Roald Nel

In November 2022 Roald Nel moved to the Netherlands, together with his wife Denise and children Daniel and Rebekah.

Roald, why did you emigrate to the Netherlands?
To get the chance to live and work in a country like the Netherlands is a great opportunity. It is an organised and well structured country which is clearly evident in the infrastructure, the school system, the social structures and basically all aspects of everyday life.

Can you tell us something how you do like the Netherlands?
It is wonderful to be able to take walks or to cycle wherever you like, even at night. The kids have the opportunity here to have the same kind of freedom we had as kids growing up in South Africa where we could safely play outside and visit friends. It is easy to visit other places in the Netherlands or even other countries without even having to drive in a car once.

Please tell us something about the projects you are currently working on.
The majority of projects that I am working on are for large organisations built using Drupal implemented in a professional and clean way and well customised to suit the needs of the client. This of course requires more intricate knowledge of Drupal on how to get the most out of the existing features and structures which are then extended if needed by building custom modules and plugins. Recently we were responsible for building a new tooltip plugin for CKEditor 5 to function correctly in Drupal 10.

Did the process of emigration go smoothly?
This is not the first time that I moved between countries and I must say that this was the best experience I have had. Matthijs, Ton and Paulien worked together to cover all important aspects of the move which ensured that everything worked out as seamlessly as possible. This is no easy feat, they really know what they are doing.

Can you explain to the South Africans who are considering to go overseas how you did experience the support from us?
The support that Matthijs, Ton and Paulien gave was not only professional but also personal. They go above and beyond what would be expected from the service they provide and by the time you arrive in the Netherlands you really feel like you already have friends here that honestly care about your wellbeing and success.