r2i forum

I have been in the U.S for 13 years. I am doing well in my current company. But i have always dreamed of going back home to Chennai ever since i came to U.S. My current company has no india strategy.

After 1.5 year of job search and networking, I finally managed to get a couple of offers on hand in bangalore and hyderabad. It is becoming difficult to land a offer in India from U.S. in my line of work and don't feel confidant i will get such good quality offers again.

Option 1:Classic N+1 - Do nothing
Do i wait for a few more years and ride the current wave and save india annual take home salary every year? Then return to india after 4 years and take whatever job is available. Currently I am 10% away from my target monetary goal.

I have done well with my current employer. I am concerned it will turn out to be a golden cage.

Option 2: Search more
Do i continue to search and try to find a offer in Chennai ? After all i am moving back to be with my family.

Option 3: Go low stress and settle down.
Hyderabad job (product company) pays less compared to Bangalore job. But i like hyderabad city, people. Job is low visibility,design work. Low stress, better brand name and will help me acclimatize to india

Bangalore job (Consulting) is better in terms of visibility and pays 20% more, but there is good chance they will send me to U.S. 25% of the time.


Any comments?

You havent disclosed your marital status & kids and if married your wife's position in this. This is pretty much the number #1 issue at stake here, and without that all other discussions are meaningless. Yes, you are right in your prediction of golden cage, but most people like to be in cage if it is made of gold. It is obvious but to say it, 13 yrs (even not knowing marital & Kids status) is long time, and I see this as close to end period of return. Deciding based on pay is fine, but it has to be clubbed with rest of financial status. i.e. if your other accumulated wealth is enough then choose the better job/location.
In case you are not married, I will go ahead & put my controversial recommendation but strong. Come back & get married. (IF & only IF you are serious about R2I. If it is like I'll do think about it in future, then not an issue).

Sorry to answer the dilemma with a question..What are you trying to accomplish with the monetary goal? I mean is it for settling expenses in India (like buying house, car etc etc) or for retirement or a steady stream of income that will compliment your income while working in a full time job?..One other thing that might be helpful is the thought process that went in when establishing the monetary goal? Today you may be 10% away from the goal, but will it remain same in a month from now or six months or 1 year etc? Basing decisions on money is tricky as we may be missing many bases that need to be covered

desicus;355838
Currently I am 10% away from my target monetary goal.

I am sure you will not want to disclose your monetary goal. But I have a question for you.

When did you set this goal? 13 years back? 10 years back? 5 years back? last year?

My point is that the Monetary goal is a moving goal. How sure are you that you will achieve your monetary goal in a set amount of time?

After you close that 10% gap in current goal, the goal would move to a higher amount.

R2I decision is made based on many more factors than just monetary factor. As some of the posters said above, you have to consider your marital status, your kids age (if any), your family ties to India, your willingness to give up your luxuries and the (near perfect) system of USA. You also have to consider the "desiness" inside you. Are you more comfortable in Indian environment or here.

Apart from salary, you also have to consider the fact that work hours in India are much more than USA. Work culture is not very open as here in USA.

Also consider pollution, dirt, crowd, ethics.. etc etc..

I am just listing the points you should consider. I am not giving any opinions on them in this post.

good luck. welcome aboard. We all are here to help you and listen to you..

thanks for the responses.

Married with a kid. My family would like to go back. The question is when (N+1) as money is good here.
Family background upper middle class. no other financial commitments.

Everytime we go to India on vacation, don't feel like coming back. dirt, crowd, ethics is a non issue.

Work culture and launching a career again and networking again is the only open issue.
I expect it would take 6 months before I get used to Indian conditions.

The only way to answer this is jump and start swimimming..instead of standing in the side and testing the waters..
But do i jump now and jump 2 years later...

Also comment on Option 2 and Option 3. Should i move to chennai or a nearby city?

[QUOTE]Work culture and launching a career again and networking again is the only open issue.
I expect it would take 6 months before I get used to Indian conditions.

Probably more. Observations reveals that one month per year spent in US or UK at minimum.

Desicus – What you are experiencing is a classic ‘Miss Home – Love India’ syndrome where in spite of excellent infrastructure, law, administration, governance, money and other material benefits USA provide still your heart is in India! I also fall under the same category where we miss the belongingness and the charm India offers. I am happy that you are well set in your expectation along with your small family which will make your move easy. Now, answer the following questions honestly, rate each question and then make a decision. I will classify into 3 categories with 10 points each and you can put your thoughts yourself and determine which one will work better for you.
[LIST=1]

Is your wife comfortable to move to India? If Yes, then you have 10/10.

I am not sure you’re only kid age is and if he is less than 8 years old, then you can easily R2I. Add 8/10 points.

(A) Your monetary position is good. If you still want to make some more money then you can consider Bangalore position where you will have 25% chance to come to USA to make extra greenery:-) and with no family in USA, you can save almost everything. However, you will miss your son and your wife 3 months in a year which shouldn’t be a big deal where they can also accompany you for short time here. Add 8/10 points.
(B) If you want to take life easily, then take the Hyderabad position where design work is interesting but not glamorous, you will have great lifestyle where you can get “That” life we all crave (Go to office by 9:00 AM and back by 6:00 PM – Absolutely no work at home – Just relax with your son, with your wife:p, with your friends, with your dad/mom etc and enjoy life). This comes out with one negative which is less salary but even then you can be in this position for next 2 or 3 years till you get acclimatized to India and you will have bright future career prospects. If you choose this option, then add 8/10 points.
(C) If your financial position is lot stable where you have a fully-paid home with no mortgage in Chennai along with bank balance where you can comfortably stay in Chennai for 1 year, and then you can return 2 Chennai and leisurely look for a job. Believe me; you will get a job faster as companies will trust that you are a strong returnee. If you choose this option, then add 10/10 points. [/LIST]

If you choose Chennai option, then you come out with 28/30 and if the other 2 options such as Bangalore or Hyderabad ties up with 26/30. Now, the decision solidly comes out with money factor and if you want money, then go for Bangalore and if you want relaxed lifestyle, then go for Hyderabad.

Now, I have lot of slack time in my office which triggers my brain to give suggestion based on several fictional factors:wink