So many thoughts...we're six years into Berlin and I grok a lot of what you're getting at.
Berlin is also a "small big city", which no native German I've ever met would agree with, except our one friend who did a year of university at UCLA. Coming from LA really sets you up with an expectation of how hard/easy it is to get around. And selling our car when we moved...oh the joy!
Berlin food is outstanding, and being vegan here beyond easy. On the other hand, I was in a small town near Dresden a few weeks ago and the answer to my question, "do you have oat milk (for the coffee)?" was, "natürlich nicht!", or, "of course not!" It was a very friendly "natürlich nicht", in a "oh aren't you sweet, what a silly question" vibe.
Art scene = strong, but I don't go to enough galleries. That's on me. A ton of museums, and I've had a yearly membership pretty much the whole time we've lived here. As such, I feel very surrounded by art, but not as clued into the contemporary scene as I'd like to be.
Meeting people when you're over 40, don't have kids, and work largely alone/home office is tough, language and cultural challenges aside. I'm also pretty much done building an "expat" friend group. I didn't move to Germany to socialise with Americans (and talk about how weird Germany is and how broken the US is). After six years we do have a solid group of German friends, who also socialise with our American & English friends.
The weather this summer has been bizarre. Full stop.
Berlin fashion exists, but you have to be on the lookout. Most of the city dresses like it's 19 years old. Whenever I'm in London I have to hold myself back from buying every outfit I see.
Work vs life, yeah, that's not a small part of why we left. The pace and balance here are 100x better, even when it's actually been a shitty year for me work-wise. Still, the LA feeling of working my ass off to simply tread water is gone.
There's enough friction here for us, and if I had to guess, we're here to stay. Granted, I have no clue what's going to happen next week, let alone in five years - but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on Berlin for many years to come.
I figured I would get some great thoughts from you, you didn't disappoint!
As Kyle always says, there are "worlds of the city" and Berlin, like Los Angeles or London or Paris, is one of those places. It's a hub of culture that spreads throughout the world and has a unique voice. It sounds like you guys have really found a great place that fits what you're looking for, that's so great to hear. A lot of what you've talked about is so important to us, and I hope we find it here or elsewhere, definitely in Europe though lol
Thanks for sharing. “Working and living are different things.” That has been the big theme of my life in the last couple of years. So much of my life was defined by my work when I was younger. It’s nice to get away from that.
Isn't it such a nice change? And, at least for me, I know that I've worked really hard for 25 years, that seems good enough, yeah? haha... Hope you and the fam are well!!
Coupla cuties! It's comforting to read this, even though I haven't lived in Europe, when I moved from NYC to SF I mourned the loss of that excitement and friction you mentioned. I supposed I eventually got used to it and traveled a lot more to find it. Also, had some fun times at Razzmatazz in the early 2000s, maybe it's still fun??
So many thoughts...we're six years into Berlin and I grok a lot of what you're getting at.
Berlin is also a "small big city", which no native German I've ever met would agree with, except our one friend who did a year of university at UCLA. Coming from LA really sets you up with an expectation of how hard/easy it is to get around. And selling our car when we moved...oh the joy!
Berlin food is outstanding, and being vegan here beyond easy. On the other hand, I was in a small town near Dresden a few weeks ago and the answer to my question, "do you have oat milk (for the coffee)?" was, "natürlich nicht!", or, "of course not!" It was a very friendly "natürlich nicht", in a "oh aren't you sweet, what a silly question" vibe.
Art scene = strong, but I don't go to enough galleries. That's on me. A ton of museums, and I've had a yearly membership pretty much the whole time we've lived here. As such, I feel very surrounded by art, but not as clued into the contemporary scene as I'd like to be.
Meeting people when you're over 40, don't have kids, and work largely alone/home office is tough, language and cultural challenges aside. I'm also pretty much done building an "expat" friend group. I didn't move to Germany to socialise with Americans (and talk about how weird Germany is and how broken the US is). After six years we do have a solid group of German friends, who also socialise with our American & English friends.
The weather this summer has been bizarre. Full stop.
Berlin fashion exists, but you have to be on the lookout. Most of the city dresses like it's 19 years old. Whenever I'm in London I have to hold myself back from buying every outfit I see.
Work vs life, yeah, that's not a small part of why we left. The pace and balance here are 100x better, even when it's actually been a shitty year for me work-wise. Still, the LA feeling of working my ass off to simply tread water is gone.
There's enough friction here for us, and if I had to guess, we're here to stay. Granted, I have no clue what's going to happen next week, let alone in five years - but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on Berlin for many years to come.
Keep the newsletters coming!
okay this is reassuring and...confirms that we need to visit Berlin 👀
I figured I would get some great thoughts from you, you didn't disappoint!
As Kyle always says, there are "worlds of the city" and Berlin, like Los Angeles or London or Paris, is one of those places. It's a hub of culture that spreads throughout the world and has a unique voice. It sounds like you guys have really found a great place that fits what you're looking for, that's so great to hear. A lot of what you've talked about is so important to us, and I hope we find it here or elsewhere, definitely in Europe though lol
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing. “Working and living are different things.” That has been the big theme of my life in the last couple of years. So much of my life was defined by my work when I was younger. It’s nice to get away from that.
Isn't it such a nice change? And, at least for me, I know that I've worked really hard for 25 years, that seems good enough, yeah? haha... Hope you and the fam are well!!
Coupla cuties! It's comforting to read this, even though I haven't lived in Europe, when I moved from NYC to SF I mourned the loss of that excitement and friction you mentioned. I supposed I eventually got used to it and traveled a lot more to find it. Also, had some fun times at Razzmatazz in the early 2000s, maybe it's still fun??
We still haven't been to Razzmatazz though have heard a lot of good things! Will have to check it out!