Decision Making - After Two Years in India - p2

My personal Recommendations based on experiences, How to determine the Move (Part 2 )

This second part is with a personal touch and recommendation. Please take the recommendations with your own judgement because it may be biased.

To get more balanced overview, refer to the part 1 :-)

Who should Move/Come Back to India?

You do not need any reason to come back to your motherland,but if you are still confused :P

1. If you remember your motherland and the elements of its culture/festivals everyday and feeling out of place. Just sitting there and saying I am not happy, wont solve anything > COME BACK.
2. If you are not able to do justice to your expertise and skill-set for Visa or other issues, come back to your country. This is specifically true for Doctors not able to get into US medical system as well as  non-work Visa holders who left their jobs for their hubby/wife and not getting one. 
3. If you are unemployed in US, loneliness will eat you up and can change your personality completely. You may find much better career opportunities in India and do better justice to yourself.
4. If you are not insecure, do not consider US to India move a one-way street, want to try it out for few years, DEFINITELY come!!
5. If you are living in a neighborhood where you can not go out in the evening for safety issues, your kids do not have any freedom or they are actually getting spoilt beyond your control. You can manager them better in your own country.
6. You are missing your parents and family every day, feeling guilty not being able to do your part  as a son/daughter or in case, the situation can not be managed from long distance> Please visit often or come back to spend time with a back up option to go back any time depending on your Bandwidth. That is a good option for not having regrets later ON.
7. You have many startup ideas to solve problems in India and can not do it from there, come back. With a scale of 1.2 Billion people, we need people with implementable ideas.
8. You have achieved the goals set by you for your visit to US (and/or have a Green Card) and do not have any constraints from your kids side (i.e. they either in college or you do not have kids), come back!!
9. You want to serve people of India and no matter how much you try, you can not be close to the people in a Foreign country
10. You believe only your motherland can unleash your potential.... then what are you waiting for, a sign!!???? (consider this as sign)

For me, it a mix of (1), (4), (6) & (10)

Over time our priorities change and the things that drive us to settle down in US may not hold true after 5 years. Career, money, success, family or rediscovering own self may have their share of priorities in our lives. 

Who may or may not come back?

1. You have changed over time  during your stay in USA and you know for sure, you cant not adjust in India right-away. Then the move will be tough for you.
2. If you come back to India, you would try to recreate your US life, in India. (It is a very bad trend, not doing good to anyone; you will become " na ghar ka na ghat ka")
3. You may get a good boost in your career if you come back to India. You may consider coming back as your knowledge may attract more value.  Usually US experience is well valued in India, 
4. You do not care so much where you are as long as you are surrounded by people who care for you. 
5. You are lazy in nature and want to make yourself happy with less work and daily struggles. (prioritize because if you have extra money you can find help for every single task in India and live lazier life.)

Who should not come back?

1. (for women) You know you will loose your freedom to work once you land in India,your in-laws will restrict your lives and you & your husband can not change that situation.
2. You are a global citizen, you are doing your part for US and for your motherland (as much as possible), living in US does not bother you, then you stay in USA if it gets the best out of you.
3. You badmouth every day about India among your friends. Please do not bring your negativity to India as you will do more harm than good.
4. You career is the first priority to you. Your technical field does not have any presence in India and you are not ready to make any compromise.
5. You live in one of the great cities in USA and your are well settled with your activities, interest, work and family. You should not come if there is no major personal reason for it.
6. You are happy with your involvement from a distance and all the willingness may disappear once you land in one of the polluted traffic-crazy cities
7. Your kids are used to US lifestyle and you do not want change their future for any reason. You just want the best for your kids.  (US has some of the best universities in the world)
8. You wont do any specific beyond your regular daily jobs > there is nothing special you can do in India then. If US life is easier , you must stick to it.
9. You will always consider the Indian lifestyle as a second grade life style and would miss your US daily chores
10. You will make a protective bubble for you and your kids in India, wont interact with people below your social stature. I think in that case, you should  not come back unless compelled by job loss or some other personal reason.

To Facilitate Your Decision Making Process

• Do not change yourself too much. Stay flexible. Do not develop fake accents or change your thinking process altogether. Learn the good and reject the bad. 
• When in India, try to go beyond the dinner invitations. Expose yourself to the changing culture of India. The things you may be missing in USA, you may not get in India either. India has changed a lot in last 10 years specially in metros. Your childhood memories may never be recreated!!
• Understand  that India is actually a human ocean. Very few countries in the world has such variations from human perspectives. If that fascinates you, India may be the right place for you. Take some extra holidays and travel around India, to understand the unity in diversity.
• Never forget your roots. You represent your motherland wherever you are. Just attending dassera programs wont help you connect to Indian culture. The things you were passionate about in India, do not let those passions die wherever you are.
• Keep yourself updated about the changes happening in India. Help India to transform itself to a better country whether through friends' efforts or through non-profits.

End of the day, you are who are you and you should be somewhere you can be the "best you" whether it is US or India or any other part of world. Everything else will fall in place, trust me. 

You can analyze all you want .....

<This post is now getting too long. In my next post I will discuss my personal list of survival Strategies in India if you finally bite the bullet to move back from US to India :-) >

Photo Courtesy: First one by Prabir Saha with Atlantic Ocean (2006) : Second one by Ankit Kumar in Andamans (2014)