Vancouver Posted February 20 Posted February 20 When you go back to India after living in the West, the change in yourself hits you. It happens so slowly that you don’t notice, but suddenly you realize you’re not the same person anymore who left India. I’ve been to India twice in the last 10 years and honestly moment the plane kissed the ground in Canada was the deepest joy. It's like meeting an old friend who knows you, but not the you you’ve become. Everything feels familiar, yet nothing is the same. You or your parents must have left India for a reason, just like you ended that relationship with your ex. I don’t feel an emotional connection to India anymore, but living in Canada made me see the injustices I once took part in unknowingly, the small cruelties, the privileges I accepted without thought. I want to hug the rickshaw driver (RIP my driver Amreeka) who took me to school as a kid, every housemaid who worked in our home. You’d think I’d want to go back and repeat it all but no. Canada taught me how to clean up after myself, make a simple sandwich and most importantly, respect everyone, regardless of their skin colour or social hierarchy. BacktoCricaddict and Tillu 2
Nikhil_cric Posted February 20 Posted February 20 4 hours ago, Chaos said: I wish bathrooms other than in 5 star hotels are better. Mannnn even who call them 4 star in rajamundry, ap… worse than 7 eleven here. Also, in mumbai, unless u go to posh place no sanitary bathrooms. Public sanitation is literally shi* in this country apart from a few places. Terrible air quality, pathetic urban planning, close to water scarcity in a few years. By 2030 water will run out in the major cities. Those here are trying to get out as quickly as possible , if they can. Net migration flow is 600,000 outwards every year. That's no accident The wealthy live in gated apartment/villa complexes and praise delivery services which ensure that they don't have to engage with the larger populations or be exposed to civic issues on a daily basis. And for those romanticising about smaller towns, majority of those coming from abroad won't be able to adjust that lifestyle anyway.
Chaos Posted February 20 Posted February 20 17 minutes ago, Nikhil_cric said: Public sanitation is literally shi* in this country apart from a few places. Terrible air quality, pathetic urban planning, close to water scarcity in a few years. By 2030 water will run out in the major cities. Those here are trying to get out as quickly as possible , if they can. Net migration flow is 600,000 outwards every year. That's no accident The wealthy live in gated apartment/villa complexes and praise delivery services which ensure that they don't have to engage with the larger populations or be exposed to civic issues on a daily basis. And for those romanticising about smaller towns, majority of those coming from abroad won't be able to adjust that lifestyle anyway. man it was 49* centigrades when i visited rajamandry with family and a white gf. I had heat stroke cuz they took few hrs to count cash and we went to best restaurant/ hotel to get food. I went to car n told driver to blast ac. Geez was not good. I was raised in vijayawada and other hot places but phewww Nikhil_cric 1
coffee_rules Posted February 20 Posted February 20 9 hours ago, FischerTal said: Indians in America are the most delusionary people to exist. They are hated by the Palestine supporting woke LGBTQ Democrats and the White nationalist MAGA racists. Still, they will believe that America harbors a place for them. They were always imported to exist as IT coolies and provide healthcare services in far-flung areas where American doctors dont want to go. Trump ke ane baad aukaat pata chal gayi. Already the H-!B pipeline is ending and now with the proliferation of AI, doctors job wlill be taken over in a matter of 1-2 decades. Fortunately, we don’t live our lives on social media, podcast, college protest, and on TV channels. It is not as bad a picture as you paint here. Most of the Indians employed in corporates, are respected for being honest workers, and also one of the most prolific,affluent migrant community, richer than Jews. At least I have not faced any backlash on the street where I go. Yes, the H1B and AI impact on jobs is gonna be for all Americans including Indian Americans. I do see a lot of Indians moving to UK, EU, Australia, or Canada than to US from here on. I know at least two people who postponed traveling to India for marriage or death in family because they are an H1B visa I don’t want to risk losing jobs on the way back. A lot of Indian Americans are calling their congressman or senator and asking for relief on H1B policy of Trump.
jf1gp_1 Posted February 21 Posted February 21 (edited) On 2/19/2026 at 10:19 PM, kepler37b said: I see that MOST of you are in gora lands. Any of you planning to return? Return without hesitation. India has given us everything. First 6-9 months are going to be harsh but then you will settle. Child part is a bit tough. Choice is between quality of live vs comfortable life Edited February 21 by jf1gp_1 FischerTal 1
kepler37b Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 3 hours ago, jf1gp_1 said: Return without hesitation. India has given us everything. First 6-9 months are going to be harsh but then you will settle. Child part is a bit tough. Choice is between quality of live vs comfortable life If the livability index of our cities improves, 90% will return. Real estate+Pollution+Food adulteration are the major thing scaring away NRI's. Corruption and high cost of living can be negotiated with.
randomGuy Posted February 21 Posted February 21 (edited) 10 hours ago, Vancouver said: You’d think I’d want to go back and repeat it all but no. Canada taught me how to clean up after myself, make a simple sandwich and most importantly, respect everyone, regardless of their skin colour or social hierarchy. I wonder why more people do not think about their food choices. There's a lot of animal cruelty involved in non-veg and dairy. I was raised as a non vegetarian who would eat fish, chicken mutton....but left it at as an 8 yr old kid, hadn't seen an animal slaughtered but just imagined and quit non-veg in one go as an 8 years old(later in 5-7 years, my family also left nonveg seeing me) . Dairy also, i have minimized (do not eat paneer, milk but do have chai , curd in moderation, wish to make it zero one day) Always wondered why people do not leave non veg even after having so many veg options. One should appreciate (from animal welfare and sensitiveness pov) , the fact that more percentage north Indians are vegetarians than in any part of the world. Edited February 21 by randomGuy
jf1gp_1 Posted February 21 Posted February 21 16 minutes ago, kepler37b said: If the livability index of our cities improves, 90% will return. Real estate+Pollution+Food adulteration are the major thing scaring away NRI's. Corruption and high cost of living can be negotiated with. i agree on pollution and that is a real problem. Honestly i dont see it getting solved for the next decade. Food adulteration has solution plus US food quality is just as bad as ours unless you are willing to pay that extra same is the case here by paying 20-25% extra. randomGuy 1
kepler37b Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 11 hours ago, Chaos said: man it was 49* centigrades when i visited rajamandry with family and a white gf. I had heat stroke cuz they took few hrs to count cash and we went to best restaurant/ hotel to get food. I went to car n told driver to blast ac. Geez was not good. I was raised in vijayawada and other hot places but phewww All due to frenetic construction activity of highways, railways, residential and commercial buildings etc.,. Densely populated land.
kepler37b Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 11 hours ago, coffee_rules said: Fortunately, we don’t live our lives on social media, podcast, college protest, and on TV channels. It is not as bad a picture as you paint here. Most of the Indians employed in corporates, are respected for being honest workers, and also one of the most prolific,affluent migrant community, richer than Jews. At least I have not faced any backlash on the street where I go. Yes, the H1B and AI impact on jobs is gonna be for all Americans including Indian Americans. I do see a lot of Indians moving to UK, EU, Australia, or Canada than to US from here on. I know at least two people who postponed traveling to India for marriage or death in family because they are an H1B visa I don’t want to risk losing jobs on the way back. A lot of Indian Americans are calling their congressman or senator and asking for relief on H1B policy of Trump. Off topic, but do you find the job of wagey appealing? It is same boring crap anywhere in the world. coffee_rules 1
kepler37b Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 1 hour ago, jf1gp_1 said: i agree on pollution and that is a real problem. Honestly i dont see it getting solved for the next decade. Food adulteration has solution plus US food quality is just as bad as ours unless you are willing to pay that extra same is the case here by paying 20-25% extra. Food adulteration is the greatest L for bhaarat. There is NO excuse and authorities are caught napping. jf1gp_1 1
coffee_rules Posted February 21 Posted February 21 9 hours ago, kepler37b said: Off topic, but do you find the job of wagey appealing? It is same boring crap anywhere in the world. If you are talking about salaried jobs, it all depends . It is about how much time interested you are with n the field, what are growth options and what is the value innovation in the field. They say never work on a job, but work on your career
kosingh Posted February 21 Posted February 21 I returned to India after 10 years abroad. Adjusting to work culture was the hardest. I found it hard to refer to more senior work colleagues as "Sir" in India. That general culture of obsequiousness to authority was very uncomfortable. I have since left India again. I now live in the US. People tell me it's getting better with Gen Z Indians. Lord 1
kepler37b Posted February 21 Author Posted February 21 7 minutes ago, kosingh said: I returned to India after 10 years abroad. Adjusting to work culture was the hardest. I found it hard to refer to more senior work colleagues as "Sir" in India. That general culture of obsequiousness to authority was very uncomfortable. I have since left India again. I now live in the US. People tell me it's getting better with Gen Z Indians. India is a low trust country. The managers are ultra insecure and fearful. Like scared dogs. You need to calm down their insecurities and work on building relationship with him. BTW, I worked for a tier 3 service company. Even there no one is required to call "Sir". Are you working in a non-IT field?
kosingh Posted February 21 Posted February 21 22 minutes ago, kepler37b said: India is a low trust country. The managers are ultra insecure and fearful. Like scared dogs. You need to calm down their insecurities and work on building relationship with him. BTW, I worked for a tier 3 service company. Even there no one is required to call "Sir". Are you working in a non-IT field? I worked in a market research firm. Yes, non IT. I wouldn't say that "Sir" was required. That was simply the culture. This was the mid 2000s.
jf1gp_1 Posted February 22 Posted February 22 11 hours ago, coffee_rules said: If you are talking about salaried jobs, it all depends . It is about how much time interested you are with n the field, what are growth options and what is the value innovation in the field. They say never work on a job, but work on your career Lets be practical, while most of us would have got into the field of our choice but corporate jobs have there own pulls and pressures. Job security which one had across the world is slowing gone and India is also heading in the same direction. It all boils down to money.
jf1gp_1 Posted February 22 Posted February 22 11 hours ago, coffee_rules said: If you are talking about salaried jobs, it all depends . It is about how much time interested you are with n the field, what are growth options and what is the value innovation in the field. They say never work on a job, but work on your career just curious any idea , when the time comes, if I will have access to my social security benefit while living in India ?
coffee_rules Posted February 22 Posted February 22 59 minutes ago, jf1gp_1 said: just curious any idea , when the time comes, if I will have access to my social security benefit while living in India ? Yes, there is some six month rule for payment. After six months if you live outside US. https://www.ssa.gov/international/payments.html#:~:text=Generally%2C we cannot pay Retirement,the day on February 14.
jf1gp_1 Posted February 22 Posted February 22 55 minutes ago, coffee_rules said: Yes, there is some six month rule for payment. After six months if you live outside US. https://www.ssa.gov/international/payments.html#:~:text=Generally%2C we cannot pay Retirement,the day on February 14. This is complicated. Basically visit for 30 days every 7 months. So basically if ones child is settled there its doable and the ssn money should be enough to cover your airfares, money spent in 30 days and still leave bit in your hand which is not bad. coffee_rules 1
kepler37b Posted February 22 Author Posted February 22 On 2/20/2026 at 11:07 PM, Nikhil_cric said: Public sanitation is literally shi* in this country apart from a few places. Terrible air quality, pathetic urban planning, close to water scarcity in a few years. By 2030 water will run out in the major cities. Those here are trying to get out as quickly as possible , if they can. Net migration flow is 600,000 outwards every year. That's no accident The wealthy live in gated apartment/villa complexes and praise delivery services which ensure that they don't have to engage with the larger populations or be exposed to civic issues on a daily basis. And for those romanticising about smaller towns, majority of those coming from abroad won't be able to adjust that lifestyle anyway. Smaller towns look appealing as they are a smaller mess in a larger area. water situation actually improved in Telangana/Andhra. Every other house has running water. Of course, the exploitation by anne datas is rampant Public sanitation stinks and will continue to stink for the rest of our lives Urban planning is quite pathetic to say the least. We need not become another $60k pci to trigger a ghar wapasi. If we reach $10k pci(without wrecking the env), there would be a flood of people coming back.
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