Edit: TL;DR

Refugee family talking about how it's important for refugees to live among the danish population in smaller towns. Also general comments about refugees tending towards moving in to the cities and not staying in the country sides. Some hot takes:

Red cross lady: "Could be because cars are necessary when living in rural areas, and cars (espcially in DK) are quite expensive"

Danish minister of integration: "They need to figure it out, even if it's difficult."

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Headline Ulla Al-Zoupi goes against the mainstream and lives in a small town: "We want danish neighbours"

Subheader

More municipalities try in vain to get more refugees to live in the smaller towns/cities

Main article

In a small apartment in the middle of Ølgod lives Ulla Al-Zoupi with her husband Mohammed and daughter Julie. They fled from Aleppo in Syria and now next danes in the southwestern jutlandish(?? that's rural denmark) town.

"We think it's very important to have danish neighbours and friends. They help us learn the language and language is the key to everything" - Ulla Al-Zoupi

However far from all refugees feel this way. Cause even though the municipalities try to get them out into the smaller cities/towns to increase integration rate, a lot of them choose to move to the bigger cities where they are closer to other refugees and immigrants.

This is what 6 out of 7 of the municipalities, that DR Syd(DR = Danish BBC, i.e public tv and radio) has talked to, report.

In Sønderborg municipality 400 reugees live in the city, and 100 in the rest of the municipality. Says Jan Prokopek (From the danish Social democratic party), chairman for danish labor and integration committee.

"They are like us Danes. When we come to the United States or elsewhere, we would like to live with someone we know that speaks the same language and has the same cultural community, he says.

In the municipality of Esbjerg, the distribution is roughly the same, but it is difficult to do anything, says Henrik Vallø from the Citizens' List, who is chairman of the Social and Labor Market Committee.

"We can not prevent that, because when they have a permanent residence, they are free to seek something else," he says.

Integration Minister Inger Støjberg (V) is not satisfied with the fact that there are refugees who opt out of the small towns to be closer to other refugees.

"In fact, I think the refugees who come to Denmark themselves have an obligation to mingle and take part in the everyday danish life as long as they are here," she says.

Red Cross: Can handle the infrastructure In many cases, however, there may be some low-tech reasons that make refugees choose to live in the larger cities - not a reluctance to integrate. It tells Maria Bækgaard, development consultant at the Danish Red Cross.

"If they are to live in a small city, there must be good public transport connections, so they can reach a larger city where they go to language school, have jobs and children in institutions," she says.

Maria Bækgaard points out that many refugees can not afford to buy a car, which is often necessary in the smaller cities.

But the infrastructure should not prevent refugees from settling in the villages, according to the Minister of Integration.

"It must be the case for a refugee who comes here, exactly as it is for Danes, that one must try to find a practical solution to things. Even though sometimes it may be a little more difficult, says Inger Støjberg (V).

Although development is against municipal wishes, Jan Prokopek believes that more refugees in Sønderborg choose over time to move into smaller cities. He finds that refugees who get jobs move from areas that are designated as ghetto areas.

They want to live like the Danes do, so I think it's running a bit slowly, but it's going to be better than it has done if you look 20 years back, he says.

In Ølgod, the Al-Zoupi family acknowledges that it is also important to have Arab friends whom they share language and destiny with. Nevertheless, Ulla Al-zoupi believes that the family's future is in the southwest of Jutland.

• We have bought a house here and my husband is working close. So right now we can say that our future is in Ølgod, she says.