Goodbye Google, San Francisco, California, and United States

Published on July 31, 2013 (ā†» February 25, 2024), filed under (RSS feed for allĀ categories).

Iā€™m resetting my life. Iā€™ve quit at Google, Iā€™ve quit my apartment in San Francisco, Iā€™ve sold most of what I own and put the rest in storage. Iā€™m now about to backpack the world to pursue my studies and goals and to build a new life somewhere else. Where? I donā€™t know yet. But knowing what to do is more important than where to do it.

Hereā€™s a candid, biased, incomplete Jens eye view on the last few years of my life.

Google j9t.

Figure: My dear Masaā€™s Google j9t doodle.

Professionally:

Personally:

Thatā€™s where I am now. Onward.

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About Me

Jens Oliver Meiert, on November 9, 2024.

Iā€™m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and Iā€™m a frontend engineering leader and tech author/publisher. Iā€™ve worked as a technical lead for companies like Google and as an engineering manager for companies like Miro, Iā€™m a contributor to several web standards, and I write and review books for Oā€™Reilly and FrontendĀ Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development (and engineering management), but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (Please be critical, interpret charitably, and giveĀ feedback.)

Comments (Closed)

  1. On July 31, 2013, 23:56 CEST, Sylvain M. said:

    I just wish you all the best, you did (probably) too much good work šŸ˜Š So, I hope youā€™ll find what youā€™re looking for and live happy! Thanks for all the knowledge sharing!

  2. On July 31, 2013, 23:59 CEST, David said:

    Congrats, Jens! Youā€™re going to keep us posted on whatā€™s to come right!?

  3. On August 1, 2013, 0:22 CEST, stefan keuchel said:

    wow - what a great post.
    i wish you nothing but the best Jens.
    Be safe - have fun - enjoy life - keep us posted šŸ˜Š

  4. On August 1, 2013, 1:52 CEST, Manuel said:

    Sounds like youā€™ve had a (mostly) good life in the past! Good luck for whatever you will do in the future!

  5. On August 1, 2013, 4:48 CEST, Arne Kriedemann said:

    Best luck for the future. It seems that life in San Francisco was another one as in Bremenā€¦ šŸ˜‰
    Enjoy Your life

  6. On August 1, 2013, 6:42 CEST, Matt said:

    Congrats man! Good luck.

  7. On August 1, 2013, 6:55 CEST, Christina C. said:

    Miss you already! And youā€™re invited to come warm my house anytime.

  8. On August 1, 2013, 7:29 CEST, Dirk Ginader said:

    All the best!
    Have fun šŸ˜Š

  9. On August 1, 2013, 8:08 CEST, Jens Grochtdreis said:

    All the best, Jens. I hope youā€™ll find your peace and the sense in your life.

  10. On August 1, 2013, 8:29 CEST, Ansgar Hein said:

    This post sent shivers down my spine. Amazing, just like you. And since you take yourself with you, no matter where your travels may lead you, you will most likely always be happy. All the best! Enjoy!

  11. On August 1, 2013, 8:55 CEST, Dirk said:

    Goodbye. Hello. And all the best!

  12. On August 1, 2013, 9:21 CEST, JĆ¼rgen said:

    Wish you all the best, on and after your trip. Maybe there is a chance of meeting each other somewhere in this great small world? Sincerely yours, your ā€œfavoriteā€ project manager šŸ˜‰

  13. On August 1, 2013, 9:32 CEST, Bastian said:

    BƤƤm! Loved to read this. Enjoy!

  14. On August 1, 2013, 10:02 CEST, Martin Stehle said:

    Thank you for your post. I wish you the best on your way.

  15. On August 1, 2013, 10:38 CEST, Gunnar Bittersmann said:

    Meet you in the land of hope and dreams.

  16. On August 1, 2013, 11:09 CEST, Simon Owen said:

    Nice read, good luck in the future šŸ˜Š

  17. On August 1, 2013, 11:14 CEST, Kai Laborenz said:

    Enjoy your trip and stay save!

  18. On August 1, 2013, 13:21 CEST, Markus said:

    Impressive. Good luck with whatever may come from now on šŸ˜Š

  19. On August 1, 2013, 15:54 CEST, tobs said:

    Bon voyage!

  20. On August 1, 2013, 18:05 CEST, Knut said:

    All the best for you, Jens. After a couple of weeks youā€™ll see the world with different eyes.

  21. On August 1, 2013, 18:23 CEST, Michael Klein said:

    Jens, da schau an - alles Gute bei dem Trip!

  22. On August 1, 2013, 18:53 CEST, Neal G said:

    I hope youā€™ll be able to keep up to date your CSS Properties page. I find it really valuable and use it a lot. Safe travels!

  23. On August 1, 2013, 20:49 CEST, Thomas said:

    Lieber Jens ich wĆ¼nsche Dir alles erdenklich Gute auf deinem zukĆ¼nftigen weg. Falls er dich in meine Gegend verschlƤgt bist du herzlich eingeladen šŸ˜‰

  24. On August 2, 2013, 9:44 CEST, Jens Oliver Meiert said:

    Thanks everyone! When looking at all the reactions Iā€™m a little overwhelmed I must say!

    Iā€™m currently in Miami to ā€œdecompressā€ but then headed Dominican Republic. Iā€™m a bit undecided whether Iā€™ll just do nothing for a few days but overall Iā€™m pretty sure youā€™ll hear from me again soon (and vice versa, as Iā€™ll try to catch up with you).

  25. On August 6, 2013, 9:02 CEST, Stephanie Rewis said:

    Wow, you beat us to the exitā€“weā€™re about 4 years behind you. Hopefully weā€™ll see you ‘around the worldā€™ somewhere. (Youā€™ll need to be near the coast since weā€™ll be in a boat.) šŸ˜‰ Cheers and good travels.

  26. On August 6, 2013, 11:57 CEST, Holger N. said:

    Just seeing this.. nice story which makes me donā€™t head down on this working day.
    Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

    Bon voyage, old classmate! šŸ˜‰

  27. On August 15, 2013, 12:41 CEST, Reik Schatz said:

    Haha awesome blog post. All the best for the future Jens. Cheers

  28. On August 19, 2013, 10:47 CEST, David Maciejewski said:

    Jens, I wish you all the best for your future! I really can understand your step. Itā€™s better to try new things instead of rather than regret not having done it.
    Thank you very much for this really great and detailed post. Hopefully it wasnā€™t the last.