Knowledge – Life – Career
A NEW
PORT
for a new
future
ATMOSPHERE
IN RIBE
STREET
MEKKA
is the new hot spot
for young people
No. 1 2015
– the good life,
career opportunities,
travel and children
ENERGYMETROPOLIS
LET'S BE
HONEST
We are not deluding ourselves. We know who we are and we know what we
stand for. We are from West Jutland, we like making things happen and we
like doing things properly. We know that things do not just happen by themselves. In many areas, we are unable to compete with Copenhagen and
Aarhus. But we are able to match them in others. The EnergyMetropolis
magazine has been created to give you a picture of what life can be. Things
are booming over here and businesses are on the lookout for engineers
and technicians to ill challenging jobs. Jobs we want you to consider
applying for.
We invite people and families, who want to contribute to developing our
area. You may be asking yourself whether you and your family would be
able to live the good life in the EnergyMetropolis. We believe you are.
You may not know this, but in Esbjerg you have the opportunity to make
a difference for Denmark. Here, 13,500 people work on smart energy
solutions in 250 energy companies that change Denmark.
In this irst edition of the EnergyMetropolis magazine as well as in
future editions, we will be telling you the many stories about living the
good life in the Municipality of Esbjerg.
Enjoy!
CONTENTS
04 – LOTS OF NEW JOBS
IN THE OFFSHORE SECTOR
23,000 new jobs in the offshore sector
06 – ATMOSPHERE IN RIBE
Experience the good life in Scandinavia’s oldest City, Ribe.
08 – A NEW PORT FOR A
NEW FUTURE
Esbjerg Harbour version 2.0.
12 – THE CALL OF THE WILD
Being active in the EnergyMetropolis
of Denmark.
14 – STREET MEKKA
Street culture will be given a great
powerhouse in Esbjerg’s new Street
Mekka
Publisher: Business Development Esbjerg
Editor: Marketing Manager Birgit Bech Jensen
Editorial team: Business Development Esbjerg,
VestKom PR and Kirk & Holm
Text/editing: VestKom PR
Design: Kirk & Holm
Tryk: Rosendahls
Foto: Red Star Photo
Editing was completed: 20 December 2014
2 – EnergyMetropolis
18 – FROM GRONINGEN IN
HOLLAND VIA RIO DE JANEIRO
TO ESBJERG
Life as an expat
BACK
– EXPERIENCE THE ENERGY
04
06
08
14
12
18
EnergyMetropolis – 3
LOTS
OF NEW JOBS
IN THE OFFSHORE SECTOR
The job bonanza in oil, gas and offshore wind turbines
will continue far into the future
he future looks bright
– both for green offshore
wind turbines and for the
‘conventional’ offshore
oil and gas industry. Lots of new jobs
are in the pipeline – for many years
to come. So get moving if you want a
career in exciting and innovative growth
industries, says Offshoreenergy.dk, the
oficial national knowledge centre and
innovation network organisation
for the Danish offshore industry. “We
believe that there will be a market here
far into the future,” says Managing
Director Morten Basse Jensen,
Offshoreenergy.dk
T
“Offshore wind needs to bring its
‘cost of energy’ down in order for it
to be competitive in the long term. In
the area of oil and gas, large-scale
investments are required in order to
increase the recovery factor. But both
challenges are being addressed by
the industry so we will overcome the
barriers to growth.”
This optimism is supported by a
recent survey published by the
Region of Southern Denmark which in
September 2013 analysed the future
prospects for the offshore sector. The
conclusion was that employment will
grow significantly in both sectors up to
4 – EnergyMetropolis
2020. Overall, jobs will almost double
from 26,900 to 50,200. A large number
of these jobs will be created in the
Esbjerg area which is internationally
recognised as Denmark’s EnergyMetropolis.
An even more recent survey conducted
by Oil Gas Denmark in February 2014
determined that there are far more
resources left in the Danish section of
the North Sea than so far assumed.
“If I were a recent graduate, I would
look at oil & gas and wind. These are
well-known growth sectors in which
innovation is highly prioritised. So if you
are an engineer and want to be where
things are happening, this is the place
to be. It is ‘the place to be’ for a young
engineer or family,” ascertains Morten
Basse Jensen.
“If people are concerned about job
security, they need to check both oil
& gas and wind – this also goes for
innovation and development.” It is
also good news that the two sectors
are drawing closer to each other all
the time so that no one has to ‘choose
sides’. Many of the technologies and
skills involved in working offshore are
identical in both the oil & gas and wind
turbine industries.
“...if you are
an engineer
and want to be
where things
are happening, this is the
place to be. It
is ‘the place to
be’ for a young
engineer or
family.”
“What is seriously on the agenda now
is synergy and correlation between the
two sectors. One cannot do without
the other,” explains Morten Basse
Jensen, who also recognises that there
is a growing understanding about the
symbiosis between oil & gas and wind.
“These go hand in hand and the
challenges for offshore wind will become
increasingly like the ones facing oil &
gas. Equipment and technology – e.g.
in subsea – are much more a priority
than before. This means that exciting
developments are on the agenda for
anyone wanting to join us.”
Offshoreenergy.dk is a national
organisation, but the new managing
director – who himself lives in Grenaa,
but is now considering moving to Esbjerg
– is in no doubt about why anyone should
consider Esbjerg and offshore.
„Esbjerg is indisputably Denmark’s
EnergyMetropolis, but also a springboard for the global energy market. We
shouldn’t forget the internationalisation
of Danish offshore which is another
driver of growth,” emphasises Morten
Basse Jensen.
“Esbjerg’s role as an offshore hub will
be consolidated in earnest in the next
4-5 years. The area is already well on its
way to being what Copenhagen Airport
is to Scandinavian aviation. If you work
in Esbjerg, the world is by deinition your
workplace.”
OIL & GAS
2012
2020
15,700
29,200
jobs
jobs
WIND & WAVE
2012
2020
11,200
21,000
jobs
jobs
Offshoreenergy.dk
EnergyMetropolis – 5
“In the summer, of
course, it’s great
having both Rømø
and Mandø close by
– I really de-stress
when I am on
Rømø.”
ATMOSPHERE IN RIBE
Engineers Gitte and Kore love having friendly people around them and the
pleasant atmosphere of the oldest city in Scandinavia with their family,
friends – and the whole world – at their ingertips
he basement has a great
playroom for both adults and
children with room for a billiard
table, chill-out zone and Kore’s great
interest in classic cars, currently three
Porsches and a Jaguar E-type.
T
“I am mad about cars from the 1960s and
70s and I love just messing around with
them. It’s a kind of therapy,” explains
Kore who was born and brought up in
Aarhus, but has fallen in love with the
area and scenery of the Wadden Sea.
6 – EnergyMetropolis
“In the summer, of course, it’s great
having both Rømø and Mandø close by
– I really de-stress when I am on Rømø.”
business Logitrans which develops
and manufactures internal transport
equipment.
To Gitte, Ribe is the country of her
childhood. But she studied to be
an export engineer in Horsens
for ive years and has lived in the
United Kingdom both during her work
experience and her MBA studies. She
has also lived in Tønder for six years. In
2003, she returned to Ribe to work as
a sales manager in the family-owned
Kore is a trained machine operator and
mechanical engineer and his career has
taken him to Esbjerg and Haderslev.
Later, through a partnership with DIS,
he became partner and manager of a
new ofice in Esbjerg in 2011.
They have been around, but why did they
end up choosing Ribe?
Ribe offers room for both body and soul.
The move has also been a success for
Kore. “It has been great to move down
here and I enjoy what Ribe has to offer. It
is really inviting. We walk around the Old
Town or go for a run along Ribe River
and out to the Castle Bank,” says Kore
who also enjoys the local cultural scene.
“I think I go to more cultural events in
Ribe. This may sound odd, but there is a
great cultural scene in Ribe.”
And even though it may seem far
between Copenhagen and Ribe –
especially seen from the capital – the
whole world is very close. “It only takes
50 minutes for us to go to Billund Airport.
“... The most important thing is
that our everyday
life works – and
you can do everything in Ribe.”
“In my case, it was the family-owned
company and having my parents nearby
that were important to me – with small
children that was an important factor,”
explains Gitte.
“And the people are great – I know people in town while in cities like Horsens
and Aarhus you are more anonymous.
This may be ine once in a while, but
in everyday life I think it’s important to
have friendly people around.”
Flying to London costs the same as
driving to Copenhagen. Life doesn’t
stand still because you move to Ribe,”
laughs Gitte and suddenly thinks of a
couple of funny examples:
”The last three times I had my hair cut
were in Monaco and the United States.
And one Tuesday evening we went for a
trip to Hamburg. Kore needed to pick up
a component for the car so we decided
to have dinner down there. Flensburg
is also great and sometimes we go to
Aarhus on a Saturday,” she says.
“If you just expand your horizon a bit,
you get really far. I really believe that you
actually become less adventurous if you
live in a big city.”
The framework is right. For an active
family life, but also for the peace and
tranquillity to balance a busy life with a
demanding job. The engineering couple
Gitte Kirkegaard and Kore Berg and
their four children have found happiness
in the city of Ribe. Everything just fell
into place.
“The most important thing is that our
day-to-day life works and everything is
possible in Ribe. We both have demanding
jobs so it means a lot to be able to come
home to a nice house with room enough
to do what you want. That is one of the
opportunities you have when you decide
to live outside the big cities,” say Gitte
and Kore who are 39 and 41 respectively.
Their home is a very spacious four-storey
villa with 380 square metres of living
space in a pleasant area just outside
the centre of Ribe – only ten minutes’
walk from the medieval city. Ribe offers
room for both body and soul. Both the
four children from different marriages
and lots of guests – e.g. friends arriving
from Aarhus with a carload of children.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART
OF LIVING HERE?
Gitte: “I think it is the friendliness
– I like having good people around
me. I don’t need 1,000 friends, but
I think it is great to be able to pop
over to a neighbour and have a cup
of coffee. It’s just not the same in
a big city.”
Kore: “It is also important to me
to have friendly people around
me and to be able to go for a
lovely walk and just completely
de-stress. It is a different kind of
tranquillity and relaxation you get
here.”
WHAT DOES THE GOOD
LIFE MEAN TO YOU?
Gitte: “That your relationship,
family and work are environments
you like being in and where you
can be yourself.”
Kore: “To me, it is important
to have a base that is nice and
tranquil where you don’t have to
worry about anything. Everyone is
where they need to be.”
EnergyMetropolis – 7
H
The new Esbjerg Strand project
AFOR
NEW
PORT
A NEW FUTURE
The irst stage has commenced for Esbjerg Strand which
will become a commercial and leisure area
he port was where Esbjerg was
founded. It has now become a
large and ambitious project that
augurs a new era for the whole area.
Esbjerg Strand is a completely new area
of the city, a new yacht harbour and a
new, urban beach which will become the
centre of a wide range of activities in the
future.
T
The business community will also
have access to a new area with space
for building distinctive headquarters
in close proximity to sea and port. In
many ways, it will be Esbjerg Harbour,
Version 2.0 – a new port for a new era.
8 – EnergyMetropolis
A completely new area of the city which
can be built without disrupting the busy
commercial port.
“In Esbjerg, the city and port have
always been closely related, but due
to security and terror regulations the
port has been off limits to the general
public. So the task was to pinpoint new
locations where the general public
would be able to access the sea and
to offer new experience resources,”
explains architect and partner Dan
Hasløv from Hasløv & Kjærsgaard
architects who has designed the
project.
Esbjerg Strand will become the new
centre for maritime leisure activities
with the relocation of the city’s yacht
harbour, rowing club, kayaking facilities,
harbour school and club houses as
well as the construction of e.g. new
swimming facilities and new waterside
urban spaces.
New cafés, restaurants and shops
are, of course, also part of the plan. In the
longer term, there are plans for a new art
museum, hotel and other tourist facilities.
The area borders the Fishery and Maritime
Museum and the Men at Sea sculpture,
the symbol of Esbjerg, so the whole area
will have a strong power of attraction.
2
A
“... it is a place for
the curious who
want adventure 24
hours a day.”
6
5
4
B
4
C
5
1
3
D
8
7
9
PORT OF ESBJERG
– OVERVIEW
A
THE LAGOON
B
THE HARBOUR ISLAND
C
THE DUNE LANDSCAPE
D ESBJERG BRYGGE
“The northern end of the Port of
Esbjerg has all the opportunities and
it will become a place for the curious
who want adventure around the clock.
It is not difficult to see the potential in
a place with such a fantastic location,
sunset and ships sailing in and out,”
says Dan Hasløv enthusiastically.
A total budget of DKK 400 million
The master plan for Esbjerg Strand
emphasises that the area ‘has a strong
scenic and maritime identity’ where
a special environment with a rich
offering of leisure activities can be
created.
“In terms of nature, it is where the
sea, sky and weather meets. Although
it often requires sensible clothing, it is
bliss for townies,” says the architect
with a twinkle in his eye. His practice
has worked on many maritime projects
over the years.
“People just ind the change from
land to open sea deeply fascinating.
You get outside the safe framework of
the city and really feel the power of the
wind,” says Dan Hasløv.
The irst major construction project
is the new Semco Maritime group
headquarters – the city’s largest
1
Harbour Bath
2
The Men at Sea
3
Café/Restaurant
4
Beach
5
Landing Stages
6
Museum Quay
7
Café
8
Outer harbour
9
Lighthouse
company with ofices all over the world.
The Municipality of Esbjerg has now
released the next 48,000 m2 for ofices
and the sale of the commercial plots will
inance the total budget of approx. DKK
400 million for Esbjerg Strand which will
be realised in several phases.
The Municipality has commenced the irst
phase which includes building access
roads and other infrastructure along the
new Esbjerg Brygge. The master plan
for Esbjerg Strand has been sent out for
consultation this summer, and Semco
Maritime’s new headquarters is expected
to be complete by the end of 2015.
EnergyMetropolis – 9
METROPOLIS FACTS
75%
62%
...of Danish wind turbine exports pass
through the port of Esbjerg
...of Danish offshore jobs
are in Esbjerg
250
13,500
...companies in the energy
sector are located in Esbjerg
...people are employed in
250 energy companies
ESBJERG IS THE GATEWAY TO
NOTHERN EUROPE’S OFFSHORE
ENERGY INSTALLATIONS
10 – EnergyMetropolis
5.
LARGEST
CITY IN DK
115,000
RESIDENTS
th
6,500
60
6
STUDENTS IN HIGHER
EDUCATION
HIGHER
EDUCATION COURSES
HIGHER EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS
Engineering, Cultural
Sociology, Nursing, Technical
Management, Offshore,
Classical Music and more...
2 universities, 1 business
academy, 1 university college,
1 marine engineering college
and a music academy
UNESCO - WORLD HERITAGE
THE WADDEN SEA
The Wadden Sea was designated a
national park in 2014. The Wadden
Sea National Park opened in 2010 and
stretches from Blåvandshuk in the north
through Ribe to Tøndermarsken in the
south.
EnergyMetropolis – 11
Find your own mountain
bike route on vorespuls.dk
THE CALL OF
THE WILD
– BEING ACTIVE
12 – EnergyMetropolis
... We met
three newcomers
to ind out more
about how they use
the area around
Esbjerg.
Kari-Anne Skaset, Civil engineer
Henni Sørensen, Construction engineer
Charlotte Mumm Ring, Doctor
Lots of activities – and lots of room. The scenery in the
Municipality of Esbjerg is a paradise for the physically active.
We met three mountain bikers in Marbæk Plantation
magine putting on your trainers,
pumping up your bike or getting
out your kayak. A short while later
you are far from the city and its hustle
and bustle. A few minutes later you are
in the middle of beautiful scenery. After
about 15 minutes you are all alone in the
middle of nowhere.
Imagine that this is your everyday
life and not just a holiday dream. That
will give you an idea of what the Esbjerg
area has to offer. In most places, nature
is very close at hand – either directly
outside your front door or just around
the corner with room enough for
everyone.
Even in the middle of Esbjerg, the
many green wedges cutting through the
city are never far away, pulling you off
I
the sofa and outside.
The forests, the beaches, the Wadden
Sea, the wide open spaces and the
big sky are some of the eye-openers
that repeatedly surprise visitors and
newcomers when they irst encounter
what the Esbjerg area has to offer.
And if that was not enough, it is
only a short drive to e.g. the wild North
Sea at Vejers Strand, Mandø and the
marshes at Ribe or the unique scenery
on the Skallingen peninsula, just on the
other side of Ho Bay.
Marbæk Plantation just north of
the Esbjerg suburb of Hjerting also
offers a wealth of possibilities along
the Bay, all just a cycle ride from the
centre of Esbjerg. Or run if you are a
half-marathoner.
Marbæk offers e.g. a wealth of
running trails and cycling routes for
mountain bikers. In the summer it is just
a matter of throwing yourself into the
waves if you happen to overheat along
the way. Or take a sleeping bag and
bake bread on a stick around a camp
ire in the evening and sleep in shelters
in the middle of the large forest. Or visit
the Myrthuegaard Nature Centre which
offers a wealth of activities, exhibitions
and opportunities for schools and
nurseries.
EnergyMetropolis – 13
STREETMEKKA
IS THE NEW HOT SPOT
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Street culture will be given a great powerhouse in Esbjerg’s new Street Mekka
katers, grafiti artists, street
dancers, aspiring DJs, freerunners and a wide range of
other sub-cultures will be given a new
home next year in Esbjerg’s old railway
depot.
Esbjerg has been selected as the
location for Denmark’s irst GAME Street
Mekka centre outside Copenhagen in
close partnership between the Municipality
of Esbjerg, Realdania, TrygFonden and
the non-proit organisation GAME, which
works to popularise street sports and
street culture.
S
The idea behind GAME is to offer indoor,
paved facilities inviting young people to
move and cultivate social relationships
across the various activities. And in the
spirit of the project, young people have
been consulted about what they would
like to ind in Street Mekka Esbjerg.
After a couple of workshops, the
response was: skating, grafiti, street
dance, street basket, street soccer,
DJ’ing/beat production and creative
workshops. Apart from that, young
people also want lots of “paved spaces”
for “free-style games” e.g. free running,
hockey, cross it or whatever else they
may dream up once the facilities are in
place.
“We are expecting that this will be
a Mecca for street culture all along the
west coast. At the same time it needs
to be a meet-up point for all the city’s
inhabitants and not only these groups
14 – EnergyMetropolis
– it has to be a place everyone wants to
come to,” says Robert Hansen from the
project’s user forum.
Users are a priority
The Municipality is looking forward to
offering the city’s strong street culture
strong, new facilities.
“We have some young, visionary politicians who spotted the opportunity. This city
also has a really great skater community
which also pressed for these facilities,”
explains Development Consultant Poul
Risom from the Municipality of Esbjerg.
“And we had just the right location for
Street Mekka and funds that we already
had a good relationship with. So everything
just came together.”
The old railway depot is close to the
centre of Esbjerg in just the right kind of
“... it has to
be somewhere
everyone wants
to go”
industrial environment. The few neighbours in close proximity to the facilities
will be given a new noise barrier which
will, of course, on one side also be used
for grafiti. Overall, Street Mekka will be
operated on the users’ terms, but it will
also be their responsibility.
“We want to ensure that it develops
into a great place that has no municipal
employees, but is user-managed and
-operated so that young people can
experience how democracy really works.
Hopefully, the different cultures will
interweave so that partnerships arise
between the DJ school and the dance
hall, for example. We believe very much
in synergy among young people,” says
Poul Risom.
A great place for everyone
This goes for both genders as street
culture traditionally appeals most to
boys.
“We could see that girls were
under-represented so we organised a
workshop at Esbjerg Gymnasium – only
for girls – and that gave us some really
good input. Street Mekka, of course,
has to be a slightly rough, industrial
environment, but it also needs to be
nice. Everyone is equal and equally
welcome. It will be a really good place
which will be able to develop in many
exciting directions artistically.”
Esbjerg has
been selected as
the location for
Denmark’s irst GAME
Street Mekka outside
Copenhagen...
EnergyMetropolis – 15
People come from far away to pick their
own oysters
PICK YOUR
OWN OYSTERS
FOR NEW YEAR
Oysters are popular on many New Year’s Eve menus, but although Denmark
has some of the world’s most delicious oysters, only very few oysters eaten
on New Year’s Eve are Danish. December is peak season for oyster safaris
in the Wadden Sea and for picking fresh oysters for New Year’s Eve.
s New Year’s Eve approaches, it
means the start of peak oyster
season on the west coast
of Denmark. If you want to serve this
popular delicacy for your guests on New
Year’s Eve, grabbing your rucksack and
going on an oyster safari is an excellent
idea. The Wadden Sea near Esbjerg
contains some of the world’s most
delicious oysters – ready to pick and
serve for New Year’s Eve.
A
“The cold months are peak season
for picking oysters and the sea banks
in the Wadden Sea are full of them.
The oysters found in the Wadden Sea
near Ribe are called Paciic oysters and
are some of the best in the world. The
taste of the oysters depends on their
environment. The minerals surrounding
them give them their taste – and the
Wadden Sea oysters have a very fresh,
mild and delicate taste,” says Klaus
Melbye, manager and nature guide at
the Wadden Sea Centre.
Since 2006, 25 tonnes of oysters have
been carried out of the sea in people’s
rucksacks. Each person usually picks
about 100-130 oysters. An oyster safari
means walking out to the large oyster
banks located up to three kilometres
out into the Wadden Sea. Winter is an
ideal time to pick oysters as the risk
of a build-up of toxic plankton algae is
lowest at this time of year.
The Wadden Sea attracts tourists
The Wadden Sea is Denmark’s largest
national park and increasing numbers
of tourists are discovering the unique
scenery on the Danish west coast. Many
people have discovered the tasty food
found in Danish waters and the Wadden
Sea has been the prime location for
these oyster safaris for many years.
“We organise guided oyster safaris a
couple of days before New Year’s Eve. In
recent years, we have seen Zealanders
lock here to pick fresh oysters for New
Year’s Eve themselves. They usually make
up 40% of the group while approx. 20% of
visitors last year were Swedish tourists.
Repeat visitors call the scenery here pure
euphoria and have made it a tradition to
travel across the Danish islands to Esbjerg
to collect oysters,” says Klaus Melbye.
16 – EnergyMetropolis
The Wadden Sea is
full of oysters - and
they are some of the
best in the world.
EnergyMetropolis – 17
The Brons family in the theatre foyer at
Esbjerg Performing Arts Centre.
FROM RIO DE JANEIRO
VIA GRONINGEN IN HOLLAND
TO ESBJERG
Jaco Brons comes from Holland whereas Maria Xavier
Brons grew up in Rio de Janeiro. Today, the couple lives
together in Denmark, more precisely in Esbjerg, with
their two children, Sophie and David aged 3½ and 2.
t is early in the morning and the
wall clock in the kitchen of the
Brons family says 6:30am. It is
a typical morning at the Brons family.
Another ordinary day with work, day
care and after school activities for the
two kids is ahead of them. In that way,
the Brons family looks like any other
family in Denmark, except that the
Brons family is one of many international families in Esbjerg.
I
International children
Two hours later, it is time for Maria to
take Sophie and David to the day care at
the International School, close to their
home. “We moved to Esbjerg from Rio
de Janeiro in July 2012,” Maria says.
“It is really important to us that the
living conditions, especially for children,
are good in Denmark. We are much
aware that our children grow up in a
safe environment and you have that in
Denmark. The high standard of living
in Denmark was also important for our
choice to settle here,” Maria says.
“The kindergarten teachers are really
kind and caring and we feel that the
18 – EnergyMetropolis
„It’s really
important to us
that living
conditions, especially
for children, are
good in Denmark”
International School gives our children
great opportunities. We are also very
happy about the many Danish children
in the International School, because it
is important to us that our children also
have Danish friends.”
Professional start-up
Jaco works at Maersk Oil & Gas, which
is located at the port of Esbjerg and
employs more than 1,400 people onand offshore.
When the family had to make the move
from Rio de Janeiro to Esbjerg, Maersk
arranged the relocation. The company
put an apartment at their disposal to
make sure that the family had a place to
live when they arrived in Esbjerg.
“It was handled very professionally
and they also helped with all the paper
work. They also helped with the paper
work for Esbjerg Municipality, which
in itself was very service-minded and
that gives you an enormous feeling of
security as a newcomer,” Jaco says.
Today, the family lives in Hjerting, a
suburb of Esbjerg, close to the
water and the North Sea where Maersk
extracts approx. 85 % of the Danish oil.
Local international community
In Hjerting, Maria still has some time for
herself before she shall pick up Sophie
and David. During the day, she spends
time learning Danish and she has joined
the newcomer network meetings which
are arranged by Esbjerg Municipality.
Besides that, she is part of the local
hiking group that meets a couple of
times a week. In essence, Maria is really
happy about the many activities in the
local international community.
“At a irst glimpse you might not
believe it, but Esbjerg actually has a big
international community,” Maria says
and continues, “actually, there are many
international families here in Esbjerg.”
An active schedule
It is afternoon and Sophie and David
have been picked up from day care. On
Wednesdays, both children have music
classes while swimming lessons are
every Thursday. All in all, the family
uses many of the opportunities that
”At a first glimpse you might not
believe it, but Esbjerg actually has an
important international community”
Esbjerg has; no matter if it is on a
weekday or during weekends.
“Everything is so close that you can just
take your bicycle wherever you need to
go. If you want to do something during the
weekend there are a lot of opportunities
very close to Esbjerg.” The beach town
of Blaavand, the medieval town of Ribe
and LEGOLAND in Billund are some of
the family´s favourite places to go at
weekends.
“Sometimes we go to Copenhagen or
Hamburg for a few days“ the couple
tells. Occasionally, they go out without
the children, especially when there is an
exciting concert in sight. “We have been to
a Bryan Adams and a Joe Cocker concert
in Esbjerg Performing Art Centre. Those
were very good experiences – they have a
really varied programme so we often ind
interesting events,” the couple, who likes
pop, rock and classical music, tells.
“Actually, the municipality (newcomer
service, ed.) helps out with babysitting.
Since new comers do not have any family
around, it is nice that they have some
recommended babysitters. That makes
parents feel safe when they go out.”
Time for relection
Typically, Jaco is home from work
around 5:30pm and after dinner and
playtime, Sophie and David are bathed
and tucked in. At 8:00 pm, it is parents’
time.
“We are really happy about our
decision on moving to Denmark. Of
course, we had some thoughts of the
weather for example and the adaption
to life in Esbjerg. We came from Rio de
Janeiro, so it is really different for us,”
the couple says. However, they feel the
adaption to life in Esbjerg has been
much better than expected.
When you ask the family about their
plans for the future, the answer is clear:
“We will stay in Denmark for a long
time.”
EnergyMetropolis – 19
EXPERIENCE THE ENERGY
The best way to experience EnergyMetropolis Esbjerg, is by taking part in events
throughout the year.
EVENTS
BLACK SUN
March and October
GUIDED TOURS AROUND ESBJERG
HARBOUR October
MADE IN ESBJERG & ESBJERG FESTUGE
August
BEST PAIRS WORLD CUP
May
CHRISTMAS IN MEDIVAL RIBE
November–December
OYSTER SAFARI
September-April
EUROPEAN CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
November
ÅBENT HUS HIGHER EDUCATION
February
ESBJERG ROCK FESTIVAL
May
IT HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER TO MOVE TO ESBJERG
The recently established newcomer
service headed by Relocation Coordinator
Pia Enemark offers new arrivals in the
Municipality of Esbjerg a one-stop shop.
This is especially useful if they do not
speak Danish.
Newcomers are able to approach Pia
Enemark, for example, if they need help
with the practical formalities involved
in moving, registering for childcare and
schools, house hunting, inding jobs for
partners, choosing a doctor, locating
social networks, associations in the
municipality, language lessons etc. The
newcomer service is offered both as a
personal service at Esbjerg Town Hall,
but also as an e-mail and telephone
service.
Relocation Coordinator
Pia Enemark, Municipality of Esbjerg
T: +45 7616 1616
M: +45 2047 3206
E: [email protected]
Marketing Manager Birgit Bech Jensen
Business Development Esbjerg
T: +45 7512 3744
E: [email protected]
www.EnergiMetropol.dk
KIRK & HOLM
CONTACT