Michaels emigration from the US to Germany: an ongoing adventure.

Who is Michael?

• Hi! I am Michael. I was born in California and grew up in four different places in the U.S., all very far apart from each other with very different cultures. For this reason I like to think I am not only accustomed to living in new places that challenge my comfort zone, but I also feel a deep desire to put myself in that state of change. I am 32 years old and have been living abroad for 8,5 years. First Ireland and for 6 years Germany. You could say I have emigrated twice, both with very different motivators.

What motivated you to move from the US to Europe?

• The first time I emigrated was from Boston to Dublin. At the time I was working full-time in the green-tech energy-efficiency sector and loved my life in Boston. Suddenly, a job offer came to go to Dublin so I questioned everything. I was scared and excited and had two weeks till departure. Two weeks till maybe never coming back; leaving friends, hobbies. routines and my favorite places behind. When I think back, although I liked my life in the U.S., I often had a feeling of not belonging. The need to find my home was there without me knowing it. Worth mentioning is that one of my main hobbies was learning German, so my brain was often overseas anyway, perhaps! At the end of the two weeks I was sitting in a restaurant at a table with my friends and family dropping the news that I would leave the next day and be gone forever.

Starting in Dublin, how was living in Ireland as an American?

• My emigration to Ireland was smooth, aside from the worsening housing crisis. My company helped with paperwork and covered application fees. I even had paid accommodation for my first month. I ended up getting lucky with a relatively central shared flat with two spaniards. Small, expensive, and cash-only rent with no official signed rental-agreement. Welcome to Dublin! The two years I spent in Ireland were amazing. I had a best friend (an Irish guy named Barry) with whom I had coincidentally shared a wonderful weekend in Prague two years earlier. I felt totally accepted by my community and started making more friends by getting involved with sustainability groups like food-sharing, organic agriculture, and city bicycle-infrastructure. Due to the nuances of my job I had lots of time-off in bulk. In these weeks I would travel to mainland Europe, usually Germany, to explore my new domain. My German was approaching fluency when a depression hit. I had been working night-shifts for months and my mental health was suffering. My job was far less satisfying than I had hoped and I found myself needing to get out. Break the mold. I quit my job. Sold all my shit for bike parts, and took off for a bike tour through Southeast Asia with the goal of landing at the end in Germany.

So how did you end up in Germany? 

• I succeeded. Half a year later I was cycling up the Rhine river when I landed on a couch from a contact I had made in a hostel in Cologne. I can’t explain why, but it felt like I was home. Cologne has a reputation in Germany for being one of, if not the most, open-minded cities with the friendliest vibes. (sorry Berlin. you may be more open-minded, but the vibes don’t come close ;P). I recall leaving Cologne and biking to Amsterdam, only to feel a massive confusion and pull to go back. So I did. I found an apartment and three months later had a working visa as a cook in a vegan-buffet restaurant (a step up from working illegally as a bike courier). The visa-situation was far easier in Germany than I had expected. Sure, I had enough money in my account (more than 8k) for them to trust me to hang around for a few months and I came from the U.S. which is not on their “high-risk list”. I am thankful for this privilege. I even recall the immigration office telling me to “just sign up as a student at the university” as it was getting close to the deadline for finding work, which would have granted me a visa immediately.

How is your daily life in Germany? How do you spend your time? 

• I lived in a shared flat with three german girls my age and had such a blast. I felt so at home and welcome even though my German was struggling. Only a few months into living in Germany I found myself in a relationship with a German that would last the next five years. Again, I made friends by getting involved in things like food-sharing and gardening but this time I made deep connections through my wonderful flat-mates that are still lasting today.

What about the practicalities of life in Germany? 

• Six years later I am still here. I left the gastronomy sector and worked in IT for Agriculture for four years while running my own micro-kombucha brewery. I am now completely self-employed in the food-fermentation sector. By the way: part-time work is so easy in Germany. It is becoming a norm and due to the low cost of living, it is very doable. For instance: I live in a flat more than twice the size of my Dublin flat in one of the most coveted areas of the city and pay about 70% of what I was paying in Dublin six years ago. I have a residency permit and am applying for citizenship. 

Why did you stay in Germany? What are the pros and cons? 

• What has kept me in Germany all these years? It is hard for me to say. I miss some things like good food (yes, even in the cities in Germany the food quality is low) and spontaneity (the German society values planned schedules and exact appointments). What I like is the relaxed lifestyle. Things like freetime, physical and mental health, the environment, cultural events and education are important and supported financially by the state. Yes, maybe I wished the Germans would dance more freely or take more risks with their menus, but the trade-off for a society that seems to really care about its people is worth it. I mean university is basically free. For everyone. How cool! We drink in public and demonstrate for the climate. We throw raves in the parks and meet to discuss social issues like women's rights. In Germany, everything is possible as long as it is registered with the city. It is a society of intelligent, structured people that like to make things happen. This is the main reason why I feel at home. 

Do you have any ideas about the future? How you will spend your thirties? 

• My inner-drive for change has been surging for about two years now. I have been learning japanese, went traveling for some months, and can’t get it out of my head that I need to put myself in that state change. The problem now is that I am in my early thirties, have a stable friend-group and a blossoming career network. Things aren’t the same as they were in my early/mid twenties when I still needed to figure out who I am and had the energy to just say “fuck it”. Now I am on a fence. On one side a stable guy who has already emigrated twice and found a place that he calls home, and on the other side the soul that motivated the guy to emigrate and still burns for that “fuck it” moment where everything is raw, fresh and challenging. 

How do you feel about your emigration from the US to Germany now? 

• Moving abroad is amongst the best decisions I have made in my entire life. Sounds nice? Come hang out! Although I might be in Japan ;). Anyway, I have learned more about myself and the world than I ever thought possible. Now, I feel much more like a “person of the world” than a citizen of Germany, which open up the globe to be the next emigration story in my book. The question is now: what do I want out of my human experience? Stability or adventure? I have a hard time answering this question. What helps is making sure to focus on the here and now while simultaneously allowing myself to dream and explore. The next chapter is NOW.

• Thank you so much for reading and for the opportunity to share my story! Much love from Köln - Michael