Why do I live in Berlin, really? ??

Hey, {{ subscriber.first_name }}! After 3 weeks of traveling, I finally came back to my home base - Berlin. I'm very happy every time I come back from my travels, and this time, extra happy: because I figured out the real reason - the higher purpose - why exactly I chose this place as my home.

"What brought you to Berlin?"

I've been asked this question countless times. The simplest answer I gave was:

"I came to study, found a job, and just stayed."

The longer answer would be:

"I received a scholarship to do my master's degree in Europe. The program included studies in three countries, and the last country of the mobility program was Germany. After I finished my degree, I had no idea what to do with my life, and thought about volunteering on a farm in Italy and then studying languages in Moscow.

But I found a job in Berlin, in a company that has been an industrial partner of my studies. I thought it was the more realistic choice - to get some experiences, save some money, before I figure out the next steps, and maybe move again. After all, during my master's I was moving every 6 months. I got used to the pace, and was already planning where to move next after Berlin.

But 3 months into my job, COVID happened. It became very difficult to move even to the next street.

So I just stayed. I continued with the job. I had more and more friends here. COVID continued and eventually left. I met my boyfriend. I learned German. I became a permanent resident. I became familiar with how things work here in general... so, I just stayed."

Life took me here.

Many people move to Berlin because it's Berlin. Because of the clubbing scene, art scene, music scene, or they really want to learn German, they're really interested in German culture, ...

For me, no one thought it would be Germany.

I showed my talent in foreign languages from an early age, but that was just English. In my circle, everyone wanted to move to the United States. In fact, many are there now, with PhD degrees from MIT or jobs in Silicon Valley; as an ambitious person, I was told that the US was THE place to be.

I did have my American dream for a long time. I even got admission to a PhD program in the US.

But I chose Europe instead, because the European master's program awarded me with a full scholarship; and because, I was already not sure about whether staying in academia or not.

So I ended up with a class of hypermixed nationalities, and lived in Finland, the Netherlands, and Germany.

No one I knew had attended this program. No one I knew had lived in those countries. English was difficult enough for people I knew. And I had to be surrounded by Finnish, Dutch, and German? Plus, no one had ever heard of the universities I attended. They questioned the prestige of my scholarship, and wondered if I was actually doing anything meaningful in Europe.

I thoroughly enjoyed the two years of my master's degree. How I found the job in Berlin, was almost by chance.

During the interview, they asked me about my salary expectations. Having been asked the question for the first time, I said, "You know, my scholarship is 1.000€ per month... If it's a bit more than that, I'm happy."

The interviewers were laughing. Who knows whether I was an idiot or not - but hey, I got the job, and got almost double of my scholarship.

How COVID happened wasn't in anyone's prediction. But that led to changes in my work, my lifestyle, and my decisions about whether to move again or not - which ended up with me already in Germany for 6+ years.

Tough love from Germany

"You like plans so much. Maybe you should go to Germany."

My mother was making fun of me when I was in primary school.

Yes, that showed up quite early: I really liked plans, enjoyed following rules, and always arrived earlier than expected at my appointments.

I fit the German stereotype very well. But that was exactly what annoyed me when I came to Germany at the beginning.

I just started my healing journey after a year in Finland and the Netherlands, with very chill people speaking amazing English, and very individualistic and liberal views of psychology. Once I was in Germany, I was faced with German-only bureaucracy, long delays, and office workers with gloomy faces, asking me for my high school graduation certificate. ??

It felt like everything I was trying to unlearn in the previous year came back to me.

Germany isn't famed for having the friendliest people, the easiest language, or the most welcoming mindset towards internationalization. That became quite personal at the beginning: In fact, during the first 3 years in Germany, I almost didn't learn German at all.

"Why? I already speak English! All of my work and studies are in English. I can't see why I need to learn German, when so many Germans speak English anyway." I thought to myself.

But during the last 3 years in Germany, being with my unconventional German boyfriend (very spontaneous, very much not on time), making friends with Germans of so many personalities, and learning German to B2-C1: I can see that this country, is way beyond strict bureaucrats with gloomy faces.

The more I see, the more I love; the more I forgive the past strict version of myself, the more I see myself as everything - just like this country.

More and more of my emotions are directly felt and expressed in German.

This country is my country. This language is my language.

The higher purpose

It was when I visited a museum in Frankfurt, when I was reminded of the history of the World Wars - that I had tears in my eyes.

Berlin is a city that was destroyed and reborn so many times.

Unimaginable atrocities across Europe were committed by the government in Berlin. Berlin as a city itself, was then largely destroyed. It was then separated into four parts until 35 years ago.

Now, it is a city flourishing with tech startups, artists, and people who either lose themselves in the clubbing scene, or find themselves because you can literally be anything here.

In fact, one of the first events I participated in after I moved to Berlin, was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

What a story of resilience and rebirth!

Art. Science. Violence. Control. Division. Reunification. Diversity. Tolerance.

All of these are part of the history, of the city that has seen all the evil - and now embraces all the light.

Just 100 years ago, all that we have here today was unimaginable: but now this is home for me and my friends from all continents of the world, for authentic food from Vietnam to Mexico, for rich tech executives and beginner artists alike.

The wisdom I connected with at that moment, was that I'm meant to be in Berlin.

It seemed random with the chain of events that I didn't plan all out. It wasn't visible to me, when I only considered it a place with cheaper rents, kebabs, and where my office job was.

But now, as my life and entrepreneurial journey takes me to explore my higher mission: I can see that my soul was called to be here.

My soul feels the soul of Berlin on such a deep level, that it knows that this is my home before my brain made the decision.

That's how the things that were difficult elsewhere became so smooth sailing for me here. The magic of alignment told me: you belong here.

So as I've nomaded around the world, and will continue to nomad around the world...

I know the reason why my home base is, and will continue to be Berlin: my self-empowerment journey is deeply aligned with the many times of rebirth of this home that I choose. ??

Why do you live in ___, really?

Where do you live now, and why are you there? Are you connected with the higher purpose of your location? Let me know with a reply, or with the poll below ??

Do you know why you live in ___, really?

Very much ?? More or less ?? Maybe ?? Not sure ?? No idea at all