The Road to Silicon Valley Begins

During one lazy Sunday afternoon I decided to make a change in our life. It had to be a large change. Enough to shake the foundation beneath us. Something which could give us amazing experiences and a wealth of education as we journeyed through it. And so it began.

The day it happened

I created an opportunity of a lifetime to leave the comfort of my home country, Sydney (Australia) and head out to Silicon Valley, California.

Sydney, Australia - Photo by: ernestsemerda.com

Silicon Valley is the region is home to many of the world’s largest technology companies including Apple, Google, Facebook, HP, Intel, Cisco, eBay, Adobe, Agilent, Oracle, Yahoo, Netflix, and EA… and soon to be also my new home. More here if you want to read about Silicon Valley.

I do not have a set time-frame for how long I intend to stay in the USA. My main goal is to have the time of my life, an experience like no other. Only time will tell whether I return to Sydney or build on a new exciting life in a country where no Semerda has ever ventured before!

Why Silicon Valley?

So a few years back in Sydney (Australia) while doing my undergraduate Computer Science degree I always dreamed of working in Silicon Valley (California). Silicon Valley was seen as the Makkah in the world of science & technology. The place to be if you are into computers. Place where dreams are made. I wanted to experience this. Experience working in a leading edge tech company. Experience the culture, lifestyle, people and everything else it has to offer.

Global business in America is on a far greater scale than in Australia. I know that the knowledge gained will be invaluable to Australian employers should I return, earning power will be more aboard than in Australia, new friendships I make abroad will last and grow into business opportunities and the possibility of new trade of goods or services are endless if I keep my ears open to the sound of opportunity.

There is no other place like Silicon Valley anywhere in the world. Silicon Valley here I come!

Farewell dinner with friends

Before leaving Sydney, my wife & brother organized a farewell dinner for me with my close friends. Times like this make you realize who your true friends are. Those that care, want to spend the last few hours with you and send their best wishes before I venture into an unknown land with just a suitcase and a job. It gets harder because my wife of 4 years, unfortunately wont be joining me until we sort out her documents to work in California. So I will be alone, initially, in a country thousands of kilometers away starting a new life for the next few years.

Anyway, back to the dinner. It was a fun time! We ate plenty of good food, drank a lot of red vino (my favorite Bogan Shiraz) and partied till late in the back terrace of the restaurant.

Here’s a few snaps we took at our last supper:

Left: Urszula Semerda (my wife), Zane Hussein, Artur Semerda (my bro), Pembe & Shev Fahri (liverpoolexhaust.com.au)
Left: Steve Ong (CEO of ING Malaysia), Ramsin Jajoo, Ernest Semerda (me) & Gerry Gerasimos Kolaitis (autostyle.com.au)

My brother put together this (below) awesome last supper invite. Soooo nice of him to do that. How the heck did he get those old pics of me lol… definitely made my day. Thanks bro!

Invite to close friends for my last Supper in Sydney

The restaurant we had my last supper at was Elio at Leichhardt (Sydney). Beautifully presented mouth-watering meals! If you want to go there speak to Tommy who runs the restaurant. He is a good friend and will look after you. Elio is online here: http://www.elio.com.au/

Ok, Bon voyage! wish me luck!!

Ernest

Author: Ernest W. Semerda

Aussie in Silicon Valley. Veryfi CoFounder (#YC W17 cohort). GSDfaster Founder. View all posts by Ernest W. Semerda

4 thoughts on “The Road to Silicon Valley Begins”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *