'I had 8 million views on YouTube.. but I deleted my account when I moved to Cork'

Liz Ehrenberg-Redl has lived and worked in her native Germany, in Vancouver, and also New York, but says she has never felt so accepted or supported since she moved with her family to West Cork.

One of Germany’s ‘OG’ YouTubers, her professional background is varied: among other things, she studied fine arts in New Jersey, worked in PR in New York, studied media and graphic design in Germany, and worked creating content for the German Disney channel.

With her husband, a voice actor who was the voice for the German Nemo, Liz moved to Vancouver, where she worked as an art director on feature films and where they had their two sons.

“We were there when covid hit, and the film industry paused. We weren’t actively involved in any productions when it hit so we ended up back in Europe and lived with my parents for half a year.”

Their next move was to Cork, having never been here before.

“We actually got engaged in Wicklow in 2018, and my great great aunt is Irish so there’s ancestral ties there which might explain the draw. We knew we didn’t want our kids going to school in Germany, the schools are too full and there’s not enough emphasis on music, arts or sports, so the Irish education system was another draw. It was a toss-up between Galway and West Cork and we went with West Cork and haven’t regretted it for a minute,” said Liz.

The 33-year-old made the radical decision to delete her Facebook and YouTube accounts and deactivate her Instagram when she moved here in 2023.

“I had over 8 million views on YouTube and around 50,000 subscribers, but I wanted a clear cut, a fresh start, a new beginning from the things I was associated with before,” said Liz.

“I felt I was done with digital for a while!”

She was also done with the arts and worked as a restaurant supervisor in The Celtic Ross Hotel, Rosscarbery, where they were living.

Her social media break-up didn’t last too long.

“I ended up helping out and doing some social media for the hotel, and it sparked something in me – a desire to create authentic, behind-the-scenes content, and I set up my own content creation agency Coffee House Creative,” she said.

Liz also did the graphics for the award-winning Everybody Digs Bill Evans, which was mainly shot in West Cork using the West Cork Film Studios.

Creating the 1960s in New York in West Cork was her job – the on-screen graphics such as labels, papers, hero props, plane tickets, labels, signage, etc - and she is producing a new short film in September.

Liz joined Network West Cork at the start of 2025.

“I met a member who invited me to an event and I felt so connected. In so many ways, moving here with kids was a blessing but we had been in our parent bubble for a while and I was craving other connections and this was it. Lots of the members are also moms, going through the same things as me such as mom guilt, working late nights, and trying to be present for their kids. It felt good to share some of that.”

Winning the group’s Creative Professional Award at their annual awards last month was a proud moment for Liz.

“It felt great to be recognised for my work, but more so because it was showing support for a ‘blow in’, who wasn’t part of the community. That encouragement is a unique experience for me and it’s not something I felt before. I genuinely feel that I couldn’t have built my business if it wasn’t for the people of West Cork. It says it all when all my clients are from the area, except for one in the city – whose director is from West Cork!”

The family is now living outside Rosscarbery, and it feels like ‘home from home’.

Liz has been in business for two years, and they have no plans to relocate any time soon.

“Coming here was a big leap of faith but it has gone so much better than we hoped for. When we were planning the move, with two young kids, we weren’t sure if we were super smart or completely insane, but it turns out we’re 100% smart!”