Moving to Boston for two years

I have spent almost my entire life in Antwerp – 31 years to date. However, in just a few weeks, my family and I will be moving to Boston. Why?

• Primarily, it allows me to reduce my travel and spend more time with my family. I flew 65,000 miles in the first five months of this year and 100,000 miles in total last year. Being away from home that much isn't fun; neither is having permanent jet lag.
• My wife has accepted a research position at the Broad Institute, a genomics research center jointly affiliated with MIT and Harvard. It is a tremendous opportunity for her as a postdoctoral researcher. Did I mention how proud I am of her?
• Acquia, my company, is based in Boston, and I want to spend more actual person-to-person time there. While working remotely is OK, nothing beats face-to-face interaction, especially when you're a fast-growing startup.

We've decided to move for a period of two years and to return to Belgium in 2012. By then, Axl and Stan can go to school in Belgium, my wife can resume her research position at the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, and hopefully, Acquia will have offices in Europe.

Moving 3,500 miles from your hometown, most of your relatives, and many of your best friends is not an easy choice. It's quite likely that – at this early date – we do not understand how significant a change it will really be. While we'll miss our friends and family in Belgium, we believe that it will be a win-win.

I'll keep you posted about our move and our adventures abroad!