Dear All,
I have read a number of posts on this wonderful site over the past few days. One thing that struck me was that a majority of R2Iers on this forum tend to be from the US of A. I was just wondering if there were R2Iers from other places and what experiences they had.
I feel that it is easier for non-US NRIs to R2I than for US NRIs. Mainly because of the fact that it is much easier to settle down and put down roots in the US. I am currently in Japan and am planning to R2I. As the missus says, heck if we can come to this foreign country, to rural Japan, learn Japanese and stay here, why would we have any problems back in our own country?
For the record I have lived in the US (6 years), Singapore (6 years) and Japan (2 years).
Any thoughts on this?
US vs non-US R2Iers
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aagrawal98
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:27 pm
US vs non-US R2Iers
I agree with you.
We live in Germany, though the place isn't rural by any stretch of imagination and you can get by speaking English, you do need to learn German if you hope to integrate yourself here.
I guess the US lifestlye is that much more luxurious, you get the best of both worlds (India and US that is) in terms most of the Indian stuff being available, liberal visa regime for the relatives to visit and of course the added advantage of not having to learn a language (assuming all Indians that emigrate do speak English). Employment opportunities are relatively speaking more and its easier for a husband and wife in different areas to find jobs in the same or nearby cities. All these could be big issues in Germany.
Most products targeted at NRIs, such as by banks, telecom companies, desi portals etc. are designed keeping the US NRIs in mind. For the simple reason that thats where the majority of them are.
Its easy to get used to all this. R2I is a difficult decision, with all that is readily available to you in US it becomes that much more difficult.
That said, R2Iing from a developed country will call for some lifestyle changes and compromises. It helps to have a good reason to undergo that, whether you're returning from US or some place else.
We live in Germany, though the place isn't rural by any stretch of imagination and you can get by speaking English, you do need to learn German if you hope to integrate yourself here.
I guess the US lifestlye is that much more luxurious, you get the best of both worlds (India and US that is) in terms most of the Indian stuff being available, liberal visa regime for the relatives to visit and of course the added advantage of not having to learn a language (assuming all Indians that emigrate do speak English). Employment opportunities are relatively speaking more and its easier for a husband and wife in different areas to find jobs in the same or nearby cities. All these could be big issues in Germany.
Most products targeted at NRIs, such as by banks, telecom companies, desi portals etc. are designed keeping the US NRIs in mind. For the simple reason that thats where the majority of them are.
Its easy to get used to all this. R2I is a difficult decision, with all that is readily available to you in US it becomes that much more difficult.
That said, R2Iing from a developed country will call for some lifestyle changes and compromises. It helps to have a good reason to undergo that, whether you're returning from US or some place else.
US vs non-US R2Iers
I am from UK and i feel the same way.Even though UK is one of the top destination for migrants after USA (at least for Indians),living in European countries we are not that far away from realities of the Indians life, less distance helps us to travel frequently to india and in general life is not that fantastic compared to USA....we across many problems like public transportation,living conditions,and are used to to being in crowd as apposed to America.I was in USA for 8 years and never traveled in public transportation ..there was no need at all.
Other than that only thing i will miss from UK will be my firang friends..i am living here for past 7 years now and hv made hoards of white friends who are frequent visitors and my children are best friends with their kids..somehow in USA it did not happened to me living in bay area..it was little India itself and i did not feel that that Americans were that interested to make friends with desi's...hope things hv changed.
It was not so difficult to leave USA in terms of emotional attachments, but coming to UK was big shock to my materialistic mind in terms of roads and housing and genral life...so i understand totally why people get apprehensive thinking about pollution/traffic/corruptions and all.
Other than that only thing i will miss from UK will be my firang friends..i am living here for past 7 years now and hv made hoards of white friends who are frequent visitors and my children are best friends with their kids..somehow in USA it did not happened to me living in bay area..it was little India itself and i did not feel that that Americans were that interested to make friends with desi's...hope things hv changed.
It was not so difficult to leave USA in terms of emotional attachments, but coming to UK was big shock to my materialistic mind in terms of roads and housing and genral life...so i understand totally why people get apprehensive thinking about pollution/traffic/corruptions and all.
US vs non-US R2Iers
Yes, this forum is mostly centred on US based topics and problems and experiences surrounding R2Ians from US.
Many discussion on AAP and financial matters are not relevant to non US R2I guys
Many discussion on AAP and financial matters are not relevant to non US R2I guys
US vs non-US R2Iers
maeswaran;93830Yes, this forum is mostly centred on US based topics and problems and experiences surrounding R2Ians from US.
Many discussion on AAP and financial matters are not relevant to non US R2I guys[/quote]
Return to india is a dream for all NRI, it is not just for US based NRI alone.
I am very much interested in non-US-NRI issues and topics.
I think we dont see many non-US based NRI here for several reasons.
1) availability of internet all the time in few countries ( africa, middle east )
2) not many miss india due to proximity (srilanka, bangladesh, burma, malaysia etc)
3) non-IT profession or career - that reduce the availability of time/internet
There could be several other reasons. But as a member of admin team I assure that we like to see variety of topics being discussed here. And we are ready to support that any way we can. Let us know if you have any suggestions to bring the non-US crowd here...
btw, I see several members accumulate referrals. If you like, you can send a link to this forum to NRI friends in your country..
US vs non-US R2Iers
Thanks for the replies guys..
I actually tend to think that life in the US is more "monotonous"/ boring than in Europe or say Singapore.. I say this as someone who has lived in both the US and Singapore..
Of course the fact is that life is "easier" in the US in the sense of not having to learn a new language. As for getting "Indian" things, these are available even in Japan.. although we do have to get them couriered from Tokyo.
Anyway, I hope I can blog about my experience (if and when I R2I).. maybe give a slightly different perspective from the US R2Iers.
Regards,
Bioswami
I actually tend to think that life in the US is more "monotonous"/ boring than in Europe or say Singapore.. I say this as someone who has lived in both the US and Singapore..
Of course the fact is that life is "easier" in the US in the sense of not having to learn a new language. As for getting "Indian" things, these are available even in Japan.. although we do have to get them couriered from Tokyo.
Anyway, I hope I can blog about my experience (if and when I R2I).. maybe give a slightly different perspective from the US R2Iers.
Regards,
Bioswami
US vs non-US R2Iers
I too would like to see more participation from non-US members and more non-US members. If there is anyway I can help, feel free to let me know - you have nothing to lose - it is like asking a damsel for a date - the worst thing that can happen is that the damsel will say sorry :)
Cauvery issue, Vedas and string theory, what is mind, Narendra Modi, plot in Jubilee Hills or Banjara Hills, settle in NOIDA or Faridabad, RBI rules, India taxation rules, ... are the same for all India non-residents. Rajesh Dhruva posts about India tax and FEMA issues - these are relevant to all non-residents equally.
Even AAP allocation, beyond aspects driven by US tax rules versus say UK tax rules, is not different whether a person is R2I from US or UK.
If there is a lot of info about US tax issues, that is because US members post, ask, and share info. Others can do the same whether they are in Singapore or UK or Japan.
I dont know about Her Majesty's tax rules in UK or The Emperor's tax rules in Japan. If you can provide relevant info on these, I will be happy to assist with the rest of your AAP. And if you are living in a tax haven where personal income is not subject to tax, so much easier.
Cauvery issue, Vedas and string theory, what is mind, Narendra Modi, plot in Jubilee Hills or Banjara Hills, settle in NOIDA or Faridabad, RBI rules, India taxation rules, ... are the same for all India non-residents. Rajesh Dhruva posts about India tax and FEMA issues - these are relevant to all non-residents equally.
Even AAP allocation, beyond aspects driven by US tax rules versus say UK tax rules, is not different whether a person is R2I from US or UK.
If there is a lot of info about US tax issues, that is because US members post, ask, and share info. Others can do the same whether they are in Singapore or UK or Japan.
I dont know about Her Majesty's tax rules in UK or The Emperor's tax rules in Japan. If you can provide relevant info on these, I will be happy to assist with the rest of your AAP. And if you are living in a tax haven where personal income is not subject to tax, so much easier.
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aagrawal98
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:27 pm
US vs non-US R2Iers
Bobus;93852I too would like to see more participation from non-US members and more non-US members. If there is anyway I can help, feel free to let me know - you have nothing to lose - it is like asking a damsel for a date - the worst thing that can happen is that the damsel will say sorry :)
Cauvery issue, Vedas and string theory, what is mind, Narendra Modi, plot in Jubilee Hills or Banjara Hills, settle in NOIDA or Faridabad, RBI rules, India taxation rules, ... are the same for all India non-residents. Rajesh Dhruva posts about India tax and FEMA issues - these are relevant to all non-residents equally.
Even AAP allocation, beyond aspects driven by US tax rules versus say UK tax rules, is not different whether a person is R2I from US or UK.
If there is a lot of info about US tax issues, that is because US members post, ask, and share info. Others can do the same whether they are in Singapore or UK or Japan.
I dont know about Her Majesty's tax rules in UK or The Emperor's tax rules in Japan. If you can provide relevant info on these, I will be happy to assist with the rest of your AAP. And if you are living in a tax haven where personal income is not subject to tax, so much easier.[/quote]
You're right. Most of the posts are certainly relevant. But there are some critical pieces of information such as on shipping agents, M2I services, investment and insurance options which are region specific.
About RRK's post above about suggestions to improve, maybe it makes sense to have seperate Sticky, MTs etc. on region specific topics, one for each region for which enough reliable info is readily available.
US vs non-US R2Iers
aagrawal98;93855You're right. Most of the posts are certainly relevant. But there are some critical pieces of information such as on shipping agents, M2I services, investment and insurance options which are region specific. [/quote]
I agree regarding shipping agents, travel agents and insurance - these had not occured to me - US tax which is more intricate is what occured to me. Also perhaps because I have not bothered about shipping and travel agents and rely on employer for life insurance.
Regarding money transfer, India banks seem to offer the same services to NRIs outside US too. Regarding investments, India investments are the same for an R2I person. And AAP dictates of non-India investment for diversification will be the same, beyond country-specific tax aspects - just that the vehicles may be different.
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aagrawal98
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:27 pm
US vs non-US R2Iers
Bobus;93858Regarding money transfer, India banks seem to offer the same services to NRIs outside US too. Regarding investments, India investments are the same for an R2I person. And AAP dictates of non-India investment for diversification will be the same, beyond country-specific tax aspects - just that the vehicles may be different.[/quote]
Money transfer is region specific. SBI offers money transfer only from US, only recently they started offering it from UK as well. In fact I don't know of any Banks / Financial institutions other than ICICI / Citi offering money transfer services from continental Europe without imposing a limit or asking you to effect a direct international wire transfer which is quite expensive here. Besides banks in India have in the past frequently misplaced the money I wire transferred direct using SWIFT codes and such.
Investment for India is same I agree, non-India and the taxation in non english speaking countries in general and Germany in particular is a challenge. But I don't see how somebody on this forum can help with that. Its hard enough for the finance / tax pros locally to help with that.