cfZen

I've resigned my current position to move to Holland to work at PeopleXS.com as the Lead CF Developer. So, this is part 1 of the following blog series I plan to write.

1. How does one decide to completely uproot one's family, home, and job to dare move to a country on another continent?
2. How difficult is it to move to Holland?
3. What is it like to live in Holland as an American expat?
4. How is being a Web Developer different in Holland than in America?

Obviously, parts 2-4 will have to wait until I get to Holland.  And if there's interest in the subject, I may write additional related entries.

Part 1:

How did I decide to completely uproot my family, home, and job to dare move to a country on another continent? Not easily!

While reading through blogs (I forget which one), I noticed a blog that described a Lead CF Developer position for PeopleXS.com. BTW - there's still some openings for additional developers. I emailed it to myself to look over later, as I had always been curious about what it would be like to live in Europe (especially a progressive, liberal country like the Netherlands).  A week later, I finally got around to emailing my resume in.

PeopleXS was glad I had applied, was open to hiring developers from outside the country, and really piqued my interest. So, the next evening at  the dinner table at home, not expecting a good reaction from my wife, I tried to casually mentioned that I had found an "interesting opportunity" in Holland. Without blinking she smiled and said, "let's do it!"

.... (back to earth) ....

I was completely floored by her reaction, but love her all the more for it.  I hadn't even told her anything about it really, so obviously we had a lot more "figuring out" to do, but it gave me enough of a boost to forge onward.

Where? The Hague

When? October 1st

Who? me, my wife, and 2-year old son

What? Lead Developer of a small team of CF developers and a QA team that will expand to meet the needs of a fast-growing SaaS company.

How? Fly us to The Hague a few days early to get set up in temporary housing before my first day on the job.

Paid time off? 5 weeks, instead of 2 weeks here at most jobs in the US

Transportation? bikes and public transit (see video below)

How long? indefinitely - as long as I like the country and job

But what about everything I have to leave behind? Family? Job? House? Friends? Material things? Austin, the live music capital of the world, for God's sake?!!

• Family and friends - this is obviously the most difficult, and it really hasn't "set in", yet.  But I'm sure we'll get very emotional as it gets closer, and we say our last good-byes. And our families took the news much better than expected, and have been very supportive.  Not to mention we'll use much of our vacation/holiday time to visit the US as much as we can.
• House - in the process of being sold.  (cross your fingers)
• Job - also pretty scary, since I had a very solid, stable job in a fast growing company.  I may look back in a few months and think, "what the hell did I do?!!!"
• Austin - yes, it's where I grew up and I love it.  But still it's in *Texas*.  I don't want to look back at my life, when I'm barely able to lift my own head, and wonder why I spent my entire in one place.  I'd like to think I'm a bit adventurous at heart.  We'll see if I can handle a real adventure...
• Material things - aside from a few personal items, gifts, and family stuff, I'm honestly not really *attached* to much that I own, man.  My hippie parents passed this attribute to me, and I guess it's finally paying off.  ;-)  [er, oh wait - I can't really bare to give up my Wii and Wii Fit, though... and maybe it'll be a way to lure a few Dutch people to be my friends...

After over a month of interviewing, long strings of emails to PeopleXS, mulling it over and over with my wife, and rationalizing that this was "too big of an opportunity to pass up", we took the plunge and I accepted the position.  Only patience, positivity (is that the right word?), hard work, and an open mind will keep us on the right track for this crazy ride.  Let me know if you think I'm crazy, or if you have any questions?

What does "The Hague/Den Haag" look like? see this video