About me

Where are you from?

I grew up in Bombay, India where I lived until 2017.

Where else have you lived?

I lived in France from 2013-14, Germany from 2017-24, and now live in The Netherlands.

Which languages do you speak?

English is my first language and is the language in which I have the most vocabulary. I grew up speaking Marathi (my mother tongue) and Hindi. When I lived in India, I could handle 3 other Indian languages (Gujarati, Telugu, and Konkani) which I have lost touch with. I studied Sanskrit (ancient like Latin but very close to German’s grammatical structure) for 3 years, Japanese for 2 years (JLPT N5), and German for 2 years. I currently speak German at a B2-C1 level, having studied it on my own through pop culture and media. My Dutch is pretty non-existent but is getting better by the day.

Life in Germany & Netherlands

How did you move to Europe?

I moved to Paris for a job and realised that while Paris was not for me, Europe might be. I spent the summer of 2014 backpacking in Germany and revived my high school German enough to consider a permanent move to the country. In 2017, I moved to Düsseldorf to get an MBA.

Why did you move to The Netherlands?

I fell in love with a Dutchman 😉

Why were you living in both countries for 5 years?

Even though I’d met my then boyfriend, now husband I chose to keep my apartment and job in Germany. I love the work I do and the people I get to do it with. It’s incredibly rewarding and gives me a huge sense of identity. I also became a permanent resident of Germany in 2021 and always knew that I’d naturalise as a citizen someday. Moving to The Netherlands would have meant restarting the process of becoming an EU citizen. Not only did that feel wrong as I hadn’t earned my place in Dutch society, it would’ve added unnecessary pressure to our relationship.

Is Netherlands your forever home?

Yes 🫣 I’m a naturalised German citizen and consider it my home. But yes, we live in Utrecht and intend to grow our family here.

Work

Are you a content creator?

Not in the sense that you’re probably thinking of. I post a “slice” of our life on my socials to document it. The last 5 years went by in a blur as we juggled our homes across the border. These digital memories are a great way for us to re-live our special moments.

So, what do you do for a living?

I build tech products 😊 I studied to be an accountant (was a CPA) and eventually found my true passion in Product Management. I love solving complex customer problems with innovative software solutions. I obsess over tech products and you’ll often find me discussing UI and copy. I also gush over Marketing copy.