Expat stories |
Living in Central Denmark
2 November, 2020
Not quite happy with the path he had chosen within sales development, Bulgarian Stanislav Petkov decided, back in 2013, to make a new start. He wanted to pursue a career within engineering. "I quickly narrowed down my choices to Aarhus and London," recalls Stanislav. Of the two exciting study destinations, Central Denmark offered free education and a lower cost of living.
After a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at Aarhus University, Stanislav continued onto a master’s degree in Herning. But his first semester was quickly interrupted by an irresistible job offer from Baettr, a company providing services to the frontrunning Danish wind industry – an industry that is deeply rooted in Central Denmark. Today, he still works at Baettr as change management engineer.
Stanislav’s wife, Antoniya, was working as a recruitment consultant in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, when Stanislav left to study abroad. After a few years, she decided to join him in Aarhus. “I had a great job in Sofia, so it was a huge decision for me to leave.”
She laughs when talking about her first impression of Aarhus as a small city, because she now lives in even smaller Ringkøbing, where the family recently bought a house. “Coming from Sofia, I remember thinking that Aarhus was rather small, but nice, and that we would manage to get by. I never imagined that we would move to an even smaller town. But now I’m glad that we did!”
When Stanislav was offered a job at Baettr, the couple started exploring the surroundings. Stanislav remembers walking down the streets of Ringkøbing: “it looked like a fairytale town, with the cobblestones and small brick houses. Then we came down to Ringkøbing Fjord – and we completely fell in love.”
The small family has grown with 2-year-old Kristoffer and 5-months-old Dara since their move to Ringkøbing. “This is a good place to raise children, in calm and safe surroundings,” says Stanislav. Here, a trip to the library, which is one of Kristoffer’s favorite places, is easily combined with a trip in nature – as the fjord is never far from downtown. A good way to satisfy everybody’s interests.
Antoniya, who is now on maternity leave from her job as recruitment consultant at IT Optimiser in Skanderborg, doesn’t regret her decision to move. “It takes time to get integrated into a small, local community, but once you succeed, you experience a kind of proximity that you will not find in a bigger city. In big cities, most people just blend in with the crowd. That is not possible here – especially not as a foreigner! But I like that. I feel like I have gotten a stronger identity here. I want the same for my children and that’s why we have bought a house and are planning our future here.”
