Bay Area Experience before R2I

[MACTALKS]

Dear r2iers,
I am in US since 2003 and all my US life is spent in different cities in the East coast.
Now, for various reasons I am moving back to India in August 2011. That is fixed.

My dream was to live in California sometime in my life. But, never got a chance.
Of late, I was thinking of finding a job in the bay area to experience the westcoast lifestyle and then move to India a year after that.

But, I am not sure if it is worth doing. Sometimes I think that a lot of risk is involved. Not sure.
Let me list the pros and cons of moving to Bay Area according to me..
[INDENT]Pros:
1) Nice weather in CA. No Snow.
2) I get to meet all those good old friends.
3) I can Join a company that has Indian offshore centers so that I can get a transfer there.
4) My 2 year old son and my wife will have a better social life.
5) I get to live in a city where most of the Cutting Edge Tech innovations happen.
6) I get to enjoy those california beaches and the great weekend trips.
7) I will get more Indian Colleagues who will become friends in the future. So, more networking.
8) More moolah.. I am expecting a lot more salary than what I am drawing now.

Cons:
1) Leaving a nice, comfortable, job. Colleagues are very nice people. All american. (But, none of them are friends). Good company with good policies.
2) Leaving a couple of good friends.
3) I live in an apartment next to my office and the commute is very very short. Not sure whether I can do the same if I move. ( I dont own a home)
4) Low cost of living compared to CA.
5) Pain of moving the furniture + car + belongings to CA.

My wife is a SAHM and she is OK to move.

Waiting for your suggestions.
-Mac.
[/INDENT]

[ana]

1 year is a short time but I think if you really want to do something, you should definitely do it.

Cost wise, move is always expensive but the experiences will make you richer.

I always wanted to experience the bay area and live there. Could not happen because we bought house, had kids and mainly we were busy mostly with both people working and two very young kids.

For us, spending time on move ( finding a job etc. ) was a big factor. If you are ready to spend time on that aspect, I'm sure it will be a fulfilling experience.

I might still live there after a decade or so when the kids are in college.

[poofygoogle]

I hope you already went thru this thread 'Life in Bay area". Do check it out before you decide.
http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/showthread.php/19058-Life-in-the-Bay-Area

[venkat786]

Grass is always greener on the other side. Enjoy your current job and take frequest vacations to CA.

[deeppurple]

Please remember that you spend almost 50% of your time in office when you are awake -- how good the CA weather be when you are with bunch of crooks at workplace in an A/c office in CA?

Bottomline, if you are comfortable with your workplace enviroment and love the company/policies -- then stick to it. CA is good for vacations, not so sure about work etc.

[sara]

Go for it Mac. You have to experience CA. Don't come back to India with the regret. If you are going to move back to India, you have to say goodbye to your friends one day anyway.

I lived 13 years in Bay Area and it is the most wonderful place to live. Weekend trips to San Francisco, parks, beaches,.... Indian restaurants, groceries,..... You can never be out of things to do there...

[back2desh]

Very well said Deeppurple.... In fact in US it does not matter which city you live, almost in all cases you end up in Office 50-60% of the time and never enjoy the nice weather outside, except for weekends that too if you are free :)

Please remember that you spend almost 50% of your time in office when you are awake -- how good the CA weather be when you are with bunch of crooks at workplace in an A/c office in CA?

Bottomline, if you are comfortable with your workplace enviroment and love the company/policies -- then stick to it. CA is good for vacations, not so sure about work etc.

[kalki]

I wouldn't move to BA just for one year. If you are already set to R2I in 2011, no point in moving now, then moving again in a year. Will not be that easy to get an internal transfer to India especially if you have been with the co. for less than a year.

If you have long-term plans (> 2 years) then you should consider moving. We used to live in Chicago and both me and my wife wanted to move to Bay Area for a variety of reasons. We were in Chicago for more than 5 years and were sick of the snow/cold etc. The thing I hated the most was scrubbing snow/ice from the car. (Always reminds me of the scene from Fargo). Moved to bay area about 5 years back and love this place. Indian shops, rest., friends, activities. If you are an outdoorsy person, you will love bay area.

[lsk]

I like the already presented suggestion of staying where you are and taking frequent vacations. In fact, if you can work remotely, then work from the Bay Area for a couple of weeks. But, do not go back without doing this: why go back with an unfulfilled wish, especially one that can be accomplished easily.

Couple of additional cons to consider:
+ If there is a chance of you moving to the Indian division of your company OR a direct competitor, you may lose some leverage because of the loss of continuity. (It may be a pro if opposite).

+ Some extra effort needs to be expended to adjust to a new company anyways i.e. write off a couple of months. And add some winter months (which you have already experienced on the East Coast), then the actual "useful" months, post the move, is very less.

+ Your family might really like it in the Bay area (the almost India feeling) and put pressure on the R2I decision.

Best of luck.

[M V]

4) My 2 year old son and my wife will have a better social life.
5) I get to live in a city where most of the Cutting Edge Tech innovations happen. [/quote]
Social life takes a while to build. One year is not long enough. There was another thread "Life in Bay area" where folks posted how tough it was to make friends and break into existing friends groups/circles.

Living in cutting Edge innovations city - unless you are part of the team developing those, it doesn't matter...

Just for one year, not worth it.