On Berlin
Ever since I first got to Berlin, about 7 years ago, I fell in love with the city. Four years ago I spent my first summer in Berlin, living in Prenzlauer Berg. The city offers all I wanted: awesome parties, cheap rents, easy to find a house, very diverse but low-priced food, lots of other young people, very laid back and quite alternative.
Now it’s 2011, and I love Berlin even more. It’s a really good place now to do a startup, as you have lots of other people doing startups, cheap office space, and all of the things mentioned above. However, as this is the third time I spent the entire summer in Berlin, things have changed a little. While the city is still as cool as ever, I changed. I don’t feel the same excitement anymore. The city really has become a comfortable place for me, with all my favorite hang outs.
At this moment in my life, I want to travel. Not a different city every day, but switch cities every few months. Now that I have the time and money, I should also just do that. I’ll start with Granada in September, and not sure where I’ll go after that. On my list are currently Istanbul, Budapest, NYC, SF, Portland, Indonesia, Thailand, Greece and Buenos Aires. I expect this list to keep growing as I see more and meet more interesting people.
As for Berlin, I can really see my self settle down here, but not now. The city is just awesome. For those that haven’t been here: you must go. It is still my favorite city. Berlin: it’s not you, it’s me. I hope we can still be friends.