It’s a bit of a weird feeling.
We’re living in our dream apartment in an amazing city. On so many levels everything is better than anything we could have ever hoped for and on paper, everything looks amazing. Reality though is a bit different.
Today is exactly a year to the day that we packed our bags and moved across Europe to live in Berlin.
I honestly have no idea where the last year has gone. It’s been a total whirlwind, to say the least.
In the space of just 12 months, we sold our house in Manchester, moved across Europe, moved into a temporary rental apartment, bought a new home and have finally started renovating our new apartment.
To say that it’s been full on would be a bit of an understatement. There’s also no denying that it’s been a tough year.
If you’ve been following our journey for a while, you’ll know that we’d not planned or even expected to move. We were in the middle of buying an amazing new house which needed some serious TLC and we were happily settled in Manchester.
Then literally overnight everything changed for us. (You can read about our reasons for moving here.)
I know that a lot of people thought that we were being dramatic packing our bags and moving but now that some time has passed we’re more certain than ever that it was the right decision for us.
This isn’t meant to sound overly negative. Life just sometimes throws you a curveball and you have to do what’s right for you.
Everyone probably knows how stressful a move can be but giving up your home, your friends, your job – basically your whole life and moving to a city you’ve spent less than a week in (& three of those days were spent apartment hunting) is not exactly for the faint-hearted.
There are things we miss about living in the UK and I definitely go through phases where I hate how our lives have changed. The older you get, the more difficult it gets. Meeting new people, getting settled, starting a new life isn’t easy.
It’s exciting, sad, invigorating, overwhelming, exhilarating and draining all in one go. Whilst I can probably never say that moving when we did was the right decision I know in my heart that it was the right thing for us to do.
Do we miss our home? Yes, of course! It was the first home we ever owned and it will always hold a very special place in our hearts. I know each creaky floorboard, every crack and every botched renovation (yes, there were some!).
It’s really not all bad though!
As much as we miss our lives and living in Berlin is taking some getting used to, we are also slowly starting to feel settled. Moving into our dream apartment and being able to DIY again has definitely made life feel more normal again!
I can’t wait to see what the next year brings! I totally admit that I hope it’s a bit calmer than the last 12 months though!
Most importantly though, we’d like to thank everyone who took the time to comment, email and share their wishes and words of advice after we shared the news of us selling our home and moving to Berlin. It really meant so much to us and helped us get through our transition!
Have you ever had a year or event that completely turned your life upside down? Have you ever moved home (or country) and regretted it? Did anything big change for you in the last year?
I remember my sadness and anger when I heard you were moving. I didn’t `know’ you personally, but I did know you through this site. You lived in Manchester a city I spent much of my childhood in and around. I felt ashamed that the country I had been born into and been so proud off was turning into a place I didn’t recognise. To be honest if emigrating was an option I too would have flown England.
I wrote to you then, as I am now. Thanking you for your honesty and inspiration, and hoping that you both could hold on to the good
that you’d found in England, to keep being inspiring from where ever you were and to be happy in your new home/venture.
I’m delighted that, those wishes all came to fruition :-)
As to your questions Have you ever had a year or event that completely turned your life upside down? Have you ever moved home (or country) and regretted it? Did anything big change for you in the last year?’
2007 my significant other who I had shared my life with for 20+ years died 4 months after we got engaged, 10 months before our wedding. That totally turned my life upside down and inside out, it meant that in 2012 I had to sell my home of 35 years, give up my cats, dogs, chickens, tropical fish, bearded dragon and chameleon. I lost friends/family along the way and I went from walking with a stick to being wheelchair bound. I moved from my 3 bedroom, 2 reception room + conservatory and 100′ garden to a 1 bedroom rabbit hutch (a ground floor flat) without even a pocket handkerchief garden. Much as I’ve tried over the intervening years it’s remained `the flat’ it isn’t home and never will be. I’m hoping to move into a bungalow but that could be years off, even though the flat is far from ideal with my health issues. Despite that I have made a life in my new town, I craft, do Adult Ed and plan how the bungalow will not only be my last move but will be my forever home too.
This year I’ve had a hearing aid fitted and that too has turned my life upside down. Not only am I hearing things I’d lost, I’m hearing things I never knew made a noise. Knitting needles, computer keys, a pen writing on paper plus many, many more. At the moment it’s a noisy, overwhelming world so I wear my hearing aid in short bursts as I learn about my new world.
Take care both of you and keep sharing. I have my fingers crossed you’ll try a glass project as I’m sure you’d really enjoy it and your apartment is a beautiful canvas for it :-)
Lucy, Kent ~ a sadder England`
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Lucy! To go through such difficult times yet still be full of positiveness and hope is truly inspiring!
I know exactly what you mean about not feeling at home somewhere. Our temporary rental flat felt the same for us – it was perfectly fine, it just wasn’t home. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for you that you manage to move into your forever bungalow as soon as possible!
I’m so happy to hear that your hearing aid is improving your quality of life. I can remember when Jan’s aunt who was already in her 90ies had her eyes lasered and could see again – she was a different person! Hope you have fun rediscovering sounds you’d forgotten about!
Cx
PS. I will definitely try a stained glass project! Still too scared to repair our sliding door though! ;)
Thank you both for the crossed fingers :-)
I do understand the anxiety re your door but delighted that you’ll try a smaller project.
Got a fantastic link to a site full of great tips for copper foiling/came stained glass, drop me
a line if you want it, when you’re ready to go.
Glad you still visit, even though no longer home.
Lucy
Thank you for sharing your honest thoughts on the matter. I know exactly how this feels. Feeling unsettled and not welcome any more watching the daily theatre on the news, and simply not knowing – that is the worst. So we (British Husband and me) are upping sticks and at the end of the month will move back to Germany. Like you we have chosen an area which is completely new to us and therefore there is some anxiety as well as anticipation and joy to begin the new chapter of our lives. Thank you for your inspirational blog. All the best.
Thank you for sharing your story! I’m so sorry to hear that you also felt like leaving was the best option for you. I totally understand that the uncertainty of what will happen is stressful and unnerving. It’s the main reason we left, too!
Good luck with your move & hope you have fun on your new adventure!
Cx
Its a shame you decided to leave because of Brexit. For many of us, it’s the best thing that could possibly have happened to the UK. A rejection of the statist control of the EU and a sign to the world that the UK is a thriving, liberal democracy open to people from all over the world. I understand not even sees it that way, but of course we all hope it’s a huge success.
Your new flat is beautiful. I hope you love it and will want to come back to the UK soon and start on your next project!
Everyone in Europe would benefit from all countries being successful and I’m sure everyone is hoping that the UK will be, too. One of the reasons we chose to move to Berlin is because it’s a particularly open, liberal and multicultural city and we felt like the UK was losing some of those values that were important to us. I guess no one really knows what will happen but for us, the uncertainty was too much of a risk to take.
We’re regularly back in the UK visiting friends and although we’ll never call it home again, it will always be a special place for us.
Cx
Hi Christine,
Loved this post. I know all about moving abroad – have done it several times – and (not) feeling at home. We bought our first home here in the UK in December 2015 and I got so much DIY inspiration from your blog (thank you!!). After all the Brexit developments we too have decided to leave. Living here just feels different now and we’re not exactly thrilled to be part of the 3 million club and being used as bargaining chips. We will move back to the Netherlands in 2019. I try not to think about it too much, I’m still doing projects (painting the stairs at the moment :) and we got a new kitchen two months ago!), and I want to enjoy the time we have left here. I’ll be sad to leave, but I also look forward to returning. It feels like it’s time, you know? I left 12.5 years ago and have lived in several countries, met all kinds of people and have learnt so much. I’m very grateful for this experience.
I still follow your stories and I love seeing your apartment getting transformed :)
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Maaike! I know exactly what you mean about living in the UK feeling different. It’s hard to put into words or even name a specific reason why but there was a definite change.
It’s sad that you have to leave your house after spending so much time renovating it but it’ll always be something you can look back on and be proud of!
As you said, leaving is sad but exciting, too. We’ll both always have the experience of living in different countries (I lived in Den Haag for a short time, too), meeting new people and experiencing new adventures to look back on. I guess that it’s just a shame it had to end the way it did but life is all about doing what feels right for you and your family!
Enjoy the rest of your time in the UK!
Cx
It is normal for such a major move to be incredibly jarring, and it is no wonder that this has been a rough year. My hope for you is that Berlin becomes the city that you love and adore and can’t imagine living anywhere else!
You’re totally right, of course, Caitlin! It’s definitely been difficult but I guess that was to be expected. Out of all German cities I’ve visited, Berlin is definitely the right one for us.
Cx