I resigned from my remote job in the United States to go back to Venezuela with my family. Everyone thought I was crazy. A year later, here's what we've built.
The decision nobody expected
In 2025, the immigration situation in the United States became very difficult for my family. We had to make the decision to return to Venezuela. I resigned from my remote job as a Software Engineer — even though it was remote, the company couldn't employ me outside the United States.
It wasn't an inspiring decision made calmly. It was a hard decision, made with the information we had at that moment.
In July 2025 we arrived in a new city, with my three children adapting once again to a different country. We had no steady job, only the personal clients I had kept.
Starting with whatever came, while I got going again
I needed structure while I built my own path, so I started working in whatever I could find. First as an EdTech software salesperson. Then I moved to the implementation side of the same software, as a continuous improvement advisor.
Today I do implementations, constantly look for ways to improve processes, and build internal web applications for the company. I also train new clients.
What didn't stop
Meanwhile, I kept my personal development clients. I'm the director of technology, development and marketing strategy for a foundation. And, together with a friend, I support the launch of an online high school — handling the technology, the platform and the training.
This year I also started something new: creating content and building my own community, Reiniciar Sin Mapa.
Why this wasn't a step back
The myth says that going back to your home country, after having "achieved something" abroad, is always a step backward. My experience says otherwise: what I learned in the United States — technology, resilience, the ability to reinvent myself quickly — didn't stay there. It came with me, and it became the foundation of everything I'm building today in Venezuela.
It wasn't easy. My children's adaptation took time. Starting without a steady job, after years of having finally gotten exactly that, felt like going backward — at first.
A year later
July 2026 marked a year since coming back. I'm not where I was before leaving for the United States, nor where I was working remotely from there. I'm in a new place, built with the tools of both worlds.
If you're considering a decision that looks like a step back from the outside — going back to your country, changing course, leaving something you "already achieved" — I want to tell you what I wish I'd heard a year ago: the skills you built don't disappear with the move. They just change places.
You don't need to have everything figured out to start. Take the Next You Diagnostic → and find out which of the 8 pillars needs your attention right now.
