[charanreddy]

Having worked for US companies for 15 years now, currently in Germany (moved 6 months back) and heading my function for the region, I hope can share some relevant perspective.

What I like in a foreign land:

1. Work effectiveness and hence the results are amplified and are on the fast track : You have yourself noted that by being in US your effectiveness has increased. You will find more opportunities to make an impact by being close to HQ, than ‘offshore’

2. Life is simple : I feel there are less shades of grey in a foreign land vs in India and the rules are less allowed to be ‘interpreted’. You want a license, here is the process. In India you may have to adopt innovative and frankly questionable means to get things done.

3. Quality of life : The cities are in general cleaner, air quality is better, water is cleaner and not so scarce, post 6 PM people are not expected to respond to emails and you have a 3 hr window which is family time. Children’s education is free or at a nominal charge.

What I miss :

1. My family : I miss meeting my parents and brother daily and close cousins once a week (we stay in the same society). The feeling of being supported is gone. For example, there have been instances where I had high BP / tachycardia and my brother immediately rushed me to a hospital (it was a false alarm, thank god!). You feel more alone despite all the wealth around you.

2. Friends and the Indian way of life : My upbringing has been in a small town, where I had simple pleasures in life : meet up with a close friend or two and have interesting conversations, or visit a temple and feel blessed or make an impromptu plan for a newly released movie.

3. Family responsibilities : As parents age, the need for us to be present for them plays on our mind.

If I were in your place, I would take the spend 1 Month in US option in a quarter despite some hiccups ... it sounds like the best of both worlds.

[UD17]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

Let me know your thoughts.

This an excellent opportunity knocking at the door. Reading about your history in the opening post, I think you should embrace this opportunity. You and your family don't have too much limitation to move out to an American dream.

[AZT]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

Dear Members,

To introduce myself...

I'm gonna preface by saying I moved to Canada and my brother moved to the US, both fairly recently. You're the head of a legal department so you should be able to live a comfortable life. The easiest way to look at this is, you always have the option of moving back if you don't like it there. India isn't going anywhere.

Financial struggles are the biggest challenge here for new immigrants but if you have a good offer, definitely go for it. Btw my brother is on L1 visa too and there was a rule change last year which allows spouses on L2 to work. Your wife may or may not want to but the choice remains.

There's Indians in every school in major cities so your kids definitely won't be the only brown kids, whichever school they go to.

[OffRoadFun]

From your post, it seems the pros and cons you have considered are primarily from professional point of view, nothing wrong with it.

From profession point of view, it is not even a debate. US provides more opportunities, more money, (one of the) best environment professionally and great work life balance, individual space (in both personal/professional spheres). Period

What some people might think they will lose (you may or may not, and that's OK. There is no right or wrong answer).

1. Short term: kids and you having a cultural shock
2. The dilemma of yours and (most importantly) your kid's assimilation into the "American melting pot". How far of that will be digestible (or may be not an issue at all)?
3. Depending upon where you are, there is a chance you and/or family may feel aloof. I have seen many Indians who emigrated who could not build a network beyond Indians and many have admitted they sometimes feel not really a part of mainstream society. And also, some are just so happy to be there even though their primary social circle is confined to "desis".
4. It comes slowly but steadily, a feeling of your ties to India, the family members there being cut-off gradually. Ageing parents back home, kids who think India is tribal and shitty nation in worst case and one being stuck in between with no option. It's like a slow pressure cooking!
I know a few people who cried the day they got US passport and relinquished Indian passport, not because of joy! Many cried of joy too!

Feeling of lack of belongingness builds slowly for some and for most, it is too late when many think of reversing the decision.

The lifestyle in India for legal head can be very good, all comforts (cooks/domestic helps etc) but you need to see how much things like chaotic traffic, lack of order and cleanliness, crowds, lack of justice/fairness, and a persistent feeling of being taken for a ride by government run by thieves bother you on a daily basis.

I know many who were doing good in their careers in western nations, happily working/settled in India now. If your job is not bothering you too much, think twice before disrupting it as there can be many unknowns in the process.

If at all you decide to immigrate, make sure you have a clear path to Green Card in a year or so, for heaven's sake!


Goodluck!

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

In this respect I choose to ignore the 'India sucks' brigade.

That brigade doesn't take a moment to think about why a lot of rich and powerful people who could emigrate to the west any time they wish, but don't. They may not be professionally qualified, but definitely have the means to start a business or industry in the host country, give employment to a specific number of locals, and get citizenship for their family on that basis alone. But still choose to stay put here.

[NiInJa]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

Dear Members,

Let me be candid and start by saying - I never read or thought of reading this thread ever. Maybe it was because of my career path, or that I was unable to clear the exams for the services that I just didn't do it. And to my fate and irony, I write this post when I am in the US.

Let me know your thoughts.

For the position you are getting, it looks like a really sweet deal. Just make sure you get paid extremely well

I've let go two opportunities (Dubai and U.K.) in the past 4 years as the timing just wasn't right (Dubai was when my kid was just 15 days old, let go U.K. opportunity as my career was taking a big hit, and parent's were mentally distressed coming out of a horrible Covid).

Meanwhile, I have experienced spending time with my brother in UK and very close friends in Sweden, and I've come to an understanding that earning enough to spend a vacation in one of their countries every two years while keeping base location as India is not a bad thing at all, as long as you are doing extremely well financially in India.

The post by @OffRoadRun is exactly what I wanted to write as well, but here are some of my opinions of staying back in India vs moving to U.S.

1. The biggest one is being available for our parents and close relatives who may need me at times. It is a relief that helps both ways. My kid doesn't miss out on grandparent's love and they have something to look forward to every day. My brother's kid is in U.K since he was born, and he does not have that 'connect' with his grandparents they way mine has with them. It may or may not apply to everyone, but think about it if this matters to you. At this point of time, I am not sure how my kid will have a great sibling bond with my brother's kid with whom we connect only on video calls. At 35, I've realised that having very close friends and relatives whom you can rely on and connect with at any hour is an extremely valuable asset. For me, it outweighs all the other things: money, vehicles, and other creature comforts. If you are going to stay abroad, make sure you make some really good friends there.

2. I get to experience best of both worlds with India as my home. As long as we are doing financially well, I can go visit places abroad while at home I can still enjoy riding my bike and taking weekend trips or eating outside and all other stuff that I cannot do there due to financial or other reasons. I've personally experienced this, that grand outings need to be planned when you are abroad, but again, this can vary depending on how much you earn and save. Looks like you can afford to do so considering your position, and there is a lot to do in U.S.

3. Since you are into a career path that involves communication, connecting with folks in U.S. won't be a problem. People of U.S. are much easy to talk to and are generally nice. I've also seen some Indians who get along only with South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladeshi) folks and don't connect with 'Americans', this can be a bit of a problem especially if you are going to spend a good part of your lifetime there. I wouldn't worry so much about kids as they adapt much faster than adults. I don't have any opinion on how they will be when they become teenagers as no one in my circle has older kids.

4. Another big advantage of India: We have a domestic help to take care of our kid, a domestic help to maintain our house and handymans available any time at a much lower cost. This gives a lot of time for us to do stuff that may not be difficult abroad. I agree its a trivial thing, but if you are used to this lifestyle in India, you may have problems initially adjusting yourself to a new normal of doing laundry, using a dishwasher, cleaning the house and doing other household chores. Again, if you are getting paid well, you can afford to have cleaning staff or babysitters or good day care centers.

5. Career wise, it all depends on what work you will do and at what position you will be doing it. I can only talk about IT folks and my experience of going to U.S for IT related work. I've been to U.S and it is a misconception that everything is nice and rosy there as far as work-life balance is concerned. Things are competitive there as well and you have to be on your toes, just like in India. There are people who work well beyond 6 P.M. or maybe start their day too early to connect with folks in India. So its not very different from what goes on here. The advantage of working in U.S. is you get to interact face to face with clients or your leaders and that is a good career booster.

If I were to face such a situation, I would take the opportunity, learn and enjoy my time there and see how it goes for a couple of years before making a decision on moving abroad for good or returning to my motherland.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Gansan

That brigade doesn't take a moment to think about why a lot of rich and powerful people who could emigrate to the west any time they wish, but don't. They may not be professaionally qualified, but definitely have the means to start a business or industry in the host country, give employment to a specific number of locals, and get citizenship for their family on that basis alone. But still choose to stay put here.

I don't know but I wonder if one of the small reason could be because they are already "powerful" and "rich" in their current country of residence and could cocoon themselves and the next x generations of their family from the financial problems of average people. While some others have tried and realized that they have a higher chance of getting a better quality of life (in their lifetime) if the migrate. To each his own.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by Gansan

But still choose to stay put here.

One of the main reason to emigrate to Western countries is their better law and order situation. Rich and powerful in India never have to worry about the law and order situation in our country.

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

One of the main reason to emigrate to Western countries is their better law and order situation. Rich and powerful in India never have to worry about the law and order situation in our country.

Law and order may have been significantly better in the past but today for most Indians emigrating to the US, I am not sure. Most emigration happens to California where it is so common to have your car broken into. In New York and Chicago, mugging is pretty common. I don't have to start with the gun violence epidemic.

I have been living in South India for a decade mostly in Chennai and Bangalore and I don't know a single friend or family member whose car has been broken into. Whenever I have friends or family come over from US, they are paranoid about not leaving anything in a parked car and it surprises me every single time.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

One of the main reason to emigrate to Western countries is their better law and order situation. ...

Hmmm... I feel safer on the streets of Chennai late at night than I would have done in London even twenty years ago.

I always remember wise words from a friend, a seaman who had had seen, and defended himself in, some of the world's roughest corners: "Lack of perceived risk does not mean lack of risk." But I think my perception is mostly correct.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

One of the main reason to emigrate to Western countries is their better law and order situation. Rich and powerful in India never have to worry about the law and order situation in our country.

One of my colleagues just returned from a US trip. He purchased some items from Walmart and was making way to his rental car. On the way a huge guy accosted him and demanded 100 bucks. My colleague who is rather a simple soul asked him out of genuine curiosity -"For what Sir". The big guy punched him in the ribs and he woke up after two days in hospital.

Out of curiosity I compared the crime statistics of US and India. And I was actually surprised that the murder and robbery rate in US is actually much higher than India.

[Arun_S]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

Let me know your thoughts.

Already lot of members have given pretty valuable inputs on both the sides.

My suggestion would be, whether staying or emigrating, accept the decision with a full heart and don't look back and think, what if I had not done this?. There will always be situation were you might question your decision.

Saying this, as I had let go of couple of opportunities to emigrate due to personal reasons, my friends till day come and say you should have moved along with us. But I don't regret staying here.

All the best.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

The big guy punched him in the ribs and he woke up after two days in hospital.

Personally, I have never been out of India except for very short vacations in Singapore, Dubai and the UK.

I have never wanted to be in the US. Am quite petrified of the open gun culture there. It feels extremely unsafe.

[treyazaghtoth]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

One of the main reason to emigrate to Western countries is their better law and order situation. Rich and powerful in India never have to worry about the law and order situation in our country.

This statement of having a “better law and order situation in the West”, got me thinking, about why this line of thought is so prevalent.

Like you, I am also from Kerala. A couple of months back, the 'primetime' news slot at 9 PM of the 'top most rated ' news channel in Kerala, had a billboard, that was displayed very prominently behind the news anchor. This billboard was of an educational consultancy firm, that places students overseas. So it’s in the best interest of the said news channel to bash Kerala and paint a very dire and gloomy situation about things that happen here.

Information can either be true information, misinformation, or even worse, disinformation. What is being peddled for news now-a-days are scare tactics designed to make us feel insecure and make us feel emotional instead of making us think logically.

But on the flip side, the media abroad is ls also the same. They have created a situation where USA and UK are being projected as being bigoted and racist (there are plenty of YouTube videos of Joe Biden's snafu).

I'll end this with a conversation I had with a classmate of mine. He's settled in the UK for the past 20 years. One month back, a group of minors broke into his Jaguar, took it for a joy ride and after they were done with it, set it on fire. Since they were minors, nothing happened.

Another classmate of mine in the US, has had his house broken into many times. His children are afraid to sleep by themselves. So far, the burglars haven't been caught.

I'm not saying that we are better or worse. All I'm saying is that we need to also see that what is being painted (for us by someone else) isn't what it’s made out to be.

Dinesh.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by Gansan

That brigade doesn't take a moment to think about why a lot of rich and powerful people who could emigrate to the west any time they wish, but don't. They may not be professionally qualified, but definitely have the means to start a business or industry in the host country, give employment to a specific number of locals, and get citizenship for their family on that basis alone. But still choose to stay put here.

The rich already have a pretty good lifestyle right here in India. They can certainly afford all that they want and the developed world won't be so attractive to them. The not so well off guys prefer to go abroad because they are unable to maintain/ obtain the type of lifestyle they want. Let's be real, a person in the top 10% of income earners in India(₹3 lakh) cannot have the lifestyle that a person in the top 10% of income earners in the US ($173k) enjoys. Yes, these people make hard choices sacrificing family bonds for more opportunities. You can't always have the best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

One of the main reason to emigrate to Western countries is their better law and order situation. Rich and powerful in India never have to worry about the law and order situation in our country.

From all the people I've spoken to, it's mostly better opportunities or lifestyle. Law and order situation in Chennai with respect to crime, as mentioned by Thad, is hardly a concern. Won't comment on other regions.