Why I decided to Live in Berlin for 6 weeks.
It’s the first month into my year-long sabbatical and so far I have been pretty busy.
- Sleeping and decompressing
- Tying up some old projects.
- Spend some time visiting friends in NYC & Toronto.
- Started learning to make podcasts (recorded 3 in two weeks).
- Trying to figure out with this sabbatical all is about.
Back home in Belgium I was contemplating my next mission, together with a pretty basic question, "where should I live?" Going to abroad by myself was one of the ideas that popped up.
I always said Berlin is the city was the only European city I would consider moving to. I gave it some thought and in the end of the day, I didn't find any reason to not do it, so I booked a ticket to Berlin 2 weeks later.
Sometimes we just get stuck by looking for a reason, excuse or even permission to do something.
Why not just stay home?
For me there there were two good reasons not to stay in Belgium
- Not working basically means stepping outside society. I know that by staying I would drive my friend and family crazy, just by them working their face off and me not doing anything useful in particular.
- A big part of my mission is learning more about building meaningful relationships. Belgium is just not at all a great place to meet new people. By the time you hit my age you probably already have all your friends in place and aren't looking for more. The only people who are interested in meeting you are those looking for a serious relationship and who want to get married next week.
Why did I pick Berlin?
When deciding on a city I had some parameters in mind.
- A European city cause I didn't want to deal with visa's. (I also miss you NYC)
- Great public transportation, renting cars is expensive. (Considered going to the middle of nowhere Italy, pizza & gelato!)
- English as a main way of communication. (Florence is still on my list)
- Not too expensive. (Which rules out London)
Picking Berlin was a little on the defensive side. Indulge me though as living in a city where I literary know no one is new for me There are a lot of (east) European cities I heard great things about and would even have been cheaper.
What will I be doing there?
This is the most commonly ask question when my trip is brought up.
- I am not going on a vacation.
- I won't be working, as I am on a sabbatical.
- I am just going to live.
So what does that mean?
A lot of people would struggle to figure out what to do and who they are if they wouldn't be working or on a vacation.
I also have no answer for you, and that exactly is why I am going; to figure this out.
How can you help me?
I don't know anyone in Berlin (yet) so feel free to introduce me, always excited to mee new people.
After Berlin I probably want to check out other cities. Any recommendations? Cities? Places to live?
