Fiona Laughton is a storyteller whose story doesn’t quite fit the mould. Unlike the many young tourists and creatives who fall in love with Berlin and vow to stay at all costs, her decision to emigrate was driven by a desire to escape. After several years contesting the Sydney rat race, the copywriter and photographer wanted out. She discovered she was eligible for a German freelance visa and suddenly Berlin seemed like an appealing exit strategy.
When Fiona visited Berlin as a backpacker in her twenties, she stayed in a residential part of the city and hit the museums rather than the clubs. She was charmed by the calm and beauty of the snow-covered capital. “I didn’t have the typical Berlin nightlife experience…and I never thought ‘oh my gosh, this is where I want to move’,” she explains. But after arriving in the winter of 2013, she knew she’d made the right decision. While most foreigners dread the long months of darkness, Fiona loves the season’s empty streets and serenity. “It was cold and empty and quiet and I think after Sydney being so hectic and always too hot for me, I really enjoyed it. Everyone told me to wait until summer, that it gets so much better, but I liked the snow and the grey skies. It was completely different to what I’d experienced in Australia”.
Establishing yourself as a freelancer in a foreign country with one of the world’s most complicated taxation systems is no small task. The ongoing administrative effort is immense and “you have to be your own project manager, your own boss, your own marketer, your own arse-kicker”. But when the payoffs include choosing your own hours, collaborating with clients you actually find interesting and working at home in your pyjamas, it’s easy to understand the appeal. Fiona enjoys the flexibility of the digital nomad life: “I can take my work anywhere. I could technically go and work in another city or county and anywhere with an internet connection.”
After four and a half years of Bratwurst and BVG, the expat copywriter decided it was time to take a trip back to Melbourne. The temptation of so many appealing European destinations on her doorstep meant that her travel funds had initially been spent exploring her adopted continent. But eventually the novelty of the Berlin winter began to wear thin and Fiona was ready to head home and reconnect with friends and family. “There were a lot of culture shock moments,” she laughs. “I found it extremely loud, being out in bars and restaurants. I found that Australians like to congregate in groups, especially in bars and talk very loudly, like to the point of shouting. I also found that everyone wanted to talk to me, from the baristas to the bar keepers, and I couldn’t work out why. Even though I like a chat normally and here in Germany I sometimes miss it, but I found it really challenging in Australia.” After so many years away, something had changed: “I definitely felt a shift within myself. I don’t feel German, but I definitely don’t feel one hundred percent Australian, whatever that means. I’m somewhere in the middle now.”
After considerable red tape wrangling, Fiona recently managed to renew her freelance visa for another three years. Her aim is to gain permanent residency and sink her roots ever deeper into her new home. “I think the best way to approach living in a city is to behave like you’re going to be here for a long time,” she says. “That can always change, but I don’t want to half integrate, or half learn the language or just sort of skim the surface.” So as the EasyJet set parties on and start-ups come and go, Fiona is quite happy for her Berlin story to continue well into the future.
