I have never felt as good as I do when leaving a hair salon as I do when leaving House of Bluecherry. Why? Because Harmonie, the owner, cares. I didn’t just walk out with a new hairdo. I walked out with a new appreciation of my magnificent afro hair. Located in central Frankfurt, I had walked past House of Bluecherry several times before feeling confident enough to open the door. I was confused. I couldn’t quite work out if this salon with its eye-catching interior was made for people like me. It’s sad to say but as a Black woman in Europe with afro hair, strolling into a salon that has been d ..read more

I rocked up to a snug, living-room bar in Frankfurt’s Ostend on a Saturday evening. The mood was chilled; dimmed living room lamps reflecting the cosy shades of our city’s sunset and mismatched furniture offering a chilled and welcoming vibe. On my solo arrival to the first live Dreierlei podcast recording, I ordered a drink at the bar and quietly took a seat. From looking around, I observed that we were not only listeners who had stumbled across the podcast on social media (like me), but that Dreierlei has an array of support from friends and family. Dreierlei has a community. I was excited ..read more

After living near Oederweg for nearly five years, I am convinced that it is the place to be for lovers of the city life who enjoy a consistent touch of community. Despite some people not being impressed with its recent developments, Oederweg and the surrounding streets are a great place to live, enjoy a coffee and visit shops, or meet friends for dinner and drinks! What is so great about Oederweg? Although Oederweg is geographically Nordend, it’s a ten-minute walk to Frankfurt’s main shopping street, making it practically the city centre. However, instead of getting caught up in the herds of s ..read more

I’ve spent years telling you how great life in Frankfurt is. So when I read that my beloved home abroad was ranked second worst city to live for expats in a survey – better than Johannesburg but not as bad as Paris – I was shocked to say the least. Especially as the number of non-Germans that move to Frankfurt is increasing year on year. The InterNations Expat Insider had responses from around 12,000 participants of 177 nationalities on living and working away from home. I lowered my head with agreement when I saw that Frankfurt scored so low in the pivotal categories of Digital Life (47th), L ..read more

I’ve tried it all: short trips, long trips, try-to-do-nothing trips, do-absolutely-everything trips, 48-hour trips, squeeze-it-in-with-a-business-trip trips. Whew! Visiting home comes in all shapes and sizes, and I can confirm that waking up to a “your flight is ready for check-in” email when you’ve barely got home from the airport is the-absolute-worst trip. So how do we find the balance between fast enough to distract us from Instagram but slow enough that we leave feeling revitalised with home goodness? After many trials and tribulations, three really is the magic number! Three weeks (weeke ..read more

I was confused as to why my then manager was laughing as I shared my weekly updates with the team. “No one can understand your accent,” he, a fellow Brit, explained as I then realised that although everyone could speak English, my thick Souf Lundon accent wasn’t going to fly with my predominately German teammates. It seemed that moving abroad was going to take more adapting than I had anticipated. I’ve now been living in Frankfurt for six years (woohoo!), and I am so used to life in Germany that there are things that I once complained about here that I now have to adapt to when home in London ..read more

I find working in a foreign language to be a chicken and egg situation: If your professional German (for example) isn’t sufficient, then you won’t get a job where you need to use German, but if you don’t have a job where you need to use German then you won’t be able to improve your professional German skills. Hmm… How good do your German skills need to be? Levels B1 and B2 seem to be a ‘good’ level of German. B1 is a must for German citizenship, so that must count for something. But I’m not convinced that a certificate is enough – or even necessary. Job advertisements mostly require ‘knowledge ..read more

I am SO excited to have visitors in Frankfurt now that we can travel again! After lots of outdoor exploring in over the last two years, I can’t wait to share my discoveries with friends who come to visit. Here’s a Friday to Sunday plan of what you might want to do when showing friends and family our wonderful city, Frankfurt. Friday Dialog museum The Dialog museum provides an unparalleled experience for you and your guests. The tour takes place in the dark (!!) with a guide who is blind or partially sighted. I was nervous to begin with but it’s amazing how quickly you adapt and feel safe with ..read more

If there’s one thing you can’t miss in Frankfurt, it’s the rippling water that skips along the body of the River Main, hence the name Frankfurt am Main. It’s the longest river that is located entirely in Germany and is a great place for locals and tourists to enjoy their spare time. If you fancy a bit more than just a stroll a long the river, check out my 5 recommendations below! 1. Table tennis I bet you weren’t expecting this one!? If you’re up for some a bit of table tennis with the spectacular view of the Main, then head down to the east end of the river. The table is located just in front ..read more

In 2016 I asked my employer if I could relocate from London to Frankfurt on a temporary basis. My request was declined as it was thought that I should be in the London office. I was grateful that it was at least considered, but I was itching to move abroad, so I relocated to Frankfurt to start working for a new employer. *** The pandemic has led to a shift in mentality towards work location and daily business. People are resigning at an increasingly high rate, and work-life balance is becoming a pivotal ‘stay or leave factor’ for employees. Although saying that, I am personally convinced that ..read more