[amitoj]

Regarding the law and order discussion, the aspect being discussed here is as it relates to the occurrence of a crime. Let me add the other side of it, which is how you as a victim are treated by the law enforcement. Here in US I have reported driving violations to the police as a cyclist and they have followed up on them without any hesitation. Forgive me if things have changed drastically in India over the past 10 years but I dont think this is possible in India unless you have the right connections.

[rajivr1612]

Any BHPians in Kuwait?
I am getting an intra company transfer to Kuwait. The compensation offered is 1750 KD (non negotiable) . I am attracted to the job profile which will be a big jump from my current role. This will be a single status visa. Is this salary decent enough to proceed and also have some savings at end of the month?

[LaRoca]

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

Any BHPians in Kuwait?
I am getting an intra company transfer to Kuwait. The compensation offered is 1750 KD (non negotiable) . I am attracted to the job profile which will be a big jump from my current role. This will be a single status visa. Is this salary decent enough to proceed and also have some savings at end of the month?

1750KD is well and good enough whether you are single or married but w/o kids. My brother before moving to Australia was earning close to that and was reasonably well off even though his wife never worked there and besides having a kid. He even had enough savings to do a few real estate deals back in India. So, IMO you're good to go.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Here in US I have reported driving violations to the police as a cyclist and they have followed up on them without any hesitation. Forgive me if things have changed drastically in India over the past 10 years but I dont think this is possible in India unless you have the right connections.

https://twitter.com/CYBTRAFFIC/with_replies

Hyderabad and other modern cities in India have a very solid outreach program via social media.

Anyone can complain and my personal experience has been very positive.

I used to earlier send them complaints via Whatsapp but now Twitter makes it easy.

The changes after the formation of Telangana have been superb and every day validates my decision to have not bothered about relocating to some foreign land away from my roots. One of them being the construction of a dedicated and covered cycle track that will keep me safe for over 75% of my 18 kilometer cycle ride to work.

[OffRoadFun]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

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.

Agree. In general, Indian cities are safe also because of high population density (difficult to commit crime and escape) and no guns available freely. What is frustrating in India are petty thefts but violent crimes are rare compared to US especially where gun culture is rampant. The problem in the US is if you are a victim of a crime, it can be violent, involving firearms.

In fact, after seeing many countries and the US, and also realizing countless things which are wrong in India, I must say one of the achievements of India is having such low violent crime rate despite prevalent injustice, unfairness, feeling of being cheated in almost every sphere of life and wide disparity in income where many people struggle to meet basic needs of life and yet having costliest residence in the world. It is almost a miracle! Isn't it?

I recall one interesting incident in the US regarding guns (BTW, I still think USA is a great country despite gun issues). My wife was supposed to defend her thesis in grad school and one of the classmates was denied defense because of low attendance. But that person told the faculty she will anyways show up for defense with her thesis when defense of other classmates was also scheduled, whether or not faculty wants that or not. Now that was a bit weird and scary. That was the time right after a Korean-American student had gone after shooting rampage in Virginia Tech killing some students.

On the day of the defense, the mother of another classmate and friend of my wife told my wife not to worry and opened her purse to show she has a gun just in case that crazy student does something. A couple of more friends showed their guns to my wife and later on we also came to know there was a cop in the room in plain clothes with a concealed weapon just in case of an eventuality. That was a bit scary we felt with so many guns around in that room.

In my relatively short stay there, I had two car break-ins, once I found a 6'5" stranger stealing stuff from my living room when I opened the main door of my house to enter (how foolish that I had temerity to ask him what the hell was he doing in my living room when both his hands were in the pockets of his hoody T-shirt, yet how lucky I was that he just ran away without hitting me. Later on many people told me I was incredibly lucky to have escaped unhurt and how stupid I was to shout at him!)

And I still recall a few places we accidently found ourselves in while driving and I have never been so scared in my life when I was in those places.

Again, these are some anecdotes, every nation has its challenges. First world has its own.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Regarding the law and order discussion, the aspect being discussed here is as it relates to the occurrence of a crime. Let me add the other side of it, which is how you as a victim are treated by the law enforcement. Here in US I have reported driving violations to the police as a cyclist and they have followed up on them without any hesitation. Forgive me if things have changed drastically in India over the past 10 years but I don't think this is possible in India unless you have the right connections.

True. The law enforcement in the US, for all its shortcomings, some of it amplified, is extremely objective and fast. One drastic difference I felt that human life is highly valued in the US, irrespective of perceived status of the complainant. When I found an intruder in my house and called 911, the police sirens were ringing in nearby streets in a couple of minutes and cops reach my house within a few minutes. I don't even want to get started on what the police reaction was when I called police in a similar situation when I encountered gang of those rowdies who try to extort money out of you by faking an accident in Bangalore, 5:30pm on Outer Ring Road on a week day (but yes, some strangers on the road helped me). But I think things have improved a lot now.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by bblost

Anyone can complain and my personal experience has been very positive.

The changes after the formation of Telangana have been superb and every day validates my decision to have not bothered about relocating to some foreign land away from my roots. One of them being the construction of a dedicated and covered cycle track that will keep me safe for over 75% of my 18 kilometer cycle ride to work.

Very happy to stand corrected! Thanks.
And man that covered cycle track! I have to muster all my inner zen to suppress the envy that I feel towards that.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Shiftlock

I will be relocating to New York City in August this year to start my masters and I was wondering if there are any members of the community living there, who I can DM to clarify some doubts I have and ask for some help.

What do you need, Shiftlock? If you have generic questions, put them here. Might help more people.

[mchandra13]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

Dear Members,
Below are my points of dilemma -
1. If I don't move here, I continue working from Hyderabad and burn myself and my family out every quarter ending.
2. If I come here every quarter ending, then it is travel every two months, and I just don't see that happening. The current month away from family has been tough on all of us, and I just can't do that.
3. Option of hiring a local person in US is not possible, as I continue to be Legal Head, and have the decision making authority.
4. A job change in the current market is not possible due to my experience, designation, and fact that I want to stay in Hyderabad.
5. If I move to the US, it would be drastic and dynamic shift. While I know my family and I can handle it, it might be very difficult.

Let me know your thoughts.

Let me start of by saying that I have the experience of living in US and have used both H1 and L1A and have also lived in countries other than US.
Since a lot of value added points have been put forward in the above posts already, I will just try to address your points of dilemma here

Points 1,2 and 3 are primarily related to how your professional responsibilities are impacting your family life and how you are not able to affect a change by trying out some options available to you. Given the scenario you presented, professionally it would do a lot of good for your career if you decide to move to US. I have a friend working in an MNC in Hyd who had a similar issue where her boss is based out of a European country and she needed to travel very frequently. She finally decided to fix this problem by relocating her family including her husband who is in an equally senior position and a college going kid to the European country. She has a very big social circle in India which included her mother who is living alone and relatives who are MLAs, high ranking politicians in India but that didnt effect her decision to move out of the country. So if you believe it helps you professionally and your family is aligned with the relocation, then you should move.

For Point 4 - A career advise I have read this year - "the best thing you can do to your job this year is to ensure you still have the job at the end of the year". That says a lot about the market conditions you're better off keeping your job for now.

Point 5 is where a lot of things come into play

- First and foremost, if you are moving into US now, you are entering into a deeply divided society(there are no more moderates left) which is struggling with problems like extreme wokism, cancel culture, high inflation, gun violence epidemic, renewed racism, high levels of homelessness in urban areas, aggressive brand of nationalism, drug/fentanyl/opoid crisis and illegal immigrants among others. some of these problems are transient in nature and will go away after some time, while some others will continue for a longer time. There are similar, if not same, and other problems in India as well and the probability of you or your family getting affected by any of these problems do not change much between India and US. This is to give you a perspective and shouldnt really influence your decision to move. As highlighted by a lot of others here, there are still a lot of good factors in US which will make your life very pleasant. If you decide to move, you need to make an informed decision on what you are getting into.

- Social life is a big casualty when you move to US, atleast initially. This is because you are new and may not have a family member or friends living close by to constantly be engaged with. Since your family depends on your company for most part, they would expect to accompany you to wherever you go. In the long run, when you continue to live in the same community for a duration and when you make good friends with people, you start to grow and age together. Then each of you and your family members will start to get engaged in different activities independently. For eg: your kids might decide to go on a sleepover at a friends place and your spouse might go to a neighbor or friends for an event and you will go out with your friends for a drink. Thats when your social life will start getting better again. A lot of people have reached this stage in US already.

- Your kids are still small and they will make seamless transition into the new community you are getting into.

- Historically L2s were always allowed to work in US. Earlier they required an EAD to start working but with the recent rule change last year, L2s will get an I94s while entering into US which will make them eligible to get a SSN and work immediately after that, provided they are able to find a job. This can be a deciding factor for some, if the spouse is insistent on working.

- I didnt see you mentioning about money much. However one point to note is, US has become expensive offlate due to high inflation. Due to exchange rate factor, if your earn in dollars and spend in rupees you will see that you are earning a lot of money, but if you are earning in dollars and spending in dollars, different cities have different earning benchmarks for a comfortable living. A Pew research says that on an average a family of 3 needs to earn $156,000 or above annually to be considered upper class. This is national average and varies by city. In a city like SFO or NYC you would probably need more than $200,000 to even make a comfortable living, but in some midwestern cities if you are making 100 grand you may be considered rich. This can be a deciding factor depending on what you are going to earn. I have seen people with in my company rejecting offer to travel when they perceive that the amount being offered in US is lower for the city they are relocating to.

There are some more elements, but I will stop it here. Finally coming to the GC part. This is where I have a very different thought process compared to the opinions shared by others. Technically GC is nothing but an immigrant visa which is valid for 10 years thus allowing you to have seamless travel in and out of the US during that duration. To me this is the biggest advantage of a GC for Indians who leave behind parents and larger family when they relocate to US. If you are on L1A, after the first 3 years, you are constantly in and out of extensions which will hamper your travel plans out of the country. It adds an additional stress level when extension is in progress and when stamping has to be planned along with a trip to India. Multiple members of my team have lost parents during pandemic and couldnt travel due to the extensions and lack of stamping dates in addition to the pandemic itself. There were others whose extensions got rejected leading to an upheaval of their life. You have to experience that pain to understand what you lose when you live in US on non-immigrant visas like L1 or H1. So when someone is offering you a GC thru the fastest available path of EB1, why not take it. It doesnt affect your decision of staying or moving back. Infact GC puts the control of your life back into your hands. Anyways even if you apply a GC by last quarter of this year, it might take up to 2 yrs to get your GC in your hand. So go for it asap if you decide to relocate to US.

[pandey.jai]

Folks, is it worth going to the US on L1B? The 5 year max limit with no option for switching jobs feels like a non-starter to me. Thoughts?

Edit:
For context, I’m questioning the merits of moving to the US on L1B based on factors such as kids schooling, time and effort it takes to move out of India, settle down in the US and then before you know it, do the same thing back, because 5 years will be up before you know it. I’m keeping money out of the equation here.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFun

In my relatively short stay there, I had two car break-ins, once I found a 6'5" stranger stealing stuff from my living room when I opened the main door of my house to enter

Originally Posted by mchandra13

- First and foremost, if you are moving into US now, you are entering into a deeply divided society(there are no more moderates left) which is struggling with problems like extreme wokism, cancel culture, high inflation, gun violence epidemic, renewed racism, high levels of homelessness in urban areas, aggressive brand of nationalism, drug/fentanyl/opoid crisis and illegal immigrants among others.

These are recent phenomena, like happened in the last 10-15 years I think. When I moved back from USA almost 20 years ago, none of the above could be mentioned as an issue. But I still moved because I realized I would never truly belong and I wanted to be nearby when my parents were getting into their 70s.

Few years ago an old colleague told me that burglary cases have gone up sharply in the towns I lived in, especially of Indian households, since they are known to keep jewelry at home. He also told that UPS packages left in front of doors also get stolen regularly. I found it very hard to believe then.

Meanwhile, the law and order situation has improved a lot in India since I returned. Never expected that too.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by LegalEagle

All I ask for from the members is guidance whether moving over is going to the best choice to make on the long run, as I absolutely love this job and want to continue this role - without compromising on my family at all. I totally know that the shift is too drastic, and will be tough on all of us initially, but on the longer run, would it be best for us.

Let me know your thoughts.

Lots of good responses in the last couple of pages, and a lot to take from those. The narrative is normally India V/S US, and in the modern times I think the lines are very blur; if you are in a well-paid job, the creature comforts can’t be that different between major cities in these two countries. The overall quality of life, especially that provided by the infrastructure and overall civic-sense could be better in the US though.

As someone who have spent more than half of the life abroad, my views maybe slightly favoring a move, and to try out the new experience. With the world shrinking by means of accessibility and connectivity, don’t see this a big migration, but as a relocation to different city. Especially with US, the city and the suburbs you chose to live is important; thoroughly look through the pros and cons of the state/city your job is taking you. Check all the basic parameters like cost of living, safety, housing cost, school districts and so on. If you find all those appealing, make a move and give yourself 2-4 years to bed in. Who knows, you (and your family) may like the new setup. And even if it doesn’t work out, the experience staying in a brand new city, exposure to a different culture etc. surely will be a plus, especially for your kids.

[mchandra13]

Originally Posted by pandey.jai

Folks, is it worth going to the US on L1B? The 5 year max limit with no option for switching jobs feels like a non-starter to me. Thoughts?

If you are a bachelor or have a young family, it works out to stay for 5 years and make some quick buck to come back and settle down. Exchange rate and saving potential will help you to have good amount of INR in hand at the end of 5 year which you may use to buy a property in India and settle down. Otherwise, 5 yrs on L1B with school going kids is a disruption you can avoid.

[kiku007]

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.

At surface level, the perceived better "law and order" situation elsewhere may not be the main reason for people to migrate. However, a better quality of life for the general population does depend on a country having good governance, law and order policies, and implementing the same consistently and uniformly for the most part.

I mean, how do you get to a point where you can ask your local council to pay for damages caused by a pothole? Sounds like utopia? Well, my council compensated me. Read about it here, https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...d-pothole.html (Australia: City Council compensates for damage caused by a pothole)

Did they compensate because they have too much money or were they held to higher standards of accountability?

Anyways, every country/city has issues and there are going to be pockets with higher crime rates. I live in a city where the government/police is struggling to control juvenile crime. Teenagers are stealing cars for the heck of it and bragging about it in social media. Robbery for the heck of it vs. robbery for profit. Thieves stole the catalytic converter from my sister's car in Texas, US. Insurance paid for the replacement. End of the day, one has to do their own research when choosing the suburb, school etc.

The following website provides some insights on the Rule of law rankings. The results aren't surprising.

https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/wb_ruleoflaw/

[Gansan]

^^ It depends on by whom the so called "statistics" are compiled. Expect some liberal amount of bias to creep in.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Anyways, every country/city has issues and there are going to be pockets with higher crime rates.
..
…
End of the day, one has to do their own research when choosing the suburb, school etc.

Just yesterday one of my colleague was saying that her car (parked in Philadelphia downtown) was broken in last weekend – all for a leather jacket she left at the front passenger seat. So a proper research on the city, suburbs etc. always come handy, whether it is in Europe, US, or any other location.

In the city I live, it’s very common for folks to leave their mobile phone on a table (say to reserve at a food court before ordering food). Do that in a city next door and the phone will vanish in seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1CDxFIfCt8

Originally Posted by Gansan

It depends on by whom the so called "statistics" are compiled. Expect some liberal amount of bias to creep in.

Yeah, with the said bias I was expecting USA to be in the top ten, but somehow they are at 22nd position.