Why You Should (Or Should Not) Move Back To India

We moved back to India from USA after spending a decade there. Over time, we realised what some valid reasons to move back are and some reasons we thought were important but turned out not to be. Hopefully, this experience can help you decide whether you should return to India or not.
What are some reasons to return to India?
Sense of Belonging
Personally, this was the biggest reason for our decision. I could never feel a sense of belonging while I was in the US. I was fortunate to meet the best of people during my stay in the US and made some amazing friends both at work and personally. However, I always felt a sense of void which was hard to explain. I thought it would get better with time as I got accustomed to life in the US but it got worse. The cold Boston winters did not help either! I longed to eat desi food and not care about checking the weather every time I stepped out. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my time in the US but after moving back to India, I truly feel at home. It’s funny how within three months of returning to India, I felt like I had never left.
Aging Parents & Family
My wife and I had decided that if given an option, we would like to spend the best years of our lives with our parents. They are the reason we are what we are and we want to create many happy memories while they are in good health. I always dreamt of owning a home in Mumbai and living with my parents. It seemed like a distant dream when I stepped into the US but things worked out in the end. Taking my mother shopping, selecting gadgets with my dad and the weekend trips with cousins have been some of the happiest memories for me after coming back to India. I have a two-year-old who is so spoilt with all the love from all her grandparents. The joy in their eyes when they play with our daughter is unmatched.
Festivals
If there was a time we missed India the most, it was during festivals. The energy and the stimulation of all five senses that one experiences in India are unparalleled. All the festivals we have celebrated after coming back to India have lived up to our expectations. We celebrated Diwali for the first time this year after moving back to India and it was exactly how we imagined it would be (without the pollution of course). The whole society was decorated with lights, there was lots of food and great vibes all around.
Food
Being vegetarians, we always had trouble finding the right food (apart from a few places, Indian food is consistently terrible in the US). Over time, we did develop a liking towards large Papa John’s pizzas (we like Pineapple on our pizzas, no judging!) and Mexican food (Chipotle FTW!). But boy were we in for a treat after moving back. Zomato and Swiggy have spoiled us for choice. Delicious food delivered anytime, anywhere. Heaven.
Convenience
India has come a long way in terms of day-to-day convenience. Apart from the obvious ones like maids and cooks, the advent of technology has deeply penetrated the day-to-day life of an average Indian and yes that holds for all income groups. Doorstep delivery of groceries and food, cashless payments through UPI and online banking coupled with cheap data (thank you Mukesh Ambani!) have made lives super convenient. Need a plumber, there is an app for it. Need groceries in 10 minutes, there are many apps for it. Name your need and there is more likely than not an app that does it.
Immigration Challenges & Career Flexibility
This is the most well-known reason for coming back. Although we had our fair share of visa challenges and subsequent job constraints due to those, our immigration journey was largely smooth with both of us getting our H1b visas approved. Although I started my green card process, I had no intention of waiting for close to 100 years to get one. After we came back, I took up a job at a tech startup. I would have probably not done this had I been in the US due to the visa transfer uncertainty. I recently started freelancing part-time as a data science teacher, which again is not a possibility when your job is tied to your visa.
Financial Independence
The concept of financial independence has been around for a long time now (look up Finance Independence & Retire Early aka FIRE). As a couple, we always wanted the freedom to say no to any job that we did not like or did not sound exciting enough to pursue. That freedom comes at a cost, the cost of front-loading your savings early on in your career so that you can be in a position to say no later on in life. Yes, India is no longer cheap but I do feel that apart from housing and education, the cost of living is extremely cheap even in tier 1 cities. My wife was able to take a career break to look after our daughter and I was able to do the same to pursue some pet projects.
India Growth Story
I read somewhere that India disappoints both optimists and pessimists equally. People have been waiting for that supercharged growth for a long time. So far, India has not lived up to the expectations. However, we had started seeing signs of India’s growth potential finally starting to get unlocked. The tech industry has been booming and the salary differential between the US and India has shrunk rapidly. Disposable incomes are on the rise and so is the willingness to attain a better lifestyle. The current market scenario of course has been tough but so is the case in the US. The sentiment for India’s future though has been largely positive. If you believe in the India growth story, you should consider exploring these opportunities.
What are some reasons to NOT return to India?
Boredom
Life in the US can be boring, and mundane and can lack the variety of experiences that India has to offer. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on your personality. But, this should not be a reason to return to India. If you value predictability in your day-to-day life, living in India can be challenging. The predictability in developed countries comes from a culture of law-abiding citizens and mature systems that are less likely to break. I value this predictability and often joke with my wife that life in the US is tailor-made for an extremely introverted person like me. India forces you out of your comfort zone. Over time, I have grown accustomed to the unpredictability and even enjoy it sometimes.
Exciting Vacations in India
People often look for signs of whether they will fit into life in India when they visit for vacations. Vacations are just that, vacations. On vacations, you are trying to have as much fun as possible in the shortest amount of time focusing on activities that you enjoy the most while having no upper limit on spending. This results in fun times but also gives a distorted and rosy view of day-to-day life in India. Since you are in India for a short duration, people also make more time for you. That is not true when you live in India. Do not try to decide to move back based on your recent memories of your India vacations.
Nostalgia
The India you left a few years ago is not the same anymore. The places you grew up in probably don’t even look the same. The friends and cousins you used to hang out with have families of their own and going on impromptu evening strolls in your neighbourhood is just not possible (we meet our cousins once every month). Everyone is used to living a life without you. If you decide to move, move for the very same people but in your mind be aware that your expectations of relationships may not be met.
Spouse’s Inclination
I cannot stress this enough. Do not move if one of you is not entirely convinced of moving. This can put great stress on your relationship and will eventually lead to fights where the blame for every single thing going wrong will be attributed to this decision. Both of you have to be on board with this decision. This is probably the single biggest reason for things working out or not. Fortunately, both of us were completely aligned on this decision.
Pollution & Infrastructure
India is known for high pollution and below-par infrastructure. This is a real problem. Tier 1 cities are highly polluted for at least a few days every year. This is something that you cannot control and is unlikely to change over time.
Having said that, we did not find the infrastructure to be that big of a concern. Yes, traffic is bad in almost all cities, but the quality of infrastructure is hugely dependent on the city you move to. You will be disappointed if compared to the US but we haven’t found it too problematic.
Work Culture
The work culture in India is still relatively bad just due to the sheer competition there is for good quality jobs. Work-life balance is highly dependent on the company you join, and your ability to say no and set expectations. After I moved back to India, I took up a job at a fast-growing startup. Having worked at McKinsey and a few other fast-paced companies in the US before, I did not find the work-life balance too bad. At times, it did get too much but nothing I had not experienced in the US before.
Watching Swades
Speaking from first-hand experience, there exists an extremely strong correlation between watching Swades and your desire to move back (trust me I have lost count of how many times I felt like packing my bags immediately after watching the movie). The patriotism and love for the country are all fine but it will disappear sooner than you can say Shah Rukh Khan once you land in India. Of course, we all love India but don’t make this choice just out of love. We eventually made the move and even listened to “Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera” while landing in true Bollywood style (it is one of the most cherished moments of our lives), but not before making sure that a hundred other things fell into place.
I hope this article helped you regardless of your current situation. For ones already settled and not planning to move, I admire your clarity of thought and resolve to make it in a foreign country. Moving back is not the right decision for everyone and it should stay that way. For those who are on the fence, I hope this provided honest perspectives on life in both countries so that you can make the right decision for YOU. For those who have already decided to move, I hope to assist you in this journey of homecoming (here is how you can increase your likelihood of a successful return to India).