Whats your take on Citizenship

[Ram]

I used to think that way, it backfired..I realize now how much I miss India However, coming to this point; somehow I have seen people from smaller towns having that type of issue ( somewhat folks who haven't been charmed by high-life or skyscrapers )- This is just my opinion For me, coming from a Metro like Mumbai..I 'd say if u have a good bank balance; life is much much better there ..on that note, if you have a good bank balance- life is good in India I feel I'd like to hear from Kabira actually, howz he adjusting

"life is good in India I feel" -- It will be interesting to know what you mean by the word "good" ? Are you happier ? Is life easier/more convenient to live ? Pound for pound i would say life is more convenient in the west than in India. The question we have to ask ourselves is -- " Can we miss the convenience ? " .

[Bumper]

If you need social security after 65 better apply for citizenship. They can change the rules for GC anytime they want. Also ' date=' OIC is pretty close to dual citizenship.[/quote'] Keep dreaming :teeth_smile:, Social security, as its done today, will likely run out funds in 20 years time. Even if it lasts, the payment would be pittance (which scaled to inflation) would not be enuff to buy you anything more than a loaf of bread a day. Unless the govt does something different, i wouldnt count on SS after retirement. Back to the OP, take citizenship in the US/UK at the first available opportunity, as immigration laws will increasingly get unfriendly for immigrants over time.

[Rajiv]

"life is good in India I feel" -- It will be interesting to know what you mean by the word "good" ? Are you happier ? Where? Is life easier/more convenient to live ? Where? in India, yes. Like I said, with a good bank balance, its much better Pound for pound i would say life is more convenient in the west than in India. The question we have to ask ourselves is -- " Can we miss the convenience ? " Convenience can be interpreted in many ways, in India everything is paisa phekh tamasha dekh.".

I have traveled a lot since childhood, normally people dream to come to the US; I visited 11 times before going there to study I was obviously charmed by the "cool" and the American University life in the 90's. I grew up with " India mein kya rakha hain ". Long story short, in my case atleast- my life was great in India. I made bad choices and life took a turn Thus, I dearly miss India now

[dial_100]

Even. I may end up going back to India. But then I may not... Its not sure yet. Thanks folks. I have filled out applications myself. Should I hire a lawyer or DIY kindda thing?

[Ram]

I have traveled a lot since childhood, normally people dream to come to the US; I visited 11 times before going there to study I was obviously charmed by the "cool" and the American University life in the 90's. I grew up with " India mein kya rakha hain ". Long story short, in my case atleast- my life was great in India. I made bad choices and life took a turn Thus, I dearly miss India now

I understand what you say. The point i am trying to make about convenience is not so much related to the bank balance i feel. Having lived a amazingly effecient and people friendly society , will one be able to handle the sudden drop in all of this , if we were to go back home ? I cant speak for people who have been here for many years and have roots/links that are too established to cut. For them, relocating to India is not just a matter of booking a flight ticket to home. But as someone in my early 20's, I can echo some of the sentiments of my friends, many of whom are also here in the US. I dont think any of us are charmed or captivated by the American life/culture. That may have been the case till 6-7 years ago , but not anymore. Yes, the parents do make a big deal out of their sons/daughters being in the US, but not children who live here. And its for the simple reason that life is much harder here. As many of you would acknowledge, it aint that easy to live away from home for such prolonged periods of time. I have had many of my friends openly lament about their "Dog's life" here in the U.S. Most of our guys lives charecterised by lack of proper sleep , no proper eating habits ( I know guys who survive just of cereals and frozen Burritos) and a total erratic lifestyle. One bad consequence of this free-for-all lifestyle is that many guys succumb to bad habits ( ie - excessive smoking and drinking et al ). The point I am trying to make is , the overwhelming sentiment among new students of my age seems to be -- " Its not so great here , we should go back asap" . I also know that its one thing wanting to back , but an entirely different issue to actually have the ticker and leave. How many of us actually end up doing it , only time will tell.

[Rajiv]

I understand what you say. The point i am trying to make about convenience is not so much related to the bank balance i feel. Having lived a amazingly effecient and people friendly society , will one be able to handle the sudden drop in all of this , if we were to go back home ? Like what? Online banking, taking the trash out, transport? Cmon man, you have lived in India before this; surely you can adjust back and I am sure things must have changed I cant speak for people who have been here for many years and have roots/links that are too established to cut. For them, relocating to India is not just a matter of booking a flight ticket to home. But as someone in my early 20's, I can echo some of the sentiments of my friends, many of whom are also here in the US. I dont think any of us are charmed or captivated by the American life/culture. That may have been the case till 6-7 years ago , but not anymore. Yes, the parents do make a big deal out of their sons/daughters being in the US, but not children who live here. And its for the simple reason that life is much harder here. As many of you would acknowledge, it aint that easy to live away from home for such prolonged periods of time. I have had many of my friends openly lament about their "Dog's life" here in the U.S. Most of our guys lives charecterised by lack of proper sleep , no proper eating habits ( I know guys who survive just of cereals and frozen Burritos) and a total erratic lifestyle. One bad consequence of this free-for-all lifestyle is that many guys succumb to bad habits ( ie - excessive smoking and drinking et al ). The point I am trying to make is , the overwhelming sentiment among new students of my age seems to be -- " Its not so great here , we should go back asap" . I also know that its one things wanting to back , but an entirely different issue to actually have the ticker and leave. How many of us actually end up doing it , only time will tell. Well said, actually very well said..I'd tell ya something..you came, you saw, you got the experiene, you will make lotta green, you will spend lotta green...but India is where your family is and I am sure you realize how important family is. That "apnapan" doesn't exist here . You enjoyed here, go back..its our people there

Answered

[Ram]

"Like what? Online banking, taking the trash out, transport? Cmon man, you have lived in India before this; surely you can adjust back and I am sure things must have change".. Not just online banking and taking the trash out.. EVERYRTHING. I leave my house EXACTLY 2 mins before the bus comes, because i know the bus will never be late or early. And more importantly , i know the bus wil have space , it will be clean , and fast ( Not to suggest that I would be travelling in public transport if I were to go back to India). I also go to my bank on campus just when they asked me to come , coz i know i dont have to stand in lines that take forever to progress. Make no mistake , I am no snobby guy who goes around with the " India is Oh so ineffecient or whatever" I have lived all m life there , and i wouldnt be losing a lot if i decide to go back. But I do know of people in the mid-30's who are hesitant to go back because health/convenience issues. Life is far more easier for them here. For eg - I have a friend who suffered from chronic asthma while he was in India. He went through hell. Couldnt play/have fun like the rest of us did. The dusty environment back home was a factor in this. After coming to the US , its been 11 months since he had an asthma attack. His parents are happy for him. They say -- " Dont come , stay there". "Well said, actually very well said..I'd tell ya something..you came, you saw, you got the experiene, you will make lotta green, you will spend lotta green...but India is where your family is and I am sure you realize how important family is. That "apnapan" doesn't exist here . You enjoyed here, go back..its our people there" Point taken. I realize it the words of wisdom speaking here. Thanks !

[fineleg]

Even. I may end up going back to India. But then I may not... Its not sure yet. Thanks folks. I have filled out applications myself. Should I hire a lawyer or DIY kindda thing?

Can someone answer the above question - is applying for Citizenship a thingy where one is better served by a lawyer or a DIY (do it yourself)?

[chanakya]

hmm I asked a second generation Indian lady in Singapore what their National day is. Her reply 14th August.

[Gaurav]

hmm I asked a second generation Indian lady in Singapore what their National day is. Her reply 14th August.

So what? Maybe she like the sound of the word CHOUDA (14) :hysterical:

[Gaurav]

I used to think that way' date=' it backfired..I realize now how much I [b']miss India

Look sometimes I miss screwing around but I would never risk loosing my lovely wife. What I mean is that if I missed India I still would not move back. It's another thing that I don't miss India :omg_smile:

However, coming to this point; somehow I have seen people from smaller towns having that type of issue ( somewhat folks who haven't been charmed by high-life or skyscrapers )- This is just my opinion

No high life and skyscrapers here :tounge_smile:

That "apnapan" doesn't exist here .

Apnapan is reason enough not to go back for me:hysterical: The things that get done in the name of "apnapan" is what piss me off about India. From nosey gossiping neighbours to long nosed family member who want to interfere in everything :hysterical:

You enjoyed here, go back..its our people there

The people here are as apne as there...meaning that I don't give e a cr@p about strangers. Home is where my heart is. Heart is inside my body and my body is in Europe :hysterical:

[DesiChap]

Can someone answer the above question - is applying for Citizenship a thingy where one is better served by a lawyer or a DIY (do it yourself)?

DIY. It is pretty straightforward you do not need any stinking lawyer for this !

[Lurker]

"life is good in India I feel" -- It will be interesting to know what you mean by the word "good" ? Are you happier ? Is life easier/more convenient to live ? Pound for pound i would say life is more convenient in the west than in India. The question we have to ask ourselves is -- " Can we miss the convenience ? " .

Sriram, My personal take on your questions. Life is definitely much better in India. Of course it would depend on what you value as "good" things in life really. For example I value subtle things like getting up in the morning on a Sunday, walk over to the corner chai-wallah, buy a newspaper and sit down and sip my "cutting chai" with a weird but very tasty buiscuit. I love to come home late at night from office, say 10 pm, sit on the road-side Chinese stall and munch of Chicken Chilly with Egg-fried rice. If you are a spiritual kind I do not even begin to tell you what peace India can give you. I mean you put everything that USA can offer on one hand and put the Ghats of Benaras on the other and guess what the latter shall prevail. I think people tend to choose to stay in West not because of the facilities(though obviously it plays a role). A lot of people tend to choose to stay back because of "La Familia". I mean it is one thing for a person to leave his Honda Accord in LA and take to taking buses in Bombay. It is completely other to have your wives and kids do that. Still people who actually do that, end up moving back to India, are what I would consider Indians in truest sense and my hats off to them for that. Like Rajeev mentioned, it would be great to hear Kabira's opinion on the same. xxx

[Guest dada_rocks]

Kabira Hajir hoooooooo.. batao bhaiya apna experience..

[Ram]

Sriram, My personal take on your questions. Life is definitely much better in India. Of course it would depend on what you value as "good" things in life really. For example I value subtle things like getting up in the morning on a Sunday, walk over to the corner chai-wallah, buy a newspaper and sit down and sip my "cutting chai" with a weird but very tasty buiscuit. I love to come home late at night from office, say 10 pm, sit on the road-side Chinese stall and munch of Chicken Chilly with Egg-fried rice.

Excellent example Lurker ! I totally agree with you on this point. Many of what made our lives in India , dont exist anymore.

If you are a spiritual kind I do not even begin to tell you what peace India can give you. I mean you put everything that USA can offer on one hand and put the Ghats of Benaras on the other and guess what the latter shall prevail.

I am spiritual , but not religious. The first thing I did on going to NJ 4 months back is to visit the temple there , coz it had been so long since i did that. But I really do wonder how many will think on lines that you do.

I think people tend to choose to stay in West not because of the facilities(though obviously it plays a role). A lot of people tend to choose to stay back because of "La Familia". I mean it is one thing for a person to leave his Honda Accord in LA and take to taking buses in Bombay. It is completely other to have your wives and kids do that. Still people who actually do that, end up moving back to India, are what I would consider Indians in truest sense and my hats off to them for that.

Lurker , I think we should not confuse " Indianism" with the decision to go back to India. Will make it look as though , those who dont , arent that Indian after all. I totally disagree with that. You might want to read what i had written in my earlier post when i referred to convenience of lifestyle. I think convenience/ease of lifestyle makes a HUGE difference. Would you comprimise for a lifestyle where the gym where you work-out has things falling apart ? , The pool where you go for a swim , isnt well maintained ? Or the theatre to which you go for the weekend movie , has sound system all screwd up ? "Not just online banking and taking the trash out.. EVERYRTHING. I leave my house EXACTLY 2 mins before the bus comes, because i know the bus will never be late or early. And more importantly , i know the bus wil have space , it will be clean , and fast ( Not to suggest that I would be travelling in public transport if I were to go back to India). I also go to my bank on campus just when they asked me to come , coz i know i dont have to stand in lines that take forever to progress. Make no mistake , I am no snobby guy who goes around with the " India is Oh so ineffecient or whatever" I have lived all m life there , and i wouldnt be losing a lot if i decide to go back. But I do know of people in the mid-30's who are hesitant to go back because health/convenience issues. Life is far more easier for them here. For eg - I have a friend who suffered from chronic asthma while he was in India. He went through hell. Couldnt play/have fun like the rest of us did. The dusty environment back home was a factor in this. After coming to the US , its been 11 months since he had an asthma attack. His parents are happy for him. They say -- " Dont come , stay there".

[Lurker]

I am spiritual , but not religious. The first thing I did on going to NJ 4 months back is to visit the temple there , coz it had been so long since i did that. But I really do wonder how many will think on lines that you do.

I am not religious either Sriram. But I must say that there is something very deep when you visit a place like Benaras Ghat, or my favorite place of its kind - Bodh Gaya. There is so much history, so much spirituality that you can feel it. It is different(and I dont mean to compare) than say a US temple where there is little history attached to a temple and it is frankly little more than a structure where statues have been assembled.

Lurker , I think we should not confuse " Indianism" with the decision to go back to India. Will make it look as though , those who dont , arent that Indian after all. I totally disagree with that. You might want to read what i had written in my earlier post when i referred to convenience of lifestyle. I think convenience/ease of lifestyle makes a HUGE difference. Would you comprimise for a lifestyle where the gym where you work-out has things falling apart ? , The pool where you go for a swim , isnt well maintained ? Or the theatre to which you go for the weekend movie , has sound system all screwd up ? "Not just online banking and taking the trash out.. EVERYRTHING. I leave my house EXACTLY 2 mins before the bus comes, because i know the bus will never be late or early. And more importantly , i know the bus wil have space , it will be clean , and fast ( Not to suggest that I would be travelling in public transport if I were to go back to India). I also go to my bank on campus just when they asked me to come , coz i know i dont have to stand in lines that take forever to progress. Make no mistake , I am no snobby guy who goes around with the " India is Oh so ineffecient or whatever" I have lived all m life there , and i wouldnt be losing a lot if i decide to go back. But I do know of people in the mid-30's who are hesitant to go back because health/convenience issues. Life is far more easier for them here. For eg - I have a friend who suffered from chronic asthma while he was in India. He went through hell. Couldnt play/have fun like the rest of us did. The dusty environment back home was a factor in this. After coming to the US , its been 11 months since he had an asthma attack. His parents are happy for him. They say -- " Dont come , stay there".

I see what you are saying Sriram but I would say I have to respectfully disagree. Granted there are drawbacks in India, your example of sound system not working in theatres(and the likes) is very pertinent. But the thing is this, say you live in India and then migrate to USA. Chalo life is more convinient etc etc, what happens say 20 years from today if USA starts sinking and UK is doing good? Would you now envisage a move, bag and baggage to UK? And what if UK flops after 10 years and Norway is good? Would you continue the same race? As the sher goes. Ab to ghabra ke lagta hai ke mar jaayenge mar ke bhi chain na mila to kidhar jaayenge? (Loose translation - All this anxiety is making me wonder if I am gonna die, but what if even after death I am anxious?) Let me end this with a personal thought/feeling. When I stand at Bombay Chowpatty I see thousands and thousands of Indians playing there. Most of them are middle class to lower middle class people who have come from all over country. They play with waves, kids run around because they know this playground belongs to them. I have lived in US for a decade now, visited most of the places, never got that feeling on Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, Vegas streak....that this was my place, just never did. xxx

[Ram]

I am not religious either Sriram. But I must say that there is something very deep when you visit a place like Benaras Ghat, or my favorite place of its kind - Bodh Gaya. There is so much history, so much spirituality that you can feel it. It is different(and I dont mean to compare) than say a US temple where there is little history attached to a temple and it is frankly little more than a structure where statues have been assembled.

Couldnt agree with you more on that. That temple, never felt like a tempe.. There was something... something.. American about it ! I dunno how else to put it.

I see what you are saying Sriram but I would say I have to respectfully disagree. Granted there are drawbacks in India, your example of sound system not working in theatres(and the likes) is very pertinent. But the thing is this, say you live in India and then migrate to USA. Chalo life is more convinient etc etc, what happens say 20 years from today if USA starts sinking and UK is doing good? Would you now envisage a move, bag and baggage to UK? And what if UK flops after 10 years and Norway is good? Would you continue the same race? As the sher goes. Ab to ghabra ke lagta hai ke mar jaayenge mar ke bhi chain na mila to kidhar jaayenge? (Loose translation - All this anxiety is making me wonder if I am gonna die, but what if even after death I am anxious?)

Wonderful couplet ! Thank you ! And coming back to what you say , If a person actually resorts to this country-shifting once every 10 years , I wouldnt actually mock at him for that. After all , We humans always go for a better convenient lifestyle. Even in India , as time passes by , we move into bigger homes, buy better appliances , buy more luxurious cars compared to our previous ones. So , what is wrong in making the country shift ? At most basic level , i actually dont see the difference between a person moving to a bigger house in India and the person living in the US , shifting to the U.K

Let me end this with a personal thought/feeling. When I stand at Bombay Chowpatty I see thousands and thousands of Indians playing there. Most of them are middle class to lower middle class people who have come from all over country. They play with waves, kids run around because they know this playground belongs to them. I have lived in US for a decade now, visited most of the places, never got that feeling on Grand Canyon, Niagra Falls, Vegas streak....that this was my place, just never did. xxx

Appreciate your personel thoughts on this issue. I can relate with it. I am newbie in the US compared to here . But as you said , in the 11 months i have been here i did go to the same places that you have mentioned, i felt myself as a tourist , not as a resident. And thats the way i think, even in the town where i live. But i think many would rather trade a lifestyle which way way more convenient to a feeling of "belonging" that you are talking about. And that is because , its these issues of day-to-day convenience that makes your day what it is Lurker. If your day begins flood water coming into your house and ends up with the electricity going off in the middle of the night , trust me , you wouldnt be thinking about the Bombay Chowpatty and thousands of kids that play there. You would be cursing yourself.

[Gaurav]

Lurker are you in USA? If yes then what is stopping you from going back? I mean why stay even one day more in USA if your life will be better in India?

I am not religious either Sriram. But I must say that there is something very deep when you visit a place like Benaras Ghat, or my favorite place of its kind - Bodh Gaya.

Your emotions make the place deeper nothing else :tounge_smile:

[Lurker]

Lurker are you in USA? If yes then what is stopping you from going back? I mean why stay even one day more in USA if your life will be better in India?

Hahaha the same old routine ABCD's shall resort to. What makes it funny is that you think I will give my reasons to you! Dont worry why you are here, or why I am here is none of others concern. Now go back to bashing "sissy" Indian men trying to prove your manhood.

Your emotions make the place deeper nothing else :tounge_smile:

Better to be deep than a dumb athiest who thinks he knows it all :wink_smile:

[Gaurav]

Hahaha the same old routine ABCD's shall resort to.

15 years in India makes me ABCD? :hysterical: Seems like you are confused :haha:

What makes it funny is that you think I will give my reasons to you! Dont worry why you are here, or why I am here is none of others concern.

More confusion? Must be spiritual reasons like sitting on the ghat of Mississippi river that keeps you in USA :hysterical: Can't stand US, says life is better in India but still stays in US! :confused_smile: Hypocrite is the word that comes to my mind.

Better to be deep than a dumb athiest who thinks he knows it all :wink_smile:

Awieeee so all the religious and spiritual talk while claiming to be an atheist in other threads is your idea of being "deep"? The only thing deep about you is your @ss hole mate :hysterical:

Now go back to bashing "sissy" Indian men trying to prove your manhood.

Nah! I am not deep like you.