r2i forum

Hi,
We have been living in USA for quite some time. We always had plans to R2i. because of tht we never bought a house here. Now hopefully it should take us 1 more yr to go back.

i never felt bad for not having my own house since our plans were different....till recently when one of our friends made a sarcastic comment tht we live in an apartment. I dont want to announce it again & again to our friends tht we r going to R2i.

most of our friends want to get settled in USA, hence they have their houses.

In a way it was good tht we did not buy one bcoz it would have been difficult to sell it of in this economy......still i felt low on tht friend's comment.

are there any people who live in apt. inspite of they r capable of buying a house & still feel happy?

thanks.

For similar reasons we never bought a house in US even though we could afford to. Never felt bad about it, even when some of the so called "friends" with houses used to talk down some times. There are myriads of advantages of being in an apartment first thing you don't have to handle the headaches of the maintenance and upkeep. For us the major reason have been kid friendly options, in apartments where we stayed there were always loads of kids around, I never ever bothered to arrange a play date, the opposite was true for all the friends with houses. On week ends my son would be out mostly the whole day playing with neighbourhood kids. And of course when it was time to pack up and leave for India that was one less hassle to worry about. If you are happy with your decision just hit the ignore button when friends make these comments.

Pani puri, I hear you. Guess what, you will find all different kinds of people. We own a house here but didn't buy a humongous one, just enough for a family of 4 which I believe is not up to standards of some people. People made sarcastic comments when we had a house warming ceremony and still continue to do it. We are happy with our choice and I find it easy to manage home front efficiently although I am mom and wm.

The most hurtful was when one of the visiting parent from India of my friend expressed that my home looks more of a five star hotel than a home. But at the same time they whine about their living room, dining hall and extra rooms used only once in a year or two. They often say that they hardly use those extra spaces that they don't need.
Let's not even talk about how they manage/clean the house. After one or two months of enthu they hire cleaners and pay unnecessary utility charges and continue to whine about growing expence. I don't get their point. What is the use of having one when one don't use or hardly use?
One need to clearly identify the difference between need and want.

Anyways, don't give game damn to what people say. Be content and don't hesitate to give back when they make sarcastic comment.
Owning house or not is "The important factor" of R2I. This will make move smoother with less headache.

My Roots;337518
People made sarcastic comments when we had a house warming ceremony and still continue to do it. We are happy with our choice and I find it easy to manage home front efficiently although I am mom and wm.

The most hurtful was when one of the visiting parent from India of my friend expressed that my home looks more of a five star hotel than a home.

Is it possible that people are very touchy about their houses and any comment may sound sarcastic even when it is not?

I cannot figure out if 'five star' comment was a complement or a hidden criticism...To me it would sound like a gerat complement as for most middle class Indians five star hotel is a pinnacle of luxury.

Living in an apartment is an advantage.
[LIST=1]

No need to worry about Maintenance

No busy weekeds making phone calls for gutter cleaning

insurance is cheap

No county notices for grown 4.2 ' lawn

No housing prices risks

Flexibility to ground floor / top floor, high rise / low rise, east facing / west facing
[/LIST]
Living in house is responsibility which may attribute to lack of time of your own which is more valuable. Just to give you an example about housing price risks.
If a house brought in 2005 which was $773000, in todays market it is not worth $240000 - what makes one think house is an asset? I am happy in an apartment and I wish most should.

My Roots;337518
Anyways, don't give game damn to what people say.

Obviously, you do! :)

My Roots;337518
The most hurtful was when one of the visiting parent from India of my friend expressed that my home looks more of a five star hotel than a home.
[/quote]

Anyways, OP, IMO, if you intend to R2I soon then don't worry about buying a house. However, if you do want to live in a house, for want of more space, then you can always rent one. The issue here is not about buying a house, it seems to be about living in a house primarily due to space constraints. Let us not make it a bash fest of homeowners here.

Pani Puri;337500Hi,
....till recently when one of our friends made a sarcastic comment tht we live in an apartment. I dont want to announce it again & again to our friends tht we r going to R2i.

If I were you, I would not worry too much about whether I live in house or an apartment. But I would worry about the quality of my friends. Relationships that don't bring you joy are not worth maintaining in my view.

Regarding your friends, I have lived long enough to understand that life throws curve balls to test every kind of hubris one harbors. If you are kind of a person who enjoys watching others testing times, hang around, your friends will soon get to a time where they have to eat humble pie for their words. More so because they don't seem to appreciate that life has its ups and downs and such people respond poorly to downturns.

OP,

Froogle has covered most of stuff and of course I ditto rabtag's comments.

Do you live in East Coast? When it snows this year just call your friend and offer to help :) and tell them that the maintenance folks take care of the walk way etc. and you don't have to worry about it.

Have been living in apartment in US for quite sometime (almost 10 years) and will be moving to an apartment in Chennai soon.

Pani Puri;337500Hi,
We have been living in USA for quite some time. We always had plans to R2i. because of tht we never bought a house here. Now hopefully it should take us 1 more yr to go back.

i never felt bad for not having my own house since our plans were different....till recently when one of our friends made a sarcastic comment tht we live in an apartment. I dont want to announce it again & again to our friends tht we r going to R2i.

most of our friends want to get settled in USA, hence they have their houses.

In a way it was good tht we did not buy one bcoz it would have been difficult to sell it of in this economy......still i felt low on tht friend's comment.

are there any people who live in apt. inspite of they r capable of buying a house & still feel happy?

thanks.

I share similar thoughts like you. I could pay in cash for a house in India but I prefer a rented apt for a lot of reasons mentioned on this thread....Further i would like to have a house one day when i am ready to settle down in one place for a long time..currently lack of a house gives me mobility.

finally folks obsesses too much about "dream home" etc... Home is like any other commodity..it has a use. as long as you agree with that you should be ok.

Pani Puri;337500.......till recently when one of our friends made a sarcastic comment tht we live in an apartment. I dont want to announce it again & again to our friends tht we r going to R2i.

OP,

Let me tell you something from personal exp. I am the only one in my entire friends circle that lives in a rented dig. . Ok, its not a small place and I pay premium for the location - Convinience for kids, school and short drive to work (for wife). BTW, I have been away from India for 17 years and have lived in 3 different countries for extended periods during this timeframe. If my kids were not of school age, we would have moved to France/Germany/etc last year for a different opportunity.

Now, I have been told many times to buy a home by unknows and the whole spin around it. Some (acquaintances that you need to maintain for society) have asked me if I have lost money in stocks or elsewhere and if I have financial burdens. I call them acquaintances as I have only a few friends and those friends are like family.

Recently, my wife told me this... that if we R2I and R2A it will be for good.. No R2I, again. I said Ok. Then she said if that happens (R2I - R2A) she wants us repatriate all our assets and she wants home in a XYZ zipcode and only if I am in agreement on that will she R2A after R2I. I am sure not more than 10 desis (that is a upper limit) live in that zipcode. Can we afford it is a different issue..

Put a donkey on a flight to US and it can give you an advice. A donkey doesn't know when to keep their mouth shut because all they have is a peanut brain.

Sorry, I haven't given you any advice on that issue. Its your call.. if you want to worry about noisey/nosey donkeys or not.