After request/suggestion/directive from RRK and other members, finally decided to join the group of diary writers.
I shall update about our move back to India and other related stuff. Our story is little different, so thought it will be useful for members. Even if it is not useful, it is fine with me.
Any praise, advice and positive messages will be treated on high priority with a big thanks. Any flames and criticism will be pointed to trash bin.
More - break ke baad.
(more after the break).
Diary of Old-Spice2
Diary of Old-Spice2
>> After request/suggestion from RRK and other members, finally decided to join the group of diary writers.
Thanks!
>> ...Even if it is not useful, it is fine with me.
:)
Thanks!
>> ...Even if it is not useful, it is fine with me.
:)
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Old-Spice2
- Posts: 1898
- Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:38 pm
Diary of Old-Spice2
Some disclaimers and situation:
I r2a (Bay Area) last month after 6 months of living in BLR. Problem in the job front and nothing wrong with other stuff. I enjoyed the brief stay. I would have stayed put had I been a woman as society accepts a hot SAHM but not a drunken SAHD. This is no way a disrespect to women, just to show what kind of problem we poor men have to go through. Rest of the family is still in India and will continue to live there. More about it later.
When I use term like ABCD in the diary, it is not derogatory in any way. Thought of using ARIK (America Raised Indian Kid) but it did not sound right. If anyone has a better term, let me know.
Most of the observations and opinions are based on following situation - living in Bay Area with super expensive homes which is not the case in rest of the country and no family in US except two long distance (door kha rishta) cousins.
Going through a severe mid-life crisis - it has been going on since I was in 20s. Went through a brief dalliance with Bimmer which burnt a hole and caused a mini old-age crisis by reducing the retirement fund. Now looking to go under the knife for a nose job and a tummy tuck. Everybody can not be a rimjhim. Anyone with experience in plastic surgery? You can start a separate thread.
More - scotch break ke baad!
I r2a (Bay Area) last month after 6 months of living in BLR. Problem in the job front and nothing wrong with other stuff. I enjoyed the brief stay. I would have stayed put had I been a woman as society accepts a hot SAHM but not a drunken SAHD. This is no way a disrespect to women, just to show what kind of problem we poor men have to go through. Rest of the family is still in India and will continue to live there. More about it later.
When I use term like ABCD in the diary, it is not derogatory in any way. Thought of using ARIK (America Raised Indian Kid) but it did not sound right. If anyone has a better term, let me know.
Most of the observations and opinions are based on following situation - living in Bay Area with super expensive homes which is not the case in rest of the country and no family in US except two long distance (door kha rishta) cousins.
Going through a severe mid-life crisis - it has been going on since I was in 20s. Went through a brief dalliance with Bimmer which burnt a hole and caused a mini old-age crisis by reducing the retirement fund. Now looking to go under the knife for a nose job and a tummy tuck. Everybody can not be a rimjhim. Anyone with experience in plastic surgery? You can start a separate thread.
More - scotch break ke baad!
Diary of Old-Spice2
bhai scotch break ke bahane saari madhushala pee rahe ho kya.
( how much of scotch are you drinking we are waiting for you updates).
RK
( how much of scotch are you drinking we are waiting for you updates).
RK
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moneyIsNot_funny
- Posts: 1590
- Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:14 am
Diary of Old-Spice2
OS2 - please dont go the innocent(pazham) way - give enough updates in each post before saying "break time". It gets on the nerves you know - especially since I am only having a kawfee now, while you are having a scotch(es)....
Diary of Old-Spice2
Ya, MINF is right, cant hold the suspense now that there is a climax in the R2I story. No more breaks please.
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GoodForAll
- Posts: 58
- Joined: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:58 am
Diary of Old-Spice2
Oldspice2,
Do you mind sharing the issues that came up in the work place? Also I understand it's hard to reveal the name of the company,so please share with us the type of companies (like India based companies versus MNC's) if the problems are general enough.
If it's specific to the position then skip this question and thread:-).
Thanks!
Do you mind sharing the issues that came up in the work place? Also I understand it's hard to reveal the name of the company,so please share with us the type of companies (like India based companies versus MNC's) if the problems are general enough.
If it's specific to the position then skip this question and thread:-).
Thanks!
Diary of Old-Spice2
I came back to read after 2 pegs of rum ..still no update?
For all the ignorants like me..SAHM/D (Stay at home Mom/Dad)
By the way are you in IT ? Can you elaborate "Problem in job front" ?
For all the ignorants like me..SAHM/D (Stay at home Mom/Dad)
By the way are you in IT ? Can you elaborate "Problem in job front" ?
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Old-Spice2
- Posts: 1898
- Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:38 pm
Diary of Old-Spice2
OK, I had no intention to build up the suspense but the head is spinning after 2 glasses of Dewar's White Label.
Ours is a typical Indian family. H+W+2K. Kids both daughters currently in 11th and 4th. All of us are USC with OCI. My parents are no more, actually I moved to USA after they left this world. So don't have visa or old parents issue but in-laws are still around and that was one of the reason. Wanted DW to spend sometime with them, as vizagdesi pointed out after 70 there is no guarantee with life.
There was no need for me to r2a as we are financially independent, thanks to RRK, Desi, Vinod and other financial gurus in this forum. Both of us are in IT and in well paid job in Bay Area. Wife got an internal transfer and works from home for the same US boss and team. We have a fully paid apartment in Delhi, bought in 1997 for small change (15L) which is worth a khoka (crore) now. I plan to sell and exchange it for something in BLR.
Then why did we return?
We moved to US in the mid 90s during the dot com boom. That time came with the plan of never to r2i as the situation was not good. I was in early 30s and already Indian in every way. Before permanent move, I have been visiting US and other countries in APAC since 89. I could see the situation in many countries and decided US is the best place to work, settle down and save some money. It is strange how your thinking changes as you age. I had a Quit India Plan to move out of the country as the PVNR govt was dragging its feet on reforms. The real boost came during NDA regime and the situation started to change from 2003 when Indian economy recorded a growth never seen before. I hold Jaswant Singh responsible for this spectacular change as he was the FM from 2002. The UPA govt is riding that rocket that was set off by him as MMS has not done any significant reforms in the past 6 years due to CPI(M) in UPA-1 and socialist bend of mind in Congress. Ok, let us get back to the topic.
The first thought of r2i came to our mind in 2003. After evaluating the financial situation, I came to the conclusion that I need to be in US for another 5 years to achieve the target and then r2i. Once you are in India, savings takes a big hit and I never expected any significant change in financial status unless Anil Ambani adopts me as his brother. I am also scared of the Indian inflation.
When we came our elder kid was 1 year old. By our timetable she will be in high school by the time we r2i. Also I was firm about r2i after retirement. Don't ask why, I never liked the idea of retiring in US. America is a good place to study, work, save money and have fun but definitely not a place to retire. If I retire on Friday, I will take the next flight out on Sunday. Sat is reserved for boozing one last time in US.
I also considered working in US till retirement and then r2i. This will work if we did not have kids. With them in the picture, situation changes. One a kid growing up in US will be American in every way you look except the physical looks. Second, I have observed (a small sample of course) that ABCD generally hate everything about India - they hate Indian men/women, food, culture and sometime even they hate to visit. Before someone starts countering with "Oh I know one ABCD who knows all the Rig Veda and dances better than Yamini etc", I repeat it is from my personal observation, reading books and watching NRI theme movies. If I was in their place, I would be like that. No emotional ties, why waste 3 weeks of vacation in a smelly, congested and hot place when Europe and Hawaii is begging for attention and so on.
So the decision was made - we have to r2i before the elder kid gets into this track of thought process. Usually this happens between age 10-20 and stabilises/improves after 22. Again don't ask for URL reference as I don't have any. I can tolerate the kid adopting US culture or way of life but can not tolerate developing any hatred for India. With no family support in US, I did not want that tie to be broken.
Now "sone pe suhaga" --Indian economy is growing at 8% and there may be more options for growth in India than in US. People are talking about US accepting 9% unemployment as a permanent thing like in W. Europe. Anyway I don't believe in the policy of India's growth and US going to hell. Both can grow and be happy. After all this is the land that gave us so much and we should not make a hole in the plate in which we eat (poor translation of a Hindi proverb).
With this frame of mind, we had to plan our r2i.
More - sleep break ke baad.
Ours is a typical Indian family. H+W+2K. Kids both daughters currently in 11th and 4th. All of us are USC with OCI. My parents are no more, actually I moved to USA after they left this world. So don't have visa or old parents issue but in-laws are still around and that was one of the reason. Wanted DW to spend sometime with them, as vizagdesi pointed out after 70 there is no guarantee with life.
There was no need for me to r2a as we are financially independent, thanks to RRK, Desi, Vinod and other financial gurus in this forum. Both of us are in IT and in well paid job in Bay Area. Wife got an internal transfer and works from home for the same US boss and team. We have a fully paid apartment in Delhi, bought in 1997 for small change (15L) which is worth a khoka (crore) now. I plan to sell and exchange it for something in BLR.
Then why did we return?
We moved to US in the mid 90s during the dot com boom. That time came with the plan of never to r2i as the situation was not good. I was in early 30s and already Indian in every way. Before permanent move, I have been visiting US and other countries in APAC since 89. I could see the situation in many countries and decided US is the best place to work, settle down and save some money. It is strange how your thinking changes as you age. I had a Quit India Plan to move out of the country as the PVNR govt was dragging its feet on reforms. The real boost came during NDA regime and the situation started to change from 2003 when Indian economy recorded a growth never seen before. I hold Jaswant Singh responsible for this spectacular change as he was the FM from 2002. The UPA govt is riding that rocket that was set off by him as MMS has not done any significant reforms in the past 6 years due to CPI(M) in UPA-1 and socialist bend of mind in Congress. Ok, let us get back to the topic.
The first thought of r2i came to our mind in 2003. After evaluating the financial situation, I came to the conclusion that I need to be in US for another 5 years to achieve the target and then r2i. Once you are in India, savings takes a big hit and I never expected any significant change in financial status unless Anil Ambani adopts me as his brother. I am also scared of the Indian inflation.
When we came our elder kid was 1 year old. By our timetable she will be in high school by the time we r2i. Also I was firm about r2i after retirement. Don't ask why, I never liked the idea of retiring in US. America is a good place to study, work, save money and have fun but definitely not a place to retire. If I retire on Friday, I will take the next flight out on Sunday. Sat is reserved for boozing one last time in US.
I also considered working in US till retirement and then r2i. This will work if we did not have kids. With them in the picture, situation changes. One a kid growing up in US will be American in every way you look except the physical looks. Second, I have observed (a small sample of course) that ABCD generally hate everything about India - they hate Indian men/women, food, culture and sometime even they hate to visit. Before someone starts countering with "Oh I know one ABCD who knows all the Rig Veda and dances better than Yamini etc", I repeat it is from my personal observation, reading books and watching NRI theme movies. If I was in their place, I would be like that. No emotional ties, why waste 3 weeks of vacation in a smelly, congested and hot place when Europe and Hawaii is begging for attention and so on.
So the decision was made - we have to r2i before the elder kid gets into this track of thought process. Usually this happens between age 10-20 and stabilises/improves after 22. Again don't ask for URL reference as I don't have any. I can tolerate the kid adopting US culture or way of life but can not tolerate developing any hatred for India. With no family support in US, I did not want that tie to be broken.
Now "sone pe suhaga" --Indian economy is growing at 8% and there may be more options for growth in India than in US. People are talking about US accepting 9% unemployment as a permanent thing like in W. Europe. Anyway I don't believe in the policy of India's growth and US going to hell. Both can grow and be happy. After all this is the land that gave us so much and we should not make a hole in the plate in which we eat (poor translation of a Hindi proverb).
With this frame of mind, we had to plan our r2i.
More - sleep break ke baad.
-
Old-Spice2
- Posts: 1898
- Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:38 pm
Diary of Old-Spice2
GoodForAll;352785Oldspice2,
Do you mind sharing the issues that came up in the work place? Also I understand it's hard to reveal the name of the company,so please share with us the type of companies (like India based companies versus MNC's) if the problems are general enough.
If it's specific to the position then skip this question and thread:-).
Thanks!
I r2i without a job in hand. The plan was to complete the settling down tasks like apartment lease, school admission, buying appliances and car. Meanwhile saw an ad in ToI, applied and got the offer. It is an European MNC (non-IT) but my job was in IT. The management (European) was pathetic and the local managers were worse. The company was a BPO/call center kind of setup for the global operations. My style of management was different and had numerous clashes/arguments. On top of that pay was low. Got couple of more IV from other MNC but nothing worked out. So I had two choices in front of me - take early retirement and become SAHD or r2a and try for a job with a possible relocation.
I have landed a job with one such company, have to see if the second phase will work or not.
I ran into the age problem. At wrong side of 40s, I can not get any IC role as pay is low and getting a management role is tough without referrals. I knew about this and was prepared for r2a. For me money being low is not a big issue but a good work environment is important.