Moses2013

I always thought Berlin was very grim and never understood the hype in recent years. Although I still have family in Germany, I've been away over a decade now, back to UK for a short period and in Ireland ever since. I still work for the German market and drive there now and then but apart from that I couldn't see myself living there again. The biggest downside for me is the amount of unfriendly people and Covid has made me realise that even more. A day in Dublin is enough for me but at least here I can escape to the beach and avoid the larger crowds. In Germany it just seems you can't avoid people anymore and the nice spots are overcrowded, be it lakes or even the beaches further North. For me personally not being in the EU would be a big downside, especially as we also bought in Spain and just having one currency makes life easier, though I'd take Cornwall over Berlin :-)

AngloFox

I think the Berlin hype was and is still mainly from the 20-somethings. People older than that and who have "been there and done that" see through it.

The rudery in Berlin I also objected to and don't think I could tolerate it again. Berliner "schnauze'" can be funny, but you can keep the prolo rudery.

Also the rigid "sitting tenant" mentality there which permeates the place. 85% or so of them rent. I got tired of people asking me "how did you get the apartment" (and "the" apartment, as if there is ever only one - I have rented many apartments, both in Berlin and elsewhere in Germany - and the world). And the way they asked the question - dipping their head forward conspiritorially and lowering their voice - as if they think you are about to reveal some special secret tip that only they will get to know about.

I just used to respond "I just went and rented it". To which I would invariably get a look of incomprehension and they would just stare. Also got tired of being asked "how much rent you pay" and for how many square meters!

A bit of a business and enterprise hostile place - all this eco and "anti-capitalist" stuff. Time they grew up.

Musk is finding all this out for himself now with the hassle he is experiencing trying to build a Tesla car factory in Brandenburg on the Berlin city borders.

All the whingeing and whining about "Grundwasser" - with nuclear power and all things eco their fav hobby horse (pity their health and eco obsession does not seem to extend to their high levels of cigarette smoking) .Not to mention dirty diesels, dirty diesel fiddle, and coal power stations still open whereas UK have practically closed all theirs.

Stuttgart 21 - the rail and road tunnel project under the city - they were all whingeing about "Grundwasser". London has built Crossrail a similar project, but I dont recall Londoners making a big fuss about "ground water". Germans have it far too good. Too pampered. Need to get real. Berlin Brandenburg needs jobs, not worrying about "grundwasser" and flying bats (yes Musk has to arrange new habitats for them).

I always thought Berlin is a city which lives on a dreamland image in people's own heads - kind of Alice in Wonderland. All the Wall, GDR Stasi, checkpoint Charlie, 3rd Reich bunker stuff. All deadbeat stuff from the past which isnt going anywhere.

I aint got no time for any of that

ps and cold, cold cold ass winters. No thanx.

Nand

Hmmmm. Maybe a trip to east Germany is not in our future, Thanks for the candid review AngloFox !

AngloFox

Why not? One can always make a trip, I dont want to discourage anyone from visiting anywhere. Visiting and living in a place are two different things. Berlin/eastern Germany is a great place to visit. Can also be great to live in but it does have its pros and cons. (But I wouldnt advise visiting in winter - unless you are ok with very cold weather).

jenninedinburgh

Hello to the OP,

I agree with what others have said. Stop worrying about your age. 40 is the new 25 anyway - haven't you heard? When you are 85, you'll think back to being 40 as a time when you were young! I am 48 and guess what....I STILL want to move somewhere else. In fact, I have moved between the US and UK at least three times!

Someone else mentioned the third country syndrome....this is a thing and be prepared. You won't exactly feel 'at home' in any place as you will miss things about the other(s) when not there. I miss Scotland all the time. But when I remind myself of the darkness and dreariness of the winter and how I can go outside and just jump in the pool and in the sun, it helps to center me.

The key message I get from reading your posts is that you are really searching for something else. I think you are searching for connection with others - and it is something you are not getting right now. Many of us who have been locked at home during the pandemic, or are still having issues in one way or another, are mentally traveling to more positive days. We therefore sometimes deal with adversity by thinking backward to better times and then forwards to anticipate better days. I've done this a lot this past 17 months or so.

So, I'd say stop worrying and just try it out. Put your stuff in storage and rent a flat in Bristol - or elsewhere. If you are remote, why not just be a digital nomad for a while and try a few different places. I highly recommend Scotland...but I am biased!

Good luck to you.

Frankie0089

Well I could have written a lot of this myself. I am almost 58, a fairly recent widow, and have lived away from the UK for almost 30 years. I have always thought that I would move back to the UK “one day”, but definitely the loss of my American husband in April 2020 has precipitated this strong desire to be close to family again (we didn’t have any kids). The past 16 months grieving alone with Covid isolation to boot has been an extremely challenging time. But I have survived so far, and so am making plans.

There are some things I am concerned about: I am 100% anticipating suffering from Third Party Country Syndrome! Will I fit in anywhere? Will I be bored out of my brain and really miss the Florida sunshine (won’t miss the hurricanes). There are folks here who “just love my English accent” and most likely people back home will think I act like a loud and obnoxious American. Will I be able to find employment at my age that I can enjoy? (I’m used to running a business with my husband). And the irony is my family will probably treat me as a novelty for a couple of weeks and then resume their normal lives, lol.

But if I have learned anything during this period, it’s that life is very fragile, you only live once, and if you really want to try something, give it a shot. If you don’t like it, you can always try something else, yes? Starting over doesn’t mean starting empty handed, we need to look at our next step as a new and exciting adventure. As I said to my friend the other day, if I want to make myself a new omelette back home, I’m going to need to break a few nest eggs. Maybe we should start a spin-off support group…

Good luck to you!