When I moved to Porto, back in 2011, the plan was to stay for a year and then move to Berlin. At that time, I had never been to Berlin before, but I was sure I wanted to be there. Later, I visited Berlin for the first time. It was December, minus 12 degrees, and raining. I still fell in love with it. Ever since, I’ve been coming here to tattoo, and I always feel like I belong. I don’t know if it’s because the city rearranges itself so everyone can fit and be a part of it, if it’s the culture at every corner that inspires me, the permission to not be noticed, or even the lifestyle of cute flea markets and cozy coffee shops. I just know that I feel at ease. All the experiences I’ve had here were positive. All the people I met were so nice and kind, and I really want to be surrounded by kindness. So when we decided it was time to leave Porto, Berlin sounded like the obvious answer.
Three weeks ago, we packed everything once again, left Luxembourg, and arrived at our final destination. We have a house in Berlin, and now we’re slowly trying to make it a home. I’m feeling all the feelings. I’m happy and excited, nostalgic and stressed. I go from “Yay! I’m finally here” to “Oh, fuck! I’m here, now what?”. The possibility of failing is very scary. Moving here was a leap of faith, about trusting my instinct and following my heart. But what if none of this turns out to be the right move?
My TikTok algorithm is now all Berlin. What shops to go to, the new cute coffee shop in the neighborhood, what to wear to increase your chances of getting into Berghain, five hidden gems, the Christmas markets you can’t miss. But it’s also full of people saying that moving to Berlin was the best decision of their lives, and others saying it was the worst. It’s fun but overwhelming, exciting and terrifying. Did I already tell you that I’m feeling all the feelings? Yeah, I’m feeling all the feelings. Ahahah.
I don’t love routine, but I thrive on rhythm, on feeling like my rhythm and the rhythm of the city I live in are in sync. That will take a while, and I’m not very patient. I’m learning, and to be honest, I feel like I’ll be learning how to be patient forever. I’m still looking for a job here. I’m tattooing and working remotely, but I want to find a job in Berlin. I want to explore being a creative director on a different scale, with more freedom to express ideas in new ways. Life here will be easier with a contract and something fixed.
I’ve spent the last 12 years hustling, juggling between a thousand projects and lives. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very thankful for it. I’ve lived many lives, learned a lot, and it truly made me a better professional. For the first time ever, I really feel confident in my work and in my ability to be good at what I do. That being said, I would love to stop hustling, and finding a job here would help. I don’t speak German, which makes my chances a lot smaller, but I’m confident enough to believe it will happen.
At the same time, while reflecting on last year, I realized how amazing 2025 was. I traveled a lot to tattoo, met incredible people, and released two pieces of clothing, which is something I want to do much more of this year. If 2026 is anything like 2025, it will already be amazing. So once again, I need to slow down, trust myself, work hard, and believe that everything will fall into place. Maybe I should focus on the right now.
Right now, I have a cozy house that is slowly becoming a home. The privilege of being able to make such a big change in my life. A cute internet community that I’ve built over the years, yes, I’m talking about you, that makes me feel humble and deeply thankful. Life is good.
The holiday season was cozy and cute, but also a bit weird because it was so different from usual. It started snowing, and I think it’s the cutest thing, even if I almost slipped on the ice a bunch of times. We’ve been trying to go on walks as much as we can and explore the neighborhood.
Berlioz is loving the new cozy home, thank you, German heating. He’s more cuddly than ever and loves to watch the snow through the window. Ted, on the other hand, is not a big fan of the snow. We need to buy him boots. He also doesn’t like living on the ground floor, since he can hear too many noises and barks at everything. It will take time to adjust. Still, he loves our long walks in the park, even if he’s an old guy and walking long distances is getting harder for him.
I feel like I could keep on writing about this whole experience non stop but I will stop now, this is already a massive post. Thank you if you read it up until here ahahah Let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’d like me to share about this whole experience. Or just say hello 😊 I hope 2026 is kind to you!
