Young LA Family Go On Two-Week Vacation To Denmark, Decide To Stay Forever

The COVID-19 pandemic led many people to make some huge changes in their work and home lives. But one American family has told Newsweek how they ended up “accidentally” moving from Los Angeles to Denmark during the global outbreak.
Their story was highlighted in a video posted on Instagram by Brooke Black (@brookeblackjust), who is a global communications director at a Danish podcast and audiobook company based in Copenhagen, the Danish capital. The clip has garnered 745,000 views since it was posted on July 23.
The video begins with a message overlaid on the screen stating: “Exactly 4 years ago today, we accidentally moved from the U.S. to Denmark. We came to visit Danish family two weeks in July 2020.”
The footage shows the family sitting on a nearly empty “COVID plane,” highlighting the surreal and empty travel conditions during the pandemic. “There had been only one other person on our plane,” Black told Newsweek.
Reflecting on the surprising turn of events, Black wrote in the caption “How did our family of 4 end up living in Denmark? It was sort of by accident. I never knew life (or COVID) would take us here, and it’s 4 years to the day we arrived on that empty plane. Sometimes I still can’t believe we did this.”
Black and her family were not alone in their move during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. Around one in five U.S. adults (22 percent) were found to have either changed their residence due to the pandemic or know someone who did, according to a survey of over 9,600 adults in the U.S. conducted in June 2020 by the Pew Research Center.
Around one in 10 adults aged 18 to 29 (nine percent) said they moved due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which was higher than the share in any other age group, the survey found.
Explaining the circumstances of her family’s move to Denmark, Black, who did not reveal her age, told Newsweek: “I had my second baby a week before lockdown during the pandemic. When it came time to send my older daughter back to day care, we didn’t feel comfortable since Los Angeles was a COVID hotspot at the time.”
They decided to visit family in Denmark instead and “wait it out.” The couple weren’t sure if they’d be able to get into the country, “since so many had shut their borders,” Black noted. “But Billund Airport [in Copenhagen] was nearly empty and a woman working there basically said ‘Are you Danish or what?’ And my husband said ‘yes’ and she pretty much just waved us through,” she said.
The viral clip features scenes of the family experiencing Danish traditions and immersing themselves in the local culture. They try a popular Danish snack, the “fransk hot dog,” and their baby is seen sleeping in a “baby duffel bag” placed in a pram outdoors. Another shot shows the family watching a “weird Danish TV” program featuring the Danish rock band Gnags.
Black said: “Many of these scenes [in the viral video] are from the small village we lived in with straw roof houses—it was truly magical. My daughter had her first French hot dog,” which is “a popular grab and go snack” made from a hollowed-out baguette with a hot dog inside, drizzled with French dressing.
“My husband’s family let us borrow a pram because babies sleep outside. It was so cute to see our infant in this little baby duffle bag. Immediately, I was watching weird Danish TV and learning about Danish bands through music videos like [one featuring] Gnags,” she noted.
She recalled: “Danish summer was in full swing in the countryside [at the time they arrived in Denmark] and it felt too good to be true. We were picking fruit off the trees and bushes and there were rolling wheat fields. My husband’s dad had a motorcycle shop, so he took my daughter for a ride in the sidecar.”
Black added that she’s also experienced the Hjejlen, the world’s oldest original coal-fired paddle steamer still in operation, in the Jutland region. The family embraced the Danish way of life, even joining a neighborhood farm share where they helped in the garden and picked vegetables. The clip also shows the main street in Aarhus, a city located about 30 minutes from where they lived.
Reflecting on their new life, Black said: “The work-life balance here is really wonderful,” noting the 37-hour workweek and generous paid holiday allowances of five to six weeks.
She noted: “Healthcare is free and trust is a huge part of Danish society. I sometimes feel my kids are getting a 1980s childhood that doesn’t exist in other parts of the world. They bike to each other’s houses, they gain a lot of independence and responsibility early on. It’s really special.”
However, Black also acknowledged the challenges of adapting to a new country. She said: “The downside is trying to make friends and fit in. I’ve taken four years of Danish class, but I still miss a lot of things and it can sometimes feel lonely in a big group of Danes speaking Danish where I can’t keep up.
She added: “My kids are bilingual now, which is something I always wanted for them (and myself), but I can’t always understand them. Takes a bit of your agency away when you can’t navigate things easily as you would in your native language.”
The video concludes with a message noting that their return to the U.S. was delayed until they felt comfortable going back. However, two weeks turned into three months, and eventually into years.
“So many kind people lent us things since we only had two weeks of stuff with us. Eventually we decided to stay for good and now it’s been 4 years,” Black said in the caption of the post, adding “while it’s a big change from LA, we’re very grateful.”
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