Moving to Medellín: Dreams, Worries, and Family

Hi there! I'm a software engineer living with my family in the beautiful yet costly Silicon Valley. Recently, we've started considering a big change: relocating to Medellín, Colombia. This blog will document my thoughts, worries, and dreams as we prepare for this new chapter together. I am a planner so I definitely will take me a year or more to figure out all the details.

One of the most significant challenges we’ll face in Medellín is the language barrier. My wife and I are fluent in Spanish however my children, a 15-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, will need to navigate school without knowing Spanish. I can already envision the stress in those first few months, especially for them. I spend a lot of time helping them with their schoolwork, and I know that support will be crucial to help them adapt in Colombia.

As I start this new journey, I also want to pursue my personal interests, particularly programming. Though I’m unsure which projects to take on initially, one idea that excites me is an air quality data aggregator focusing on Medellín. My son has asthma, so keeping track of air quality there is essential for our family's health. This project will not only serve as a valuable tool but will also be an excellent way for me to continue coding during our transition.

Since my background is in infrastructure systems, tackling front-end design might be a stretch for me, but I'm eager to learn. I plan to use tools like language models to help with the visualization part of the project, and I hope they serve as an excellent resource as I dive deeper into this venture.

As we prepare for our move and navigate this exciting but daunting transition, I look forward to sharing more insights and experiences through this blog. Stay tuned for updates on our journey, both as a family and in my personal projects. Here's to new beginnings in Medellín!