I chose London as my home. Let me trace my journey from Damascus, Syria through France and Amsterdam before settling in the UK in 2018.
Why London?
I selected London — alongside Berlin — because it represents the best place in Europe for startups and for taking risks, with the US and China being obvious alternatives outside the continent.
The timeline
- 2013: Completed a five-year IT and AI degree in Syria
- 2014–2015: Pursued an M.Sc. in Ubiquitous Computing and AI in France
- 2018: Worked at Dutch ed-tech startup Squla in Amsterdam
- 2018–present: Relocated to the UK with only a Syrian passport
The freedom factor
The defining advantage was the UK's Exceptional Talent visa (now Global Talent visa), which grants five-year residency without employment restrictions. This contrasted sharply with Germany, the Netherlands, and France, where non-EU citizens faced constraints on entrepreneurship.
I've leveraged this freedom across multiple roles: employee at Neurofenix, founder of Almeta (later Alphazed), Head of Engineering at Noon, and CTO co-founder of SpatialX.
Freedom is precious and hard-won; it should be cherished above all else.