Closing a chapter

This is it; the house is mostly empty as I sit in my temporary home office, the living room table. Our Dutch lives are mostly in boxes in a container, and the only things left to go are Bella, our retriever, and me.

Just about 13 years ago, our family of then only 2 took a leap of faith and decided to make The Netherlands our new home. I’m sitting here reminiscing about those days, so let me take you along for a look back (maybe my next post will be a look forward).

December 2011. I could count the number of Brazilians we knew (or heard of) in NL on a single hand. The Netherlands still celebrated Queen’s Day instead of King’s Day, and I was just a Senior Engineer working on a SaaS crowd-funding platform (I called it “CaaS”, a play on “Kaas”, dutch for cheese).

On a personal level, the wife and I enjoyed exploring Europe, NL, and a new culture while adapting to the sun setting at 16h and temperatures that would freeze a regular Brazilian. Professionally, PHP Benelux dominated the PHP landscape, trying its best to cover three countries and promote the growth of developers and the language. I remember talking to Michelangelo Van Damn back then, brainstorming if a user group in Amsterdam made sense, it’s funny how many people thought we had “stolen” Amsterdam from Benelux, and yet it all started with their blessing and incentive, and today AmsterdamPHP is thriving.

As a side note, AmsterdamPHP is one of the things I’m most proud of. At my goodbye meetup, I heard from many people how the group touched their lives, and honestly, it was almost a selfish effort to make new friends myself. And boy, did I make friends there. I will miss you all. I’ll forever pour one out for this group on the third Thursday of every month. Thank you all.

Living here allowed me to hit the speaker circuit like never before and travel to so many new places, spreading topics like Composer, Object Calisthenics, Annotations, and many others. I had the opportunity to work with incredible engineers, learning from many of them, but I also had the chance to grow many careers and help many relocate here.

In July 2013, our family faced a challenging time. My wife was involved in a tragic accident and spent six months in the hospital. This experience changed our lives significantly, but it also taught us about the strength of the expat community. The friends we made along the way became like family to us, and we feel incredibly grateful for their support. I will always be touched by everyone who helped us through those difficult times.

Over the years, this place has changed a lot. Well, the weather was basically the same (takkeweer is my favorite weather word), but over the years, we had quite the increase in Brazilians, the market grew, bigger companies, more opportunities, more people at meetups, new houses, new neighborhoods, a dog, and a kid. It feels like a very different place, but still a great one. Our journey here has been filled with growth, new experiences, and the formation of lasting friendships.

I’m moving back to Brazil. Why? Family. My wife supported me in coming here to work, so it’s time to pay that back, and it’s a good time for our daughter to spend time with her grandparents. What’s next or after that? Who knows, but now, it’s Brasília.

I will miss everything (except the kutweer) and everyone, you all made this the best ride of my life. I will continue working with SurveyMonkey, and that means I’ll be around for visits. Don’t be strangers; let’s meet when I’m around and stay connected. You won’t be rid of me so quickly. I’m committed to maintaining our connections, no matter the distance.

But mostly, I want to express my deepest gratitude. Thank you. Thank you for receiving me, embracing me, believing in my dreams, and joining this journey, regardless of which walk of life you joined me in personal, professional, AmsterdamPHP, Game nights, Dungeons & Dragons, or complaining about the weather. Your support has meant the world to me.

tot ziens, tot de volgende keer, ik hou van jullie allemaal.