r2i forum

Been here for 17+ years. Talks and planning an R2I leads to overthinking and over-analysis and ends in inaction.

What if we took a baby step? A year-long vacation to our hometown (Tier II city)?? We own a house, parents from both sides live there. Spend time with them, put kids into local schools (5th grade, KG) and chaperon them around, visit some places. Savings will deplete, but should cover the expenses.
We will keep the US house and rent (hopefully break-even or a slight loss). We will have an address to restart if and when we come back. What would we lose? A year's savings?? If we like it there, and if kids adjust well, we continue. If not, come back and start over.

Kids will gain a new perspective and international exposure. We would have addressed the R2I thoughts for once and be smarter knowing the ground realities. No pressures of making a success - since there is no success criteria.

Thoughts?? What am I missing with plan?

You have covered school and housing. Overall no major issues with your plan. What about your job(s)? I am assuming you are able to take the year long vacation and deplete some savings and recover from year 2 onwards when you will either start working in India or on R2A. Since your kids are still at a young age, this may be the last opportunity you may have to try this trial/temp R2I. Once kids enter higer grades it will become more challenging to execute this trial/temp R2I.

You have to work on India for a trial run.

Well, I quit full time job last year to become a consultant. I was hoping to get the flexibility needed for R2I. So, I can take off at anytime. I will have to search for jobs from scratch when I return. I guess, at some time (6 months?) during this "vacation", I will have to plan the next move. Either an India job or a US job.

Regarding recovering money, very unlikely to make up for the lost wages/ savings by doing this or any R2I plans. R2I very rarely makes financial sense!!

It will be a disruption for your kids. So you need to weigh whether this experiment is worth it. Is your wife enthusiastically onboard with you? That makes a huge difference.

One year cannot be a vacation, your kids will miss their old friends and have to make new friends. You wife will lose her circle and make new one. What if it really takes about one year for them to finally feel comfortable in India? At that moment you would be even more confused than you are now.

So I think if you do it, you must do it wholeheartedly.

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I think it will be excellent from kids point of view. That window is almost closing at grade 5. Even older kids may be able to adjust, but at the age of 10-11 they will learn to adjust if they dont already know how to. India is also excellent for developing life-skills, social skills, street smarts and for all those things that you will have to drive around with kids in US.

PetK;668674Been here for 17+ years. Talks and planning an R2I leads to overthinking and over-analysis and ends in inaction.

What if we took a baby step? A year-long vacation to our hometown (Tier II city)?? We own a house, parents from both sides live there. Spend time with them, put kids into local schools (5th grade, KG) and chaperon them around, visit some places. Savings will deplete, but should cover the expenses.
We will keep the US house and rent (hopefully break-even or a slight loss). We will have an address to restart if and when we come back. What would we lose? A year's savings?? If we like it there, and if kids adjust well, we continue. If not, come back and start over.

Kids will gain a new perspective and international exposure. We would have addressed the R2I thoughts for once and be smarter knowing the ground realities. No pressures of making a success - since there is no success criteria.

Thoughts?? What am I missing with plan?

Go with the idea that you are returning to India forever and take things slow. Don't put a time limit on it. If and when things become intolerable, you can consider returning.

Job market is tough for people with gaps. Your plan is good and you should do it. I would suggest doing some kind of a course or knowledge enhancement so you can say I took a year off to study.

Hyderabadi;668728Job market is tough for people with gaps. Your plan is good and you should do it. I would suggest doing some kind of a course or knowledge enhancement so you can say I took a year off to study.

I have been jumping companies mostly from previous contacts asking me to help them. Some of the contacts were out of touch for years. So, my assumption is that, it will be completely behind the scenes for contacts as to what I have been doing. They will only remember me from my previous work.

I always liked knowledge enhancement courses, especially the free ones sponsored by Employers. I will have to think twice if the courses are using my own money and time :)

If everything goes to plan, I am planning to go on a sabbatical for 1-2 years and most likely I will train myself in advanced web development or android/ios mobile app development.

If I lack motivation I will join some cheap training instituion else I am planning to do it by myself.

Publish some open source project and you are all set for phase 2 if we feel like working again...

Or who knows I may just figure out to make 4-5% ROI on top of inflation.

PetK;669093I have been jumping companies mostly from previous contacts asking me to help them. Some of the contacts were out of touch for years. So, my assumption is that, it will be completely behind the scenes for contacts as to what I have been doing. They will only remember me from my previous work.

I always liked knowledge enhancement courses, especially the free ones sponsored by Employers. I will have to think twice if the courses are using my own money and time :)