Add your H1B Visa Case Status to H1B Visa Tracker Post your Questions in New Q & A Forum
Series: Settle in US or India? Life in USA vs. India? Move back?
If you were to ask any Indian or international living in US, this is probably the most thought or discussed question: “Settle in US or go back home?” There are similar thoughts for people in India or any other country too. I lived in India and US for quite some time, so I can share my thoughts on both of them. Some of the common questions everyone encounter are :
- Life in USA vs. Life in India ?
- When should I leave US and go back home ?
- Is it good to settle in US or return home country India ?
I can keep on writing the questions. In fact, one of our readers requested to share my thoughts on this topic..their logic is, if you are an IT person, you can choose to settle wherever you want to either US or India…you just have to make a decision….I think it makes logical sense…
Anyways, I plan to write a series of articles corresponding to this question. My goal behind the series is to give my perspective and let you make an educated and logical decision… All the below list of topics will be written comparing America vs. India.
Topics Comparing USA vs. India
- Work Culture, Ethics, Time – India vs. America
- Work related Politics – Manager, Salary Hike, Promotions?
- Life as H1B holder vs. GC or Citizen
- Educated H4 visa holder Life After working in India
- American Way of Thought vs. Indian Way of thought
- Personal Life, Comfort, Enjoyment
- Indian wife, American Wife, Indian Origin but US raised Wife ?
- Social Life – Meeting New people from different countries, cultures ?
- Weekends Fun America vs. India
- Owning a Home – Flexibility, Features, Cost
- Saving potential, Taxes in the U.S. and India
- Living as Family with Kids – Healthcare, Expenses
- Cost of Living – Power of Dollar vs. Rupee Value
- Family, Friends, Parents, Social Status , Respect
- Kids Education, Discipline USA vs. India
- Coaching Kids – Soccer, Football, Volleyball, Music
- Kids & Teens Athletics – Track vs. Just Cricket
- Studying Bachelors Education, Student Life
- Graduate School Education MS or MBA
- Public Facilities – Library, Community Centers, Parks
- Corruption Visibility, Impact to Common Man
- Public City stuff – Water, Electricity, Heat, Services Support.
- Transportation – Buses, Trains, Flights,
- Cars, Motor Bike, Boat – Owning and Lifestyle
- Night Life, Dancing
- Medical Care, Emergency, Surgery
- Nursing Homes – Life as an Old Person
- Helping People, Scope – Charity
- Starting a Creative Business, Success
- Things to do – Exploring, Hiking, Skydiving, Canoeing, Rafting
- State Parks, National parks, Tourism , Vacations spots, Beaches
- Time for Personal Hobbies
- Adaptability in India for Expats who lived in US
- Productive years of Employment, Retirement, Benefits
- Marriage - Looking for People, Matrimony Sites, Dating ?
As of now, these are the topics that I can think of…I will keep adding topics as I get to my mind….I plan to write from one of these topics every alternate day (not necessarily in sequence) in addition to regular articles that I write ….
If you are looking for a specific topic that’s not in the above list and you want that to be part of the series, you can leave a comment and I will add it to the list.
Stay tuned folks!
Do you like the article ?
Like and Give Google +1 for this Article :
{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
Hei … i am 16 years old i am born in india (Delhi) even brought up there i moved yo usa when i was 15 … i wont talk about india but yes i would sqy one thing about people in delhi they are just awesome and there is no better place then delhi in this world …
Really Good Info and Interesting Comments….
Everybody’s opinions are different and it totally depends on the person and how comfortable he is to live where he wishes to.
Although I have never experienced USA but I would most probably try going there once atleast.
Obviously, we, as Indians, are responsible for our country. If we don’t build this nation then who else will? So many social activists from abroad come here to support various causes. We can try doing what we can here.
But also if we want to escape the social troubles like politics and others, and cannot stand the people and poverty in India, then it is totally our wish to go ahead and do what we like.
And I guess the poverty, dust, stench, slavery, pride, casteism will always remain if we keep complaining and be thick-skinned. Moreover, the diversity of this country doesn’t allow anyone to come together to fight together for any cause because the govt is sometimes the govt is always against the people.
Maybe we need politicians like George Washington or Abraham Lincoln who are some of the few to help build that country called US and the way their younger generations enjoy luxury, security and order over there , plus Indians are enjoying their life abroad too because of the old reforms and policies that that country’s foundation has been built upon.
If we had people to follow the good leaders’ examples and be broad-minded, our country might have been richer than US and luxurious too…
Depends on what you are not what you want. You wont find IITians struggling either in India or elsewhere but they don’t vent their frustrations any case.
Its the low level graduates who got some working US visa desperately and doing a coolie work in US always get scared to come back. In India they wont get more than what they deserve ….to the right place. Stay there!!
Sir you have a very little knowledge. Its your desi thinking that makes you think that way. Obviously, I am not an IITian myself and I really don’t give a damn. I have been working for over 20 yrs now and I have advanced in my career regularly. So I do give a flying f@rt to you and your desi IITian mentality. I have seen your IITians not capable of solving simple problems at work.
I remember a college dropout back in the days when I used to work for one of the product manufacturing companies (don’t wanna name it) and he was better than your IITian friends from India at work without even having a proper degree.
So please keep your IITian thinking in your pea-brain and think outside the box.
I always planned to move back. After living in Chicago for close to 10+ years I moved back.
The urge was always due to parents and family. I thought I was alone there, somehow thought friends are not family so forth and so on…. people who do move back I think move back only for emotional reasons and nothing else.
As for India… I think it sucks big time. Dont get me wrong, I am not a snob, very simple person and live a very simple life, but India sucks the blood out of me. My salary is good, I have tremendous family advantage, family is wealthy too. But at the end of the day, I still have to slog my a@# off every day and hope that there is no power cut in summer and water pump works in the morning. I need to think before spending money, where as in US i never had to do that. Malls in India sell stuff for same cost as in USA. But your salary is 1/3.
I spend hours in traffic, deal with petty folks as Cab Drivers, Maids. It is not there fault, they are just trying to survive.
In Nutshell:
India sucks big time unless you are making huge huge amount of dough. I mean you are from a business family and money is not an issue. Otherwise you will struggle.
BUT, given a chance to go back and choose again, I will again move to India because that is what I feel was the right thing to do. I wanted to be near my parents/siblings and that is what I did.
I will only apologize to my kids, for whom I have painted a bleak future. From enjoying a life in states, I have forced them to go thru the same struggle that I did… study for competition, give JEE/CAT etc exams. IN states they would have become allrounders .. studies, sports etc… here it will be study study and study. Definitely a regressive step for the family in that sense!
I agree with Vic on what he said. I lived in US for 12 years and always wanted to go back to my roots which is in India. I went through many ups and downs in life which made me an emotionally strong person. I am in my 40s, got divorced after 10 yrs of marriage (which was a love marriage — two different states involved) lost my child (who is with my spouse right now).
Its not that I have never lived or worked in India before or I hate to be there. I have been working in India before I came to US. I started my career with Rs2500/month those days and then grew to Rs5000/month and then to Rs11,000/month and finally when I left India, I was earning Rs30,000/month back in 2001.
Currently I am living in US all alone. I am not a very social person and believe me, I do not Orkut/Facebook though I know those social websites exist. So basically, I am a loner and live a very solitary life.
As Vic has mentioned, the only reason for anyone to go back to India is only because of his parents. I am a kind of person who thinks that parents are our responsibility when they are old and for my parents, they don’t have any other child except me.
My ex-wife had problems with my parents as she was from a different state in India. She always opposed when I tried to help my parents financially or any other way. She never liked the idea of teaching the child my language and culture. She would take the child to her place in India 3 times an year and her family members would come often to visit their daughter & grandchild. My parents were so badly insulted by her when they visited me back in 2007, that they decided not to go to US anymore.
So now, I am finally divorced. Though life is boring to be alone but there is one great happiness, I am free and I can do what my mind says. Now, I send money to my parents and visit them whenever I want. My parents too, visited me last year after 2007. I thank god for this life where I am not answerable to anyone anymore.
So today for me its — Divorced, Scared and Never Again !
Now coming back to returning to India, I think that depends on where in India are you returning to ? If I have to return, it would have to be to Kolkata, my city. Believe me guys, whenever I think of going there, I am excited. I start planning in advance, start shopping, spending money buying duty free stuff on my way. But as soon as I land in India, all my excitement is gone and when I reach the Kolkata airport, I am half exhausted.
Then starts life, traffic, rough cabbies, misbehaving govt employees, sweat, pollution and stink. Every f#@$%ng bong in Kolkata is a hooligan and have no manners. I have seen them insulting Senior Citizens in banks and post offices. People need to have a very think skin to tolerate such bullies. They can provoke u so much that at times u feel like beating the sh@#t out of them and breaking their jaw but then u will be in trouble for sending a govt employee to coma…oh and yeah, not to mention, the public of Kolkata would not support you even if you do that to help one of them. So its not only those goons, but also the public, who is responsible for the situation this f#$@%d up state is. Disesteem, big mouth, empty pocket bong beggars expecting “respect” is what you need to deal with everyday in Kolkata.
No traffic rules people driving wrong way and if u complain you will have to hear “do you know who I am ?”
But still, I would move back to that s@#t-land because I miss my parents every moment when I am in US, for the dream to be with them like I used to when I was a kid and that nostalgia for the city where I passed my childhood.
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Safari.
I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to
let you know. The style and design look great though!
Hope you get the issue resolved soon. Many thanks
classmate(Settled in US) vs Me(Stayed in India, travelled to US) vs classmate(Returned from US)
Background: I got a job pretty early in MNC and got hooked on to monthly salary that I could not take the risk of coming to US. My classmates did not and they decided to do MS in US. 14 years have passed since then. Currently I am a sr. manager in the MNC, travelled multiple times to US on B1, did 1 year stints in US twice(on L1/H1). They completed MS and got into jobs.
Life as I see it
Friend1: Owns a nice house, nice car but EMIs to pay off and house lost value, wife also works so no issues on payment front. Struggled through the years with travel, husband-wife living in different cities etc. With EAD around the corner, life on the career front seems to be settling down now. No kids, has a dog and couple really feel it is their kid. Social life is nothing much to write about and is around couple of friends with similar backgrounds. Father was ill in India and couldnt help. He expired and mother lives in India luckily has family support. Wife is americanized completely that she is unable to return plus the social pressures around not having kids.
Friend2: Returned to India recently. Was very clear when in US, on the fact that he is not buying property in US, not applied for green card and is in US only for savings. Was working for an Indian big company in US and returned to the same company. Company said – you are a sr developer and this is what we offer in India. So he is not happy with the India Salary. Plus cribbing about the pollution, parents being old and sick so expenses, all the cribs on this site….The clarity of returning to India is gone.
Observation
- Envy the friend1′s house and a BMW. Wow factor!!! I am still 5 years away from a BMW in India. But EMIs in India for apt and car are paid off but still the beautiful house of friend scores:)
- Social life of Friend1 is screwed up completely. I score big time here. Spent good time with parents, children, grandmother, aunts, uncles all living close to each other. On the friends front, i am equal because most of my friends are buzy or travelling or in foriegn countries.
- Definitely dont want to be in Friend 2s shoes. His India salary 50% of my salary in India plus still a developer. Looking at current rates of properties in India and wonder what his concept of savings was all about. With the real estate boom in India, I have a better savings. (I was joking with someone, my grandma came to the city at 5 Rs and worked in a bank at starting salary of 60Rs. She bought a site and house in bangalore at 20k which is worth more than 2.5 crores today(600K $ approx). In US you have a networth of 250K with a salary of 100K)
- I have driven coast to coast of US multiple times and seen all major cities most of these multiple times that the wow factor is lost. I still love travelling in US. Hate it in India cause kids fall sick, hazzles with booking etc…Both the friends havnt seen as much of US as I have. They spend the money on India trips
- Traffic is what i really hate in India. Spend a lot of time on the roads. Plus small things like passport, real estate etc are a hazzle. Friends score here.
- Growth wise in career, they really envy the growth in career in India..If i really want to come to US now, there are people who can create a position for me.
- At the same time indian IT is slowing, real estate has stagnated for last couple of years etc. There are stories of US economy picking up, jobs and real estate picking up etc…
Nice thoughts. I totally agree with you. But again it depends how you tackle life problems and what are your priorities.
For me, its to earn money in US but not to buy property here. My parents live in a place where there is no Job for me and they dont want to leave and settle down to any other place. I f I will stay in Delhi or Mumbai or banglore, it will still take more than 17 hour to go home even If I complete half of my journey through Plane.
So for me its good to stay in US, as none of my friends are in India, and in need can go to home within 30hr from here.
Its help me in avoiding corrupt culture (I shouldn’t be saying this as I am not doing anything to get rid of it apart from running away), pollution and other stuff that are good in USA than India.
But family value, good friends relatives that I miss here. But its again whats your priorities
One thing that really has got me thinking is when I was cribbing about the pollution etc in Bangalore, an american friend who visited India in 2007 and 2011 said – “You dont see the difference, the amount of development happening all around India is phenominal, new constructions, flyovers, buildings. You are just seeing the dust and the noise and the pollution. As an outsider I see the difference and the opportunity.
For me when it comes to Abroad or India, it has got to do with just 3 things
1. Package Abroad v/s Package India = Package Abroad Wins
2. Just you and your wife Abroad v/s Family & Friends in India = Family(incld wife) & Friends wins
3. Job Profile & Career Abroad v/s Job Profile & Career India = Job Profile & Career India Wins
4. Loneliness Abroad v/s Satisfactory feeling India = Satisfactory Feeling India
Bottom line is most people who travel abroad do not get the kind of position they look for and some even end up doing part time jobs for their entire life but still earn a lot in comparison to their salary in indian money.
At the same time you are devoid of close friends and family which may affect some and may not affect others…. So its on an individual to decide what he/she wants …..
You all are losers who are sitting in US and comparing it with India. You will never come back to India. Just stay there. India do not want you here. I stayed in Us for 15 years and have come back. I am loving it here. You all make 1000 excuses to not come back to India. Enjoy your hell there. Dollar will not let you come back. Greedy Desi’s.
you earned fucking enough here for 15 fucking years and then left to india ,and now you are talking about others staying in US. Before you advise first look at yourself
I had to add my experience
first time your moving from india to live in US Experience
You will cry atleast 4 times for many reason and circumstances.
You always are missing your country
your missing your friends and your phone bills are over the roof as you miss them.
You dont figure that they dont miss you.
when you arrive back to india first time you were out in US after long time experience
inner happiness…..thinking of all the food you will eat, friends you will meet and try to catch up with, movies you will go watch and rent a car and travel.
Now going back to US from your most anticipated Indian vacation
Eh my friends were busy and really did not get much time to spend with them
I really thought the food was ok and not as i imagined
i got sick….diarrhea and vomiting
man i just spend 2k in tickets plus my time off work and a whole month just to go to relative homes to eat food and a bit of travel
Experience gets worse the 2nd time and 3rd time and usually 4th or 5th time you don’t travel back to India. You do to Bahamas/or somewhere as you find that better and more affordable.
For me to travel back to India with 3 person family for a month would cost me 20k US and in that I could travel half a world with more peaceful and fun experience. 20k includes, mortgage still pending for the month, pay/income loss/ ticket costing/ buying and taking stuff for people in india, shopping in India, traveling in dust no matter where you go, eating grease no matter where you go. car payments/insurance/etc etc
so all of the above expensive still happening while your travelling in india and for what really?
HI Muktesh,
I felt nice to hear your story.
Life out of own country and advantages and disadvantages.
Its you who makes the option where to Live Finally.
I am interested to go abroad for job, i have got 8 years of experience in various domains.
Can you suggest or help me in this.
Truth. Same experience here.
Well, I have lived 19 years in North America. I got married in India. Brought my wife with me. Stayed there for 5 years with her in that time we had a wonderful son. Then we moved back cause we at the time thought we would be better off in India. My family in India is well to do. And in-fact comparing our status in India we were down graded. I really have no complains about that as I like to work hard and establish something of my own. But back to my point We are here for 2 years I have settled a very well to do business of IT/Call centre but there is something I am not happy with. Like car prices, unorganized traffic. (I can afford a Benz but don’t want to drive cause a scooter guy would be like inches away from me and etc. Also after living in North America knowing cost of a car here is it almost 3 times. That is a rip off. We do to malls here and get tired after few hours of walk and shopping. Back in US we never got tired of walking and shopping. We are very healthy and fit couple. Plus I don’t remember last time in north America I had thought of washing my feet while walking in my own home……Here I have to do it just with me going up and down. FYI we have it cleaned and MOP in India twice a day but still it is always feels unclean. Quality of food it not as good as North I believe. Everything has oil,sugar, more oil and more sugar. There is not really a descent restaurant you can go without putting grease in your mouth. Also Even though we are rich enough finding good labour is hard to find. You cannot just hire anyone. People as running a company with 150 employees and growing I find less people hard working and in fact I see jobs shifting back in US near future. Property price is so high and rent is really high now. Basically it will cost me almost the same to have my business operational in US and India. 90% of business cannot make money with commercial property prices. I am talking in generating revenue after paying for property and starting up business…your better of having it on interest and taking good advantage of high interest rate.
There are so many Thing I can say but I really am not in the mood to write a 10 page here. No Good Gym’s here plus having a pool is a just a dream with land prices and cost of it. Membership in good clubs cost in lakhs which I find to be waste of money. Where I am a descent club membership is 12 lakhs. And no for people that dont know after that every time you use the facility you still have to pay for it.
The above statement just reminded me of one incident really got me angry. I went to YMCA to ask for a membership. The guy said 7 or 8 lakhs and told me you can only have this membership if you know someone who already has one”. I am like are you F**** kidding me after paying 7-8 lakhs i Have to find some on who already has a membership. India is dumb like that.
People here have less sense of communication and really don’t understand the way of speaking and would spit out anything that comes in their mouth without caring for other persons feeling.(I am generalizing here and not saying every Indian is like that.) Plus There is nothing much to Do. I am in Gujarat. Movie theatre, eat out, get to gathers, show off, comparison and that is it. Oh and Gossips.
Man I bought a descent car still and I am paying 11% interest. BTW i read in one of the post earlier someone was upset about US taxes but I am not sure how much you now but India is worse and in fact the more you make the higher you pay. So even for Business India is not the best. I am doing really wonderful but still planning on moving back and prefer living in a descent home drive a nice car, party at times when i feel like it. I have kids and family but I need my own time and India it is impossible. There is always one thing or another. ASk body builders how hard it is to find stuff. I mean even for general population who talks about family and love. Well you got no money you will find no love. If you have money love is every where. Well health is a factor as well but again just generalizing.
US it is for me and stay there it is still better and in fact with all this property prices and cost of living in india is higher then US. My grocery bills were cheaper then here. I did not need a maid in US as my house never got dirty to a point I had to worry about cleaning it. One mop every 2 days and broom your good. Vacuum as well. Live life to the fullest in US. India it is like hello uncle/sir/aunt.
One more thing Indian EGO ……hahahahaha
great article. We been here 30 year and I visit every year India and want to go back. But I am afraid of going when i read all this stuff. It is find here but when kids are teen it is very difficult
Great article!! Waiting eagerly for you to write on the rest of the topics
HI,
I have just moved to US 3 months ago, I have a child who is in 3rd Grade and is enjoying the school but the studies in US is very different from India. he ha problem in understanding US accent but is somehow coping. He is not getting good grades in his school test. Can you suggest how long will he take to settle in this country. He is very bright kid and is doing good in other subjects except for english reading
“Can you suggest how long will he take to settle in this country?”
Re-read your question and reconsider how smart a question it is. How can someone who has never seen your or met your child tell you (or even suggest?) how long will it take him to adjust over the internet?
Your child has come in at a young age though, by the time he is in his teens you *probably* would have a hard time understanding *his* accent. You should not worry about it though, but “how long” completely depends on your kid.
Gurnit,
Americans read to their kids from very early age. If you want your kid to do better in english reading only solution is to read to them, read with them and let them read with you every day.
Developing interest in reading is given more emphasis in US schooling. If you haven’t already done that, go visit your local township library and look for free children’s programs. You can get plenty of short story books that can interest kids of all ages. It does not matter what story books to chose so far they are age-appropriate. With my kids, I took out 10 books every two weeks to read at home. before bed-time is a great habit. Most libraries also have free story-time sessions that are great help to get young kids interested.
Hope this helps. Be patient and put in time.
I am in USA from last 1.5 years with wife & 2 yr old son. While in India i was a bank manager, and since my education & experience were not valued in usa, I am working at a gas station here in usa. However despite of low profile job, I can spend easy life in usa. But i want to go back to India for my career, but my wife doesnt want to go back as she doesnt has a career there. Her accounting education in usa is not going to help her in india. She has no experience or education in india. Where to stay, I am trapped in usa, any advice will be appreciated.
hi friend.
I’m an Indian,and I’m really proud to say so. Actually i’m doing MBBS in india,and i would like to get settled in abroad after my studies are over. My preferable options are US,UK,SINGAPORE,AUSTRALIA,GERMANY. As i can work there,as well as continue my studies and work in these above mentioned countries.
So i request u to help me out in getting settled in these countries and pls provide me some help regarding the formalities,terms and regulations
Thank u
You should try to migrate to countries such as Botswana, Uganda, Rwanda or Guatemala.
Can’t imagine a better and sweeter reply! Kudos to you.
I am currently in US on H1b moved from Indian subsidiary to US parent company for 1 year assignment. My salary is 100K in US and when i go back I can expect around 25 lakhs including bonus stable job with not much delivery pressures. I have 2 kids – 4 and 1 year. My wife would like to stay here for the obvious comforts. I am confused if I should find a job in US or go back to India and job stability etc. Can any help me?
@Sudheer
Since you can get a good income in either country, to my personal opinion I would suggest you india is better to live. USA is a “SWEET JAIL”. Go back to India, get your kids cultured, enjoy/eat/travel/shop in India fully, love your parents/real siblings, that’s the crux of life.
i have stayed in both of the countries…jist is vn i was in us i never wanted to move back but when i came to india i pray to go bak everyday…
oh dear
good of you to post your views , since you know the real differance
just keep trying and you will fly soon
take it with your stride buddy
love and greetings
easwaran
Always it’s India and also Gujarat is the Best place in India. This is the time for investing in Gujarat. Real estate Investment in Gujarat is growing day by day, All leading Companies, NRI’s comming to invest because of it’s economic factors and highly growth.
I am 42 with teenage daughters. can I plan to move to USA for job? what are the positives & negatives? pl. advise
Pros and cons mixed. I don’t know what is pros and cons. it is individual choice: Good weather. Less population. (Total 12 US state’s population = Bangalore’s population). It is good to see less population because in India we are tired seeing so many person on street. (but it is also part of life so I like to live in so called society.)
). There is a racism in background, but not upfront. That is anyways everywhere in India. No labor available like india. (cook, maid, iron man, home delivery facility etc..). If you have N number of person doing Job/Study you need at least same number of CAR, otherwise do job of Driver (pick up and drop). Low cost of leaving in terms of day to day food item (if you are not eating outside.) compare to india.
In some of the city like Newyork/SanFrancisco, you will see traffic jam same as india.
Car running at 10 MPH..
Everything is secured under so called insurance. (Even your 50$ electronic item will have $15 insurance.
Even in india also I think same cost because we don’t Drive too much like US.
. But in US we don’t find street dog but overall crime rate is high. (some of the city like Chicago there you will find out of 50 person 1 person will be a victim of crime.) Again you are under insurance so no worrry.
In US 5 year car run average 2,00,o00 Miles. Till now I have driven 35,000 KM ( In 8 years). Good thing about US is they care about individual’s life. Even if there are car accident, safety concerns are very high. Like in india we walk and street dog bite us
So overall, I don’t see any gain or loss, but it is just matter of happiness. If you are not happy in India it is worth to try. Also don’t forget that this country will ask us to follow so many documentation … Living life under fear will make you covered. After 50-60 years, what you will do ? Never plan that your daughter will stay close to you. USA is big country. If you are settled at Newyork, your daughter may find job at East cost. But in India it will be at least good chance that we get settle down in near by Metro Cities.
Wyoming – 563,626
Vermont – 625,741
North Dakota-672,591
Alaska – 710,231
South Dakota-814,180
Delaware – 897,934
Montana – 989,415
Rhode Island – 1,052,567
Hampshire – 1,316,470
Maine – 1,328,361
Hawaii – 1,360,301
Idaho – 1,567,582
Bangalore = ~10,000,000
Mumbai = ~12,000,000
My preference is Sweet home India, because it makes me a live even though there are so many complain/issues.
singapore is a very good option infact all those countries that take 3 to 4 hrs from india seems to be the same as in pay terms, so after my 6 months assignment now I prefer moving to singpaore or middle east. its good option for every one who wants to stay close to india as well as earn well.. no offense for indian bros/sis in usa… just my plan
What more you will gain just staying closer to india. India means India. So no offense with other country. It is like you have wife and you compare her with Aishwaria and Kareena..You have no choice to praise your wife and that is what everyone is doing. whatever they have they are trying to praise.
So it is just psychology of not to worry you don’t have but just see what you have have.
Okie here is my 10 cents…
i love my house, my area, my city, my country and than this world depending upon with whom i having discussion…and this goes on forever…specially in India where we are touchy about each and everything…
Now coming to good life…we all have to admit…there is nothing called good life…we feel something is good and we go after it and for a while we feel happy and then we move to something else…We all could hv choosen to stay back at our native city(speciallyfor ppl whose city doesn’t boast IT)…but we choose to leave cause we wanted a good life…so the immigration is already started…
now i see ppl talking abt relatives…lets not even go there…they r d one who make ur life more miserable and may be they are the reason most of us were forced to do engg and all….
friends will not stick to you forever…u go to new places u make new frens…if u r not good at it…ur prob
Family: now family is important to all of us but we know that love can go sour…specially in middle class for various reasons…jst think u r not working and dependent on ur family…u will never feel good even when you are staying with your family…but when we are in good shape we feel (or to say our needs increase) to stay with family which we know in our mind is not practical…the best is to take time out and have vacation with your family…
US vs India: As Indians we feel India is good that too on emotional level. There is no comparison between US and India and that is it.
People do keep bashing US for divorce, teenage sex and all…guys open ur eyes… when individual. are more empower and they know they can always have a second go in life…they make mistake and try to rectify it…but in India…even a woman is raped and society gets to knw abt it…she doesn’t stand a chance to get married and have a good life…a woman stuck in bad marriage with a alcholic husband can’t demand divorce cause society will not allow it…if u feel this all is good…good for u
Again as a netural person if you will advocate Individual Liberty and Peace you will surely look to US more favorably than India
hahaha….i agree brother…yes…relatives were the reason behind me doing engineering!…lol..n i am stuck for life..i mean..does an engineer have a life?!
anyways bro..i am 31..unmarried..kinda bohemian!!..u kno..obviously work in IT..really mediocre though…hvnt seen US ever..dont hv the money to go thr on a vacation really..what do u think?..should i just go thr for some time if i manage to get a job?
Hi, I feel the above article is biased & author is more focused on staying in US, that’s his decision, we can’t oppose, but the whole purpose of discussing the pros n cons of settling in US Vs India are lost. I feel we are discussing only about career, money, comforts, air conditioners & inflation. No one is talking about he real issues like schools in US, safety in schools, cultures in schools & around, bond with families & society, costly college education etc……..( though i do agree India is not as same as it was). The US citizens are paying taxes to pay for the diapers of teen moms, to whom they are not related nor do they support. Plus to pay for the military action taken by the politicians to prove that US is a SUPERPOWER. Whereas in India tax is utilized for the development which is growing slowly & steadily. Indian wives are much better in India, they have life of their own, they have relatives, friends, helping hands. They don’t end up doing everything at home. ( we’re talking about upper middle class). They don’t live under the constant threat of receiving a notice from husband for divorce. I don’t want to be biased by only praising India. The best thing in US are the roads, privacy, independence, freedom to lead your life as you want……………….however east is aping west ……..so its not long we can get/ feel/ practice all these things in India too………..let people live wherever they want but plz have the courage to say “GOOD” to “GOOD THINGS’ in India & make money wherever u want.
Kavitha… Plz wake up. try to go through the real history of India & not the manipulated history presented by politicians or newspapers.
I agree with Kavita. I have experience three kind a life
1. India good salaried Employee in private company (both husband wife doing job )
2. House wife + one kid and husband working in MNC
3. life in Bay Area (silicon Vally).
When we talk about happiness and it only counts comfort + account balance then #1 and #3 can be almost same .. Sometimes #1 is more than #3, if both husband wife are working at tier-1 MNC in India they might be earning more than person earning at USA.
So question here is Do we need to find where to settle is based on just earnings ?
Take one example.
People comes across the country to (IT city )Bangalore to get jobs. They leave home town where they have huge independent house + 4 Wheelers And all facility. Those who are localize to the City they will try to go the USA to get jobs. Whole life they struggle to build house and they will not really able to get benefit of jobs coming to their town.
We are just running behind something which are really not real and finally feel ourself happy just posting some pics on Facebook every weekend and get tags from friends. (those pics are always same ..same big buildings + ocean view or some mountain.)
The big question is we can change the country but can we change the mind set ?
I have seen Indian just use the luxury in USA and become more fatty (because they have now 100% airconditioner proof + double cheese Pizza body). If some indian say that US
is good because it is pollution free and I love to do cycling + tracking + any physical exercise.. I accept.. but just to get $$ I have real petty on those guys. I know $$ is important but how much.. ? Does anyone has that figure. ?
All my friends who are at US they say we need to grab money upto 40-50 age. and they enjoy.
I say I will without any age limit in india. This is what US mind set. work to keep you fit. But we indian grab money put in some safe bank ..and become lazzy.. I have big (?) on Indian mind set ..So my call is where ever you stay it is just matter of mind set (which is really good in American ) . Respect the job which comes to india and work hard.
Also, those who can not make any money in india, for them any country is better. Like UAE, singapoore. Aus, ..For them, there is not need to just compare USA and India.
BTW, there is lots of point which can prove Life in India is much better than USA.
@Kaps: I feel the thing you said about mindset is very true. Nice post with good examples. In India, “respect” for the job (especially in IT) is really on the decrease. People take up any project / role, just for the money ..even if they dont like it. All i hear in the canteen is how much they hate the project and IT life. I have never heard this sort of cribbing from my British colleagues during my years there. We just want the big bucks and want it easily. That’s probably something in the genes of most indians.
@SVM : dude..when i hear from people like u nah..i really feel nice…IT life sucks dude…i crib whole day and night too..probably i am done with it too!
Kaps bro..okay..ya..so..look..what if i like…the nature n stuff..like as u said..cycling..and trekking..hiking etc..and not care too much about money..what if i like to do something cool..edgy..modern n nice…u kno..like know about farming..u kno..like poultry farming..is US a good option for me?
It is a current discussion topic. I thing decision making is the only solution for settle in US or India. Looking for more articles related to this. Thanks for sharing.
Hi All,
Just a simple question, a arts graduate with around 5 ys of exp. can get job in US. on estimated how much package??
20K$
In the Indian IT space, years of experience as such isn’t valued. It is a liability over here, to have more than 10 yrs of experience as individual contributor, as your only prospective employers are product based companies. A services firm would not be able to compensate you according to your experience, as you would be considered to be in Project Manager salary band but unfortunately you would not have the skills for that role. The role you play is what makes the difference here. Even if you are a manager (C band), the normal salaries here are only 15- 25 lacs. India is a very low income country and managers in India make lesser than even Vietnam. As someone on this thread said, come back to India only if you have bundles of cash and you dont depend on indian monthly salary. Be wise as one wrong move can cost you a lot. Some can be corrected while some can not.
Does anyone here old parents in India that they went back for? Sister is living in Pune and taking care of their expenses. The cost of taking care of parents rent,+food+24 hrs two nurses+medicines+cook is turning out to be 1-1.5lakhs a month! I am at a loss! Why do the nurses alone cost so much? Does anyone have any recommendations? Do you know some city where it is cheaper to find nurses/bed side assistants?
You have not mentioned what you pay for those nurses. In Kerala, a full time home nurse would cost you around 10,ooo INR per month (this was 2 years back..don’t know how much things have changed). The nurse would have prior experience as well as an education that would be related to nursing (can’t remember what they told me when i approached them..it wasnt BSc nursing anyway).
to the less needy.
You need to bear the accomodation, food and their travel expense to their native town etc. You would get a home nurse for INR 5000-7000 monthly also, but trust me, you are better off paying more for a qualified and well groomed person.
Labour rates are increasing in India..they are bound to head further up in future. To be fair to them, blue collared folks get a very poor deal in India. I feel happy when i hear that a labourer makes 20K a month (kerala rates). But the only catch is that white collared salaries arent growing in India. So even if you like to see others getting well off, you won’t make enough (as a salaried guy) to be so generous
I think Tamil Nadu or Andhra should work out atleast 50 % lesser on the monthly wages aspect but i dont know about the rents compared to pune. Good Luck
One big difference between India and US is the sense of justice and rule of law. In India, even if I was earning good, since I didnt have any family connections, I was vulnerable. The police there are the biggest criminals. Anyone can harm my family or property and there is no justice. E.g. a well connected person took over my Father-in-law’s land in a city and we could not do anything about it.
In US, there is a rule of law. Corruption is no where near as rampant as in India. Police in US, although has its restrictions and flaws, is actually there to uphold the law.
And I have seen this difference manifest itself in other ways also.
Those of my friends that come from a well to do and more importantly well connected families in India say that life in US is not as good as in India.
But those of us that come from an average background with no special connections like the life in US more.
Have you observed this too?
Vikram, I Think you have made a absolutely valid point.
How about old age (handicapped) in India or US?
This is the biggest draw back of life in US.
How to take care of old parents in US? I dont have a solution for this.
The healthcare costs for old parents that are not citizens of US is staggering.
Does anyone have any ideas?
This is one topic that should be covered in this blog. I know of so many people that had to leave settled lives in US to take care of parents. This one disadvantage trumps all other advantages of living in US over living in India.
Hi,I have tried staying in India for 1 year with my family in Hyderabad.This when we have to foreclose the house in Bayarea.We are all US Citizens. But for some reason it had been very tough for my husband to get a job.Still he cannot find it.I am a teacher where i used to get some reasonably money In US,But when i tried in Indian it was not even minimum basic salary.They dont want to give good salaries.For IT people for get about Hyderbad,there are no jobs over there.All they want is freshers and people with 90% marks etc.Its so discouraging there.We want to go and settle in our country and no companies are encouraging to give jobs for us.My husband has 12 years of US experience in It,still it is so difficult there.
If people had earned enough money and Property to survive without job in India ,for them it is fine.But for us neither of it we have.Even for kids it was so hard for them adjust in schools as we did not had much money to put them in those Posh International Schools,they have to go normal schools. Imagine children who are above 10 years do everything there like going to shops,crossing roads,and independent in everything.But for my children who stayed in US for 10 years was so hard becuase they depend on us so much for basic things like crossing road,getting even samll things from shops.They are not that strong to adopt the indian system. If any want to settle in India back please make sure you have plenty of money where you can have driver,car,maids etc.Becuase even if you want to do anything independtly like In US,Sorry we cant imagine how difficult it is there.
Are you serious just visit the web sites of IT companies in India and look at the amount of vacancies available, try govt sector too, try companies in Bangalore, almost every American software company has at least a few centers in India.
Its much easier finding a job in India as compared to the USA .
If ur looking at us equivalent salaries im sorry but value of money and cost of living in India is much lower thats why salaries are lower.
Maybe ur just trying to find an excuse to go back to the USA or maybe im mistaken, but ur looking for a posh life in India rather than a middle class life thats why ur frustrated.
Aravind, I am not sure if you are located in India and how exposed you are to the problems here. There are lakhs of professionals here. That itself tells you how tough the competition is going to be for a given job. I have friends who haven’t managed to get a job change for the last 2 years as the prospective employers say that their salaries are already too high. Guys at the lower CTC scales ( upto 12 lakhs per annum) can get jobs fairly easily. But it becomes very difficult as you cross that stage. I do not agree that India’s cost of living is less. The price of commodities cost pretty much the same everywhere in the world. But salaries here would be much lower meaning your standard of living is what takes the hit. A good meal for 1 person at a middle class restaurant in Dubai (example calicut paragon) would cost me 30 dirhams = 400 INR. If i go for a Noodles and some accompaniment at say Chung wah in bangalore, it would cost me INR 350. Pretty much the same. The only difference is rents. That too is changing. Having worked in UK, US, Singapore, Dubai ..i feel India is unreasonably expensive given that wages here are much lesser. ANother thing is that quality of goods as well as standard of living are way too low compared to the money that you pay.
I agree to your comments partially. It is difficult to find a job for a 12 years experienced in India compared to US. Indian IT companies doesn’t look for a developer with that experience. Life is bit tough in India compared to US and is difficult particularly after staying for a long time in United States . Cost of living has gone up drastically in India. I think you guys haven’t come to terms yet. But that’s how the life is in India and you have to get used to it. I am Indian who wants to stay in US for a max of 7 years and then move back to India. Any day I would raise my children in Indian than in US.
Yes you are right when someone came back to his native region its hard to find the deserve jobs since a lot of change had been over there.
Sorry, But there is a great salary difference right here in US. can you compare Rs 30,000/- a month with $1600 twice a month??? (Its $ 3200 a month). Living cost is easier here if you are a non vegetarian. And above all the difference lies in the people and surroundings, Everyone from INDIA WILLL like it….
Yes you are quite right I also agree with you. Thanks Ashish.
Godavari.., reg schooling i can suggest u to go for home schooling for ur kids with Cambridge IGCSE curriculum, UK when u cant afford international posh schools, Hyd or India.Thats lot better choice .
Humm really difficult decision but feels good that we have choice to settle where ever we want….i would say take exposure of life staying in US for 4-5 years(depending on your situation…age when you entered US) and then can go back to india with a heavy pocket and have fun in life down there………….
You articles are good. I have read most of these articles.
But I have to disagree on your thoughts being neutral and wanted the people to decide on whether to stay in US or India. To me, these articles are more inclined towards (recommended) living in US. They aren’t neutral, it’s just my opinion.
It lacks options/suggestions on those things that can be explored in India (+ve).
I am in US for more than 5 years now. I am on H1 and looking to go back to India. As you can expect, I am an IT guy with the same dilemma as other people, US or India. My thoughts toggle between these two options many times…
As you said, there are lot of things to be considered before making this decision.
Inflation, money power, prices are all true about India… but you could have included some positive values from India, like our culture, our tourism, entertainment, people bonding etc. How many Indian States have we covered on tourism when compared to the tourism we did in India?
I think I am missing something when i stay in this country.
Agreed that US has their own culture, if we can adapt and accept, we can appreciate it.
What I have decided? still unknown
I am totally agree with you.
This articles at many places looks bias towards living in US.
When we do a comparison, it should be neutral basis. Regarding tourism, the blogger hardly talks about tourism places in india.
I am 31 yrs. of age, my graduation is B’Com, LL.B.
If I want to come to USA for a job, is MS compulsary.
‘N how & where can I apply.
As you have done LLB, I assume you are in law profession. I am not sure if long term employment opportunities are available for that profession on work visas like H-1. You will have to research on that first.
Thank you so much for all the information. You did something that is going to be a treasure mine for all students / job seekers coming to US. Have been here for some time now. Wish I had access to this site before I came here, but it’s still a much appreciated website for me. Thanks and regards,
Anirban
Child with physical therapy needs, stay at home mom who wants to live in US for the child and husband who’s the only child to his parents and wants to go back to India ! Just don’t know how to convince my husband. If I ask him to settle in US, he’ll be sad. If I go to India I’ll be sad. But since he’s the only one working what should I do?
What about of u want to bring a brother or sister over from India…?
Similar process as calling parents on visitor visa. However, they need to show that they have ties with India and will return back to India at the end of the visit. This can be shown by
- letter from their employer showing their employment and grant of leave (if they are salaried)
- business details etc (if they are self-employed)
What about an Indian husband, American husband, Indian Origin but US raised husband?
Chitra, I will try to write my opinion on this…Good Point
A great thought provoking article! looking forward to more suggestions
Hi Kumar,
That was a great thought,i am sure there are lots of people will be waiting to read this article..
I more topic should be Life on H4 Visa for a well educated prevously working person..
Regards,
Seena.
Seena, It is tough life for H4 visa holders, something very important to consider…I have added it !
@kumar
greetings, a super topic, for which no one can choose the answer, it all depends upon ones perspective of life, i am waiting to read your opinion,
good of you
yours joyfully
easwaran
Yes, All we can do is just take an educated decision !
Most of the questions are very relevant before one decides to re-locate to India. A few more topics that I, a senior citizen living long in SE Asia, can think of : Saving potential (net of tax) in the U.S. and India – also related to cost of living and how far we can stretch our dollar or the rupee, one’s re-adaptability in India (critical for long-serving expats) in case one opts to return, the age factor and how many more years left for productive employment and pension benefits, marriageability (?) for young unmarried persons. The last item is important these days when it is becoming too difficult to get suitable alliance for marriage.
Very good decision making topics , I have added all the topics !
American wife, Indian wife, US born Indian origin wife?
Sibi, Added to list
Indo-American WIfe