In Denmark, the usual reason people work here despite higher salaries elsewhere is that many people just strongly prefer to live in Denmark (or if not in Denmar

In Denmark, the usual reason people work here despite higher salaries elsewhere is that many people just strongly prefer to live in Denmark (or if not in Denmark, at least in the Nordic region), for a mixture of cultural and quality-of-life reasons. The specific reasons vary based on the person, but some include: this is where your family/friends already are, prefer the urban layout of the cities (transit, biking, safety, etc.), prefer the working conditions (hours, vacation policies), prefer the social support, especially for families (subsidized childcare, parental-leave policies, no university tuition), etc. That and reasons like people wanting to raise their kids as Danes, which is harder to do if they grow up elsewhere. It's very common for people to work abroad for a bit in their 20s, though, as a kind of seeing-the-world thing that combines work and tourism, and then return later.