different nationalities and generations. The result is diversity, togetherness, well-being and a sense of belonging.
The LIVING BY ALFA concept is the result of years of extensive research. The concept is based on the core ideas of the sharing economy, community-building across generations, convenience, social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
The research assessed the needs of potential customers: essentially how the community can make their lives easier. Everything should be effortless for the residents – no problem unsolvable or incurring too much extra expense.
Convenient location
LIVING BY ALFA’s location in IrmaByen neighbourhood in Rødovre, a suburb on the edge of Copenhagen only 8 km from City Hall Square, enables the residents to both feel part of the city, but also close to nature.
The surrounding area, whilst rich in the trappings of urban life (gyms, shopping centres etc), also provides unlimited potential for strolls, jogging and outdoor leisure activities at the Vestvolden recreational and nature area. In addition, tennis, ice hockey, football and even camping are all located 5-10 minutes away.
Transport is also convenient: one of the country’s new cycling superhighways is nearby, and there are direct rail and road links too.
Fair rent, large apartments
The apartments are far bigger than what you might expect to find in the city centre: sizes range from 63 to 140 sqm. They are professionally managed and come furnished or unfurnished.
In total, there are 163 homes, starting in price from 10,950 kroner per month, of which 62 are earmarked for tenants over the age of 55.
LIVING BY ALFA targets young families, singles and young professionals for the remainder – of whom expats have been identified as a key group.
Geared to families
Families play a large role in the LIVING BY ALFA concept – and not just the children, whose safety is factored into all of its features.
Should extended family want to visit, there are guest rooms onsite that can be rented at a reasonable price for the duration of the stay.
Then there is storage, which can be found in the basement along with a carpark. Many of the customers are downsizing Danes and the unit sizes cater to all requirements.
Community Clubhouse
For a small fee every month, residents are encouraged (but not obliged) to join ‘The Clubhouse’ – the communal area inhabiting most of the ground floor.
The principal rooms are the lobby, lounge, home cinema, kids’ playroom, common event room with adjoining kitchen, along with three guest bedrooms.
There are also areas adjacent to The Clubhouse and the 1,800 sqm elevated garden. They include a restaurant, takeaway, two supermarkets and additional specialty shops at the base of the building.
Food-sharing, well-being activities, quiz nights and classes are just some of the many activities available to residents: a social life on tap.
Better quality of life
LIVING BY ALFA’s research demonstrated that relationships are a powerful tool in the way we live. Being part of a community helps us to have a better quality of life and even a longer one.
It also shone a light on how more people favour ‘suburbanisation’ – the movement away from over-populated and polluted city centres in quest of a cleaner, quieter life, but still within a convenient distance from work.
LIVING BY ALFA offers this and more: joining them on this journey requires an initial leap of faith, but once settled, you’ll question how you could have ever settled for any other kind of rental agreement.
Journey of discovery
Every time you venture into the community, you’ll meet somebody new, forging relationships with both fellow internationals and Danes.
It’s like the lobby of a boutique hotel – there’s a community manager to take care of your every need and an app will keep you informed of all the possibilities – but all the guests are in the same boat.
They’re not just killing time – they’re happy to be there and want to mingle!
Who lives in a Community like this?
In a nutshell, families: children, parents, grandparents and internationals … after all, who doesn’t count a foreigner among their relatives these days?!
With over a third of the 162 apartments reserved for people over the age of 55, a pledge to attract many families, and a desire to also draw in internationals, Living by Alfa in IrmaByen promises to be the most intergenerational and diverse community in Denmark.
Nobody will feel out of place, as it genuinely caters to all-comers. This is particularly pleasing news for internationals, who can often feel unwelcome in environments where being unable to speak Danish is frowned upon.
Kindred spirits
It would be inaccurate to say the tenants have nothing in common. After all, they’re kindred spirits who all know what they’ve signed up for, and while the apartments are affordable, they’re not cheap either, so most are moderately well-off.
But let’s speculate: there’s undoubtedly a few types who will find the living arrangement more agreeable than others, so here’s a few examples of the kinds of tenants who might end up at Living by Alfa.
Name: Inge Nielsen
Age: 77
Nationality: Danish
Primary Motivation: To save money
Inge is a retired widow in her early 70s who has lived in Copenhagen her entire adult life. While she has friends and is still active in the community, she has a major problem: the cost of continuing to live in the house now all her children have left home.
Besides being far too big for her, the government demands 3 percent of the total value of her house every year. When she and her husband paid 2 million kroner in 1979, they had no idea it would one day be worth 12-15 million kroner! Despite paying off the mortgage long ago, this amounts to close to 300,000 kroner every year – a crippling cost she can no longer endure.
A one-bedroom flat in Living by Alpha would cost half that amount annually – and she would have an eight-figure amount in the bank to boot, more than enough to tide her over.
Inge’s not too sure about the app, but gathers there will be a handy alternative on the wall in the lobby, which will be much easier to handle. But if in doubt, she’ll just ask the community manager.
And when her children want to bring their grandchildren to visit, she can use one of the designated rooms to put them up!
Names: The Jensens
Nationality: Danish
Primary Motivation: Secure environment for kids
Dorte and Thomas Jensen, two professionals originally from Jutland, don’t have the strong connections that most Copenhageners tend to enjoy! Since starting a family, they’ve lived in a series of apartments: all progressively bigger and more expensive. But buying simply isn’t an option given their financial situation.
The cost of a family-sized apartment at LIVING BY ALFA is 20 percent lower than what they were paying for a much smaller residence just down the road.
But it is the benefits of The Clubhouse in relation to their children that will really make the difference, as it will be an enormous relief to allow Ida and Alfred to play outside the apartment in the secure knowledge that their safety is guaranteed. With no communal garden area available at their current residence, long trips to the park were needed to allow the children to cut loose.
The kids will make use of the well-stocked children’s playroom on days when it isn’t a crime to stay indoors and, when it is, to roam for hours through the pathways and pergolas linking The Clubhouse to the children’s playzone in the huge courtyard, while Mum and Dad make use of the sundecks, fitness zones and petanque court, taking in the views of the lush landscaped garden.
Name: Helena Lund
Age: 27
Nationality: Danish
Primary Motivation: Value for money
It’s paradoxical that Helena is both highly social and fiercely private. While she craves the company of others in the bar after hard days at the office, she also craves the solitude provided by living on her own … and having her own bathroom!
But despite her respectable salary, living in her own apartment in central Copenhagen is beyond her means.
LIVING BY ALFA offers her the chance to upgrade from her smallish room in a house-share to her very own flat and bathroom – all for just 20 percent more in monthly rent than she is currently paying.
Furthermore, when she fancies a drink after work, she needn’t arrange with friends, as there will always be something going on in The Clubhouse – the backgammon night sounds particularly enticing!
The app makes it very easy to navigate LIVING BY ALFA, as well as the local environment, where she has found a good gym and large shopping centre within walking distance.
TYPICAL INTERNATIONAL TENANTS
Name: James Davies
Age: 44
Nationality: British
Primary Motivation: Wholesome choice
James, who together with his Danish partner have two children at Copenhagen International School, confesses to being a little envious of his children’s school – so unlike the drafty corridors he had to put up with in Britain, he most admires the way the modern building controls light and air quality in the classrooms to extract the best out of the students. And so sustainably too.
If only their villa in Hellerup could be the same: geared to his family’s well-being and friendly to the environment. In reality, it’s an old building that is energy inefficient and too dark inside. The sofas are uncomfortable too.
LIVING BY ALFA ticks all the boxes as far as indoor environment, sustainability and comfortable furniture are concerned.Besides, James was beginning to tire of all the extra taxes, maintenance work and gardening involved in owning a family home.
With the money from the sale, he figures the family will be holidaying in the Caribbean … for the next ten years at least.
John and Suzi Taylor
Age: 34 & 32
Nationality: American
Primary Motivation: Gateway to Denmark
John and Suzi Taylor are an American expat couple, provisionally in Denmark for three years, who are keen to enjoy their time in Denmark to the fullest.
John’s employer offered to house them in a fashionable suburb of Charlottenburg, but Suzi worried whether she would feel isolated. She had read that the Danes are a hard nut to crack, and that expats spending two or three years in Denmark were lucky if they made any friendships with the locals.
That’s when she heard about LIVING BY ALFA: a community where Danes and internationals regularly mingled and enjoyed social functions together.
John and Suzi are looking forward to getting to know the Danes. Why else would they come all this way?
Paolo Padovani
Age: 27
Nationality: Italian
Primary Motivation: Friendships
Before moving to Copenhagen, Paolo weighed up the options: he could afford to rent a small flat in some of the city’s less fashionable districts and commute, or he could find a room closer to work in the centre.
Most importantly perhaps, Paolo knows nobody in Denmark, is teetotal and is quite shy. He couldn’t imagine going out and meeting people, and he doesn’t play any sports either. His biggest passion is walking.
LIVING BY ALFA appealed to him because not only was the rent for a single person’s flat highly affordable, but it would also enable him to meet others in a convivial, non-awkward setting that doesn’t revolve around drinking. It sounded ideal.
And who knows: maybe some of the other tenants might like to join him on a hike. If they’ve got clubs for flower-arranging and book reading, why not hiking. If they don’t, Paolo will start one!
A friend to all who need
For all the tenants at LIVING BY ALFA, their first port of call should they have a problem or question is Iris Elena Iacob, the Community Manager
The Community Team is led by Iris Elena Iacob, the Community Manager, whose main role is “bridging the gap between community needs and processes” while helping to build a community that consists of multi-cultural and multi-generational members.
“There are many places that have common areas with a neighbourly feeling, and you can spend time with your neighbors everywhere,” explains Iris.
“The difference at LIVING BY ALFA is that we have built the spaces for you to make it more accessible and easier to reach. I am there to help create the connections and guide the journey from strangers to neighbours to community.”
Support circle
Iris is responsible for tailoring events, workshops, classes and activities for all, whilst providing a support circle to tenants in need of assistance. Crucially, she is also an expat – from Romania.
“Being an expat myself, I do know most of the struggles, questions and wishes that one might have on their journey encountering a new country,” she said.
“I am there to help the expats integrate into the Danish community, to build together new rituals, understand the cultures and differences and make them work together. But I can also just be there to listen, give a piece of advice or help you apply for your CPR number or Permanent Residence.”
CPH POST caught up with Iris to find out more about her own expat journey.
How long have you been in Denmark?
In 2014, I took the decision to take on an adventure: move to Denmark. The simple reason was my interest in getting to know new cultures and learning about what the world has to offer.
So you relate to the problems faced by new arrivals in Denmark?
Yes, while moving here was an easy decision for me, it’s had its ups and downs during the years I’ve been living here. Being in a new place, alone, can stir up a lot of emotions – some that were new to me. There have been many times when even as an extremely social and extrovert person I have felt lonely. Not because I didn’t have people around me, but because I did not feel like I belonged to a group.
How did you overcome your loneliness?
Slowly, I have found a group of people: my community (not one from the same country), and that’s when it all made sense. I understood that when you have a strong community of people around you – which you can rely on and that you can even consider family – then that feeling of belongingness can convert your loneliness into another set of emotions … positive ones.
Were any of your friends Danes?
Well, no. I had no Danish friends, and I started to wonder why that is … and it seemed like many of my international friends wondered the exact same thing. But then I realised that all it takes is just one Dane to introduce you into their groups – into their culture and on your way to integration.
What qualifications do you bring to your role?
My studies in International Hospitality Management and my work experience have been the gateway for me understanding Culture & Communication. I am looking forward to my role as Community Manager because I get to be the person that has the opportunity to build bridges between cultures and generations and generate positive emotions.
