Relocated to Berlin: Finding Something to Do

I've mentioned this before, but my wife and I have been planning this move to Berlin for over a decade.  I got my MBA back in 2005 as part of my effort to make myself more professionally marketable in Berlin.  We sent our daughter to a German school in the United States for four years to ensure that her transition to a Berlin public school would be as seamless as possible.  But one nut that we could never quite crack while still living in the United States was finding a job in Berlin before we moved over.

This is one of those things that has always driven me absolutely nuts.  We have tons of friends who want nothing more than a quiet life in the American suburbs, when their boss calls them in one morning to tell them that they need to move to some exotic location on the other side of the world.  As I have mentioned before, we would avidly watch House Hunters International, and the "stars" more often than not had neither the desire nor the intent to live overseas, until they got a job transfer that was too good to pass up.  I see no point in jealousy, but I sure did seethe with some mysterious emotion that felt a lot like jealousy.

As for me, I have wanted to live and travel abroad for as long as I can remember.  I got my BA in International Politics because I wanted to live and work abroad.  I built up my professional skills and experience in areas that I thought would give me greater opportunities to work abroad.  I married a woman who shares my love of travel and desire to live and work abroad.  And yet, the one company that provided me the greatest opportunities for professional growth - and to which I dedicated my professional career so far - is also probably the only company in Washington, DC that neither conducted any business further abroad than Windsor, Ontario, nor ever seemed to want to.

God almighty, it was frustrating to be "housebound" to the domestic market!  But the golden handcuffs of a substantial paycheck coming from a successful business is difficult to unlock.

Until the day that I finally ripped them off.

Being a true American, I find that few things focus the mind and motivate efforts more than desperation.  I couldn't dedicate myself fully to finding new work if I was already fully occupied at my old job.  But if I am living solely on savings while trying to find work, I have a strong encouragement to find that work as quickly as possible.  And so, without any idea of how I would find a job in Berlin, I resigned from my old job.  I have skills.  I have experience.  I am ambitious.  And if I may be allowed to brag, I like to think that I am slightly less -ahem- not-so-bright than many people out there (of course, most people think that about themselves, so that probably just makes me about average).  Surely, so I convinced myself, somebody in Berlin would need what I have to offer.

And so, I have hit the ground in Berlin running.  I have been talking to everybody I can find who has any kind of entrepreneurial or business contacts.  I have been seeking out startup businesses that need an experienced manager who can help them expand into the North American market.  I have been seeking out American companies that are expanding operations in Europe, and who need experienced people who are already on the ground here.  I have been contacted about starting a European chapter of a professional association to which I belonged in the U.S.  I have been war gaming my own entrepreneurial ideas.  I have even been working pro bono on a strategy paper for a neighbor of mine who is interested in fielding a new marketing concept in the renewable energy industry.  In the meantime, I send out at least one resume a day in the hope that I can generate some interest.  If life has taught me anything, it is that the biggest opportunities are the ones you least expect, so I have tried to avoid focusing too laser-like on a single career path.  Rather, I have been advertising my skills and experience, and have invited companies to utilize those assets where they think they would be most profitable.

At this point, this job search isn't even about making money (yet).  I have a freelance work visa here in Berlin, so I can do pretty much whatever I want to do from home.  I just miss working in an office with other professionals.

I know there are jobs out there for me in Berlin.  Everybody I talk to says that there are companies here that would trip over themselves to hire me.  The trick is finding them. 

Relocated to Berlin: Signing Up for School

I will admit to not knowing much about the German public school system when we started looking for a place for my daughter to go to school.  For the past four years, my daughter had attended the Deutsche Schule just outside of Washington, DC, and this school follows German standards and curriculum.  But the Deutsche Schule is an exclusive private school that caters to the children of diplomats and Volkswagen/Audi executives, and we would be sending our daughter to a Berlin neighborhood public school.

Our minds were not set at ease when, before we left Washington, our daughter's former Kindergarten teacher warned us that we were making a horrible mistake by not sending our daughter to Berlin's private and exclusive John F. Kennedy School.  While she had never lived nor taught there herself, this teacher said she has friends who live in Berlin who tell her horror stories about Berlin public schools.

At the same time, we had no desire to send our daughter to some private American enclave on the other side of the city.  The whole purpose of our move was to at least try to "go native."  We were tired of long commutes to and from school.  We were tired of our daughter not having any neighborhood friends because she went to a different school from everybody else.  We were determined to go the neighborhood public school route.  If it really turned out to be a disaster, we could always transfer our daughter to JFK or some other private school at some point in the future.

Fortunately, as with public schools around the world, much of whether a school is good or bad depends on the engagement of the parents in the educational process.  In Berlin, all schools receive the same amount of funding per student, regardless of neighborhood or school district.  But some schools are extremely successful, while others fail, because the parents take an active part in supporting the teachers and school administration while pushing their own children to take advantage of their educational opportunities.  Our daughter's school is one of these places where parental involvement has bred success.

Admittedly, it was something of a surprise to visit the school for the first time.  While it would look familiar to anybody who ever attended a Midwestern Catholic parochial school - as both my wife and I have at some point in our lives - with ancient red brick walls, heavily worn stone staircases, and Spartan looking decor, it was a far cry from our daughter's former digs.  Her "new" school was built between 1873 and 1877, making it one of the oldest remaining elementary school buildings in Berlin (although it was renovated in 2006).  Unlike the bucolic suburban splendor of her previous school, her new school has no green space to speak of - although the classes do make regular trips to some spectacular local parks if the kids need to run around more than the sandy school playground allows.

Perhaps the most stark reminder that our daughter is not going to a suburban private school in the United States any more comes from the lyrics of her new school's official school song.  I clearly remember my own school's official song waxing poetic about the waving school colors.  Our daughter's new school's song reminisces over how the children used to have to "stand firm" for the Kaiser, about how they would have to learn how to dodge falling bombs to get to school, and about how they tasted freedom for the first time - just 24 years ago - when the Wall fell.

Despite the stark differences, our daughter loves her new school.  She has teachers who challenge her.  She has friends from all over the world with whom she can visit regularly after school.  Her new school is even in the process of building a brand new gymnasium which is scheduled to open in the fall.  As parents, my wife and I could not be happier.