Meet Claire, an American living in Berlin and holding a Germany Freelancer Visa.
Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Current location: Berlin, Germany
Occupation: Freelance writer and SEO consultant
Hiya! I’m Claire, a Midwestern girl who packed up her life to pursue a freelance career in Berlin, Germany.
After three wonderful years in NYC as an associate food editor, the startup I worked at was bought by a larger company. My entire team was laid off shortly thereafter.
After some tears and a good night’s sleep, I started researching how I could make my dream of living in Germany a reality. I stumbled upon the Germany Freelancer Visa and decided then and there that I’d start my own freelance business.
One year after being laid off, I’d built up my freelance writing and SEO business enough to move to Germany! I’m due to renew my visa in 2021 and am crossing my fingers that everything works out.
Save for later: What to Do in Berlin in 2024 (Tips from a Local Tour Guide!)
Education Background
Did you attend college? If so, where, and how did you choose that school/those schools?
I received my Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington and triple majored in English, Germanic Studies, and International Studies. IU was actually the only in-state school that I applied to. I was desperate to attend college outside of Indiana, but in the end, my parents told me (rightly so!) that it was better to go to college in-state. That way, I could graduate debt-free and immediately start saving money post-grad to put toward my future travels. The best advice I’ve ever gotten, and I’m so grateful that I was able to start traveling the world as soon as I got my first “real” job!
Did you participate in study abroad while at school? For how long, and with what program?
As part of my International Studies degree, it was required that I study abroad for at least one semester. Because I’d been taking German classes since the ninth grade, I knew I had to get my butt to Germany for a semester. IU had a sister university in Freiburg, Germany (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), so that’s where I ended up studying in the spring of 2015.
If you studied abroad, would you recommend the experience?
Yes, yes, yes!! It sounds cliche, but I truly learned so much about myself while studying abroad for a semester. So many good things came out of my time abroad. I started Tall Girl Big World as a way to document my study abroad adventures and I traveled solo for the first time. I was pushed completely out of my comfort zone by speaking German 24/7, and much more.
Related reading: Expats in Berlin – How Outsiders Shape the German Capital
Looking back, I feel like my semester abroad ushered me into adulthood because it was the first time in my life I had to do literally everything by myself. My parents were in a time zone six hours behind me, so I couldn’t call to ask them for their advice at the drop of a hat like I’d done previously
Professional Background
Would you say travel or living abroad have impacted your career path? How?
100%. When I graduated college, I thought I’d work in an office my whole life as an editor or writer of some kind. I knew that people freelanced full-time, but it never occurred to me that I could do that with my life. It was only because I loved traveling so much and had such fond memories of my study abroad semester in Freiburg that I felt compelled to think outside the box when I got laid off from my swanky editorial job in NYC.
I wanted to live in Germany more than anything else, and that dream gave me the courage to start freelancing and pursue the life I really wanted
What has working outside your native country taught you about yourself and the culture you come from?
I don’t want to box all Americans into a single “type” of person. But in my experience, Americans live to work and my European friends all work to live.
It wasn’t until I moved to Berlin that I learned to slow down a bit and turn off the work side of my brain. Although I am SO proud of the business I’ve built and want to continue growing professionally, living in Germany has made me realize that I have so many other labels besides “freelancer.”
On Lifestyle
Lots of people think traveling is cool, but not something they can see themselves doing. What are the characteristics of a traveler or person who would enjoy living abroad, in your opinion?
All of the Americans in Germany (and other expats) who I’ve met have shared similar reasons for wanting to live abroad. They pretty much all say that they love their home country and their families but … it seemed like something was missing.
They wanted more from their life, they wanted an adventure of some sort. Every single one expressed feeling nervous about moving abroad, but they all had this deep gut feeling telling them this was the right thing to do.
Do you speak a second language?
Heck yeah, baby! I started taking German classes in the ninth grade, went on to study German in college, and then had a German tutor the year leading up to my move to Berlin. I exclusively speak German with my native German friends and I’m quite proud for putting myself out there and not letting my grammatical mistakes hold me back from making friends.
One last question
What advice would you give to a young person who knows they want to travel but aren’t sure where that fits in with the rest of their lives?
Personally, I think everyone should travel somewhere brand new at least once per year. Staying in one place or visiting the same destination over and over again will only hinder your personal development in the long run.
Travel now while you’re in the best health of your life and have the world at your fingertips
Ultimately, the job or boyfriend or whatever it is that you’re currently prioritizing over travel will not fulfill and inspire you the same way that experiencing new cultures will.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity
Thank you for reading Fearless Friday No. 20 – Claire, Blogger and Berlin Freelancer Visa Holder!
If you connected with Claire’s story, want to learn more about the Berlin freelancer visa, or are also going through that Berlin visa renewal process, she welcomes connections and commiserations through the following platforms.
Blog: https://tallgirlbigworld.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tallgirlbigworld/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TallGirlBW/
A new edition of 52 Weeks of Fearless: A Friday Feature Series is posted every Friday evening, France time (CET). If you enjoy reading these, please subscribe and follow @themillennialabroad. Doing so supports this work and puts you first in line to receive weekly blog posts and a monthly newsletter.
Have you read Mandie’s feature yet? She’s also from Indianapolis and living in Europe – she’s in Paris!
It’s an honor to be featured among so many other wonderful travelers / bloggers! So excited to read the next interview!
Thanks Claire, it was a pleasure to feature you! Getting to know so many different travelers through their interviews has been such a privilege and I’m also excited to see how the rest of this project unfolds. 52 weeks feels like a long time, but it’s going quickly!