The loop of NRI <-> INR
I am sure you all have gone through tons of open letters , blog posts , youtube videos , facebook rants on the vicious loop of people staying outside india - wanting / not wanting to go back.
Well my story is more or less same.
Started my journey as a student in USA and now a software engineer in silicon valley ( Bay Area).
I dont know many families outside bay area (& within USA) so cant speak for them, but my instinct says that loop is more dominant in bay area, california.
There are many reasons : nice weather, many job options , too many indians and hence all joyous / festival / cultural / food activities are same in bay area and india :)
The main question is : What is the deal breaker to choose either side.
it is my own feeling and also i hear from my fellow friends that they want to go back to india for their family. i mean no one has ever said that i want to go back to india to become CM/PM or join politics. Some of them said they want to continue their family business but most of them said family.
Lets assume few things and see if our Deal- No deal options changes.
1. Assume all your near and dear ones come in usa and get well settled here. Do you still want to go india. think deeply and answer. so if answer is no - we can establish that going to india is not the concern but staying together is the concern. if answer is yes, then we indeed are game for more confusion.
2. Suppose you want to stay in usa to earn more money. Assume someone gives you a very very large sum of money, will you go back or like to stay in USA. i think very few are here to just achieve that dollar to rupee (INR) benefactor. The conversion is surely helpful but not a great factor as outsiders see it.
the point i am trying to make is sometimes the visible or explicitly said deal breakers might not be deal breakers at all. It is the ease of life or inertia (the real reason).
One of the deja vu conversation of every january month is : why is india so expensive. every year we come back from india trip in january and whenever we friends meet, share same kind of questions :
1. how can indians staying and earning in india - afford india. they have no problem in paying high emi/ expensive clothes and ever increasing food and hotel prices. although they have no control on inflation but still no guilt too on expenses which we have when we spend that many rupees in december.
2. roads/pollution/traffic : enough said ! a india staying indian (ISI) can call a pothole : pothole, can crib about roads and traffic. but a non resident indian (NRI) cant. if NRI calls it dirty- it is cribbing / too much america effect etc. It is not heard with same empathy. people will crucify you. infact they will crucify me with this blog post as well.
3. the list will go on - but dont want to make this blog a rang-de-basanti or swades monologue.
i am sure by now you must have inferred that i am never going to come back, but people who are near and dear to me - know me and they know my struggle/wish to bring my family together in one place. one day i will surely come back to india - for my family :-). All other reasons are not deal-breaker for most of us when you think of family. The way i see it is : Staying here in USA is a challenge - not at all easy. visa/immigration/money problems but going back is a challenge as well.
Every good occasion in family or a hospital emergency in india brings out all these feelings - to just see and analyze : what is stopping me from going back ? today is one such day.
(rant will continue next time)
Well my story is more or less same.
Started my journey as a student in USA and now a software engineer in silicon valley ( Bay Area).
I dont know many families outside bay area (& within USA) so cant speak for them, but my instinct says that loop is more dominant in bay area, california.
There are many reasons : nice weather, many job options , too many indians and hence all joyous / festival / cultural / food activities are same in bay area and india :)
The main question is : What is the deal breaker to choose either side.
it is my own feeling and also i hear from my fellow friends that they want to go back to india for their family. i mean no one has ever said that i want to go back to india to become CM/PM or join politics. Some of them said they want to continue their family business but most of them said family.
Lets assume few things and see if our Deal- No deal options changes.
1. Assume all your near and dear ones come in usa and get well settled here. Do you still want to go india. think deeply and answer. so if answer is no - we can establish that going to india is not the concern but staying together is the concern. if answer is yes, then we indeed are game for more confusion.
2. Suppose you want to stay in usa to earn more money. Assume someone gives you a very very large sum of money, will you go back or like to stay in USA. i think very few are here to just achieve that dollar to rupee (INR) benefactor. The conversion is surely helpful but not a great factor as outsiders see it.
the point i am trying to make is sometimes the visible or explicitly said deal breakers might not be deal breakers at all. It is the ease of life or inertia (the real reason).
One of the deja vu conversation of every january month is : why is india so expensive. every year we come back from india trip in january and whenever we friends meet, share same kind of questions :
1. how can indians staying and earning in india - afford india. they have no problem in paying high emi/ expensive clothes and ever increasing food and hotel prices. although they have no control on inflation but still no guilt too on expenses which we have when we spend that many rupees in december.
2. roads/pollution/traffic : enough said ! a india staying indian (ISI) can call a pothole : pothole, can crib about roads and traffic. but a non resident indian (NRI) cant. if NRI calls it dirty- it is cribbing / too much america effect etc. It is not heard with same empathy. people will crucify you. infact they will crucify me with this blog post as well.
3. the list will go on - but dont want to make this blog a rang-de-basanti or swades monologue.
i am sure by now you must have inferred that i am never going to come back, but people who are near and dear to me - know me and they know my struggle/wish to bring my family together in one place. one day i will surely come back to india - for my family :-). All other reasons are not deal-breaker for most of us when you think of family. The way i see it is : Staying here in USA is a challenge - not at all easy. visa/immigration/money problems but going back is a challenge as well.
Every good occasion in family or a hospital emergency in india brings out all these feelings - to just see and analyze : what is stopping me from going back ? today is one such day.
(rant will continue next time)
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