Guten Morgen, ich möchte ein Bier.

I wouldn’t go as far as proclaiming I’m bilingual.

My level of German is badly conversational, if that, which explains why I’m wishing you a good morning and asking for a beer at 10 am sitting in my cute new flat in Macclesfield.

(No, we haven’t moved back to the UK for good).

My wife and I decided to move to Germany from London 8 years ago when we first became parents.

It was the right decision for us back then and the stage of life we were in, and I love the tranquil life we’ve built there.

We live on a little farm that has belonged to my wife’s family for many generations.

We have animals, we’re surrounded by nature and even grow our own vegetables.

It’s practically picture-perfect but for one thing.

What I hadn’t accounted for 8 years ago, is the lack of connection and community, and how deeply I’ve grown to crave this.

Now of course I have friends in Germany, they’re absolutely brilliant and I love them to bits (they speak English while tolerating my slightly awful German).

They’re not local though, and I’ve come to realise that living quite a ‘local life’ is really important for my soul.

You know, being able to pop out for a quick coffee or a drink at short notice.

Or texting a friend at the last minute to say, “Hey, do you fancy coming to this yoga class with me?”

My rather sub-par German also means I struggle to have deep conversations with people – I’ve never been a small-talk kinda gal.

Add to that the fact that finding like-minded people isn’t all that easy when you’re an adult – we’re all busy living our lives, right?

I work on this with a lot of my clients, funny enough.

Often when they come to me, their life looks kinda good on paper but they’re also kinda questioning everything, looking for what is meaningful while seeking direction and purpose.

One of the first things I do is go through this worksheet with them – essentially what it does is explain the core emotional needs we have as humans.

The theory is that the more of them that are met, the more likely we are to feel content and fulfilled.

Turns out, 2 of them weren’t being met for me (emotional connection to others, and connection to the wider community) despite trying really, really hard for the last 8 years.

So this year we finally decided to put down roots in Macclesfield as well, after all, we were already spending significant amounts of time here each year.

This is how I’m writing to you nestled in our new little studio loft in an old mill in the very town that my Mum, Dad, Nan and many, many generations of my family come from.

I’ve also made some incredible friends and connections here, I’m deeply involved in the local community which is so creative and spiritual and kinda weird…just what I need.

I’d always thought of my Nan’s house as this giant oak tree, the strong and sturdy presence throughout my life.

Our cozy flat is now a little cutting from that tree, as we grow something new here and continue the legacy.

A full circle moment if there ever was one.

What’s been going on in your life?

Fill me in, I’m all ears. Also, I’d love for you to let me know what bits of the worksheet resonated with you.