Mahmoud’s Advice for Fellow FairPlayers

Recently, we contacted a few seasoned FairPlayers to share their experiences and the advice that they think could help new FairPlayers.

We reached out to Mahmoud, and he was immediately on board. He replied:
“Thanks for reaching out. I am happy to do this because I know how I felt when I was coming here.”

Mahmoud moved to Arnhem in April 2025 for the Lead Electrical Engineer role. He moved with his wife and daughter, and he was happy to share his experience with us.

So I am not gonna say that I always wanted to move to the Netherlands. I remember when Nelia first contacted me and asked me how I would feel about working and moving to the Netherlands. I thought to myself, “Well, it may not have been what I always wanted, but a nice enough country, I suppose”. Then at the prospect of moving here, I started researching everything about it, and the more I looked into it, the more I wondered why I didn’t think about it before.

From the moment I set foot here, I was greeted by friendly faces without even knowing me, just beautiful personalities all over, which, till now surprises me sometimes in interactions with strangers here, making me always feel very welcome. One of my first encounters here, I arrived on Koningsnacht and after settling in, I went outside to see the celebrations and a man walking beside me just looked at me, smiled and fist bumped me. When we talked and I told him how this is my first night in the Netherlands, he welcomed me and wished me to enjoy my time and new life here. Till today, I get a lot of similar encounters from people always smiling and more welcoming and helpful than I would have thought. Makes me feel very comfortable to be part of the community here.

Thankfully and truthfully, I got incredible support from Nelia and Simone, setting up and helping me prepare for interviews, giving me their insights, always encouraging me, and advising me every step of the way, and so much more. It wasn’t an easy road, but the level of support and commitment I felt during the hard times was incredible. And from the moment it was confirmed that I was coming, Ilonka from the Relocation Company stepped in and helped with every detail that I might ever need to make the journey and actually settle here. There was nothing I could have thought of that wasn’t already presented to me without asking to help me settle into my life here. Apartment searches, travel plans, setting up and accompanying me to appointments, health insurance, utilities registrations, school searches for my daughter, even sending me lists of places to shop and advice on how to adjust to the life here, and so much more.

In all honesty, I feel so lucky that I got to be a Fairplayer because I don’t think I would have gotten that level of support and commitment that goes beyond professionalism from anyone else. My advice to anyone worrying about making the transition, I would say take the leap because it seems much scarier than it actually is to make the transition. And when you do take that step, there is no one better to take it with than the people at Fairplay Engineering, who do more than anyone to make sure you live your best life here.

One more piece of advice, if, like me, you never learned to ride a bike before, you might want to start learning because all that is said about the biking culture here is not exaggerated and it is a wonderful feeling to be part of that culture.

I remember so clearly when we first started the process with Mahmoud. From the very beginning, he was focused, motivated, and open to every bit of guidance. There were no doubts – just a clear goal and steady steps forward.

What truly stood out was his attitude. Even when things weren’t easy, Mahmoud stayed optimistic and worked with us with a real sense of teamwork. That kind of connection and trust from a candidate is something I deeply value – it reminds me why I love this work.

And a small detail I’ll never forget: before relocating, Mahmoud took cycling lessons and even started slipping Dutch words into our conversations. It was such a genuine effort to integrate.

Now that his family has joined him here, I just want to wish them all the happiness and success in this new beginning.