We are planning on R2I in the next 2 years. After reading great advice and dilemmas from so many others, I have found the courage to post my question as well.
Here is the plan and the basic info:
Self USC, OCI in US for 20 years 36yrs
Wife (non Indian), USC, PIO
No children
Liquid assets: 6 Crores (stocks, investments and bank deposits, mostly in India)
Property:
House in New Delhi, approx value 3 Crores, no mortgage
Agricultural Land, approx value 5-7 Crores, generates a tax free income of approx. 8 Lacs per year.
House in US (Washington DC area), not much equity- around 100,000$
Small flat in Goa approx value 25 Lacs
Place to R2I: unsure; probably Delhi to start, Goa is a strong second as it would be easier for my wife there.
The plan is to not work at all in India, at least for the first few years until we get bored. We would travel around India and Asia with occasional trips to Europe while leading a very modest but comfortable lifestyle. We are estimating out monthly costs to be around Rs. 40 K not counting the occasional international trips (1-2 per year, done cheaply- wherever we find a good deal). The plan would be to use less than 20% of our agricultural income for daily expenses and save and increase all the investment income as a hedge against inflation down the road.
Questions:
Is this a reasonable plan?
Is this doable as far as income- do we have enough to R2I without working?
Should we leave our very comfortable (work from home, no supervisors, no exact hours monitored, 45 day paid vacation- often get extra vacation off the record) with good six figure salaries for each of us? This is especially important as we have had these higher income jobs for just the past 4 years. Would it make more sense to keep working when we are making the most we ever have and wait till we are a little older?
Are we being lazy?
Lastly, I am worried about language and cultural issues for my wife. She loves India but I am afraid of what would happen when she can't do simple stuff like buying vegetables? I have been trying to teach her Hindi for the past 12 years of marriage with very limited results.
Should we R2I and when?
Should we R2I and when?
Imissindia;373411We are planning on R2I in the next 2 years. After reading great advice and dilemmas from so many others, I have found the courage to post my question as well.
Here is the plan and the basic info:
Self USC, OCI in US for 20 years 36yrs
Wife (non Indian), USC, PIO
No children
Liquid assets: 6 Crores (stocks, investments and bank deposits, mostly in India)
Property:
House in New Delhi, approx value 3 Crores, no mortgage
Agricultural Land, approx value 5-7 Crores, generates a tax free income of approx. 8 Lacs per year.
House in US (Washington DC area), not much equity- around 100,000$
Small flat in Goa approx value 25 Lacs
Place to R2I: unsure; probably Delhi to start, Goa is a strong second as it would be easier for my wife there.
The plan is to not work at all in India, at least for the first few years until we get bored. We would travel around India and Asia with occasional trips to Europe while leading a very modest but comfortable lifestyle. We are estimating out monthly costs to be around Rs. 40 K not counting the occasional international trips (1-2 per year, done cheaply- wherever we find a good deal). The plan would be to use less than 20% of our agricultural income for daily expenses and save and increase all the investment income as a hedge against inflation down the road.
Questions:
Is this a reasonable plan?
Is this doable as far as income- do we have enough to R2I without working?
Should we leave our very comfortable (work from home, no supervisors, no exact hours monitored, 45 day paid vacation- often get extra vacation off the record) with good six figure salaries for each of us? This is especially important as we have had these higher income jobs for just the past 4 years. Would it make more sense to keep working when we are making the most we ever have and wait till we are a little older?
Are we being lazy?
Lastly, I am worried about language and cultural issues for my wife. She loves India but I am afraid of what would happen when she can't do simple stuff like buying vegetables? I have been trying to teach her Hindi for the past 12 years of marriage with very limited results.
if your age is 36, it is way too early. Congrats on earning so much money so soon. your job seems great. you can pack your bags when you like and go to India when you are ready, with that kind of a financial cushion you dont have to plan much.
RK
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Imissindia
- Posts: 889
- Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:07 am
Should we R2I and when?
rajradio;373417if your age is 36, it is way too early. Congrats on earning so much money so soon. your job seems great. you can pack your bags when you like and go to India when you are ready, with that kind of a financial cushion you dont have to plan much.
RK
Thank you for the reply. We feel the same but also feel that we are wasting our fun years working here while we could be having fun in India. Every year we have told ourselves we will do it this year and then think that we could wait a bit as everything seems to be working out.
As far as "earning" the money goes, a good part is inherited, hence no credit to us!
Should we R2I and when?
imissindia
I guess why do you want to r2i? your post wasnt very clear on that? If you want to travel India you get 45 days off so you can happily use that every year to travel cant you?? Also do you have kids?
I guess why do you want to r2i? your post wasnt very clear on that? If you want to travel India you get 45 days off so you can happily use that every year to travel cant you?? Also do you have kids?
Should we R2I and when?
You have more than enough to go and chill for as long as you want. Dont worry about your wife not knowing hindi, you can hire a maid who can do all the work that you think your wife needs to do.
Should we R2I and when?
You can definitely earn for a few more years in US. Since you have so much flexibility, you can spend time in India whenever you get time and see how it feels. This way you can still enjoy as a couple. If you R2I now itself, it might not take much time to get bored with each other or with the daily life in India. You will have lot of time to think/analyse about every little thing around you.
If you come to India after you have a kid, thats when you can really thank for all the free time/little luxuries, you have in India. You dont have to do any job in India for the financial assets you have. That's an ideal environment to bring up kids with work-free, stress-free mind.
When it comes to your wife adjusting in India-- In general I have seen, a Russian wife, a European wife, adjusting in India so easily in smaller towns. European wife had some issues, when she was pregnant as she was not able to get her type of food in that small town. She had to make her food all the time, which strained her a lot. But living in Delhi or Goa, you might not have even those issues. Once they adjust, they feel India is their home-- this is just from my personal experiences. When you have that kind of money in India, you will have a very good lifestyle, so the word 'adjusting' might not even arise. As your wife is also working in US (she knows the stress, daily routines etc), she would easily appreciate all the nice things India has to offer.
Just my personal opinion. I am talking about the big picture here. There might be little inconveniences here and there, but anything is a package deal. If you want to gain something, you have to loose some things. Its up to you to decide what to loose, and what to gain.
If you come to India after you have a kid, thats when you can really thank for all the free time/little luxuries, you have in India. You dont have to do any job in India for the financial assets you have. That's an ideal environment to bring up kids with work-free, stress-free mind.
When it comes to your wife adjusting in India-- In general I have seen, a Russian wife, a European wife, adjusting in India so easily in smaller towns. European wife had some issues, when she was pregnant as she was not able to get her type of food in that small town. She had to make her food all the time, which strained her a lot. But living in Delhi or Goa, you might not have even those issues. Once they adjust, they feel India is their home-- this is just from my personal experiences. When you have that kind of money in India, you will have a very good lifestyle, so the word 'adjusting' might not even arise. As your wife is also working in US (she knows the stress, daily routines etc), she would easily appreciate all the nice things India has to offer.
Just my personal opinion. I am talking about the big picture here. There might be little inconveniences here and there, but anything is a package deal. If you want to gain something, you have to loose some things. Its up to you to decide what to loose, and what to gain.
Should we R2I and when?
I am sorry..this may be a little off topic but what kind of a job do you have that offers 45 days paid vac and work from home with that much pay. I dont mean the exact company and position but just a general area and description. I would give an arm and a leg for that kind of a job.
If I were you, I would use the 45 days to go around where ever I want and if needed take some more unpaid days since you could afford it. Then if I like to be at a place say India I would still continue on the job ..since its WFM it shouldnt make any difference whether it is in India or here. If I like being in India I would stay there and give up the job if needed. If not move to some other place or find something that I really really wanted to do and try it. If it works continue that if not continue the job.
I would take a sabbatical or something if needed when necessary in this process.
If I were you, I would use the 45 days to go around where ever I want and if needed take some more unpaid days since you could afford it. Then if I like to be at a place say India I would still continue on the job ..since its WFM it shouldnt make any difference whether it is in India or here. If I like being in India I would stay there and give up the job if needed. If not move to some other place or find something that I really really wanted to do and try it. If it works continue that if not continue the job.
I would take a sabbatical or something if needed when necessary in this process.
Should we R2I and when?
Imissindia;373411We are planning on R2I in the next 2 years. After reading great advice and dilemmas from so many others, I have found the courage to post my question as well.
Here is the plan and the basic info:
Self USC, OCI in US for 20 years 36yrs
Wife (non Indian), USC, PIO
No children
Liquid assets: 6 Crores (stocks, investments and bank deposits, mostly in India)
Property:
House in New Delhi, approx value 3 Crores, no mortgage
Agricultural Land, approx value 5-7 Crores, generates a tax free income of approx. 8 Lacs per year.
House in US (Washington DC area), not much equity- around 100,000$
Small flat in Goa approx value 25 Lacs
Place to R2I: unsure; probably Delhi to start, Goa is a strong second as it would be easier for my wife there.
The plan is to not work at all in India, at least for the first few years until we get bored. We would travel around India and Asia with occasional trips to Europe while leading a very modest but comfortable lifestyle. We are estimating out monthly costs to be around Rs. 40 K not counting the occasional international trips (1-2 per year, done cheaply- wherever we find a good deal). The plan would be to use less than 20% of our agricultural income for daily expenses and save and increase all the investment income as a hedge against inflation down the road.
Questions:
Is this a reasonable plan?
Is this doable as far as income- do we have enough to R2I without working?
Should we leave our very comfortable (work from home, no supervisors, no exact hours monitored, 45 day paid vacation- often get extra vacation off the record) with good six figure salaries for each of us? This is especially important as we have had these higher income jobs for just the past 4 years. Would it make more sense to keep working when we are making the most we ever have and wait till we are a little older?
Are we being lazy?
Lastly, I am worried about language and cultural issues for my wife. She loves India but I am afraid of what would happen when she can't do simple stuff like buying vegetables? I have been trying to teach her Hindi for the past 12 years of marriage with very limited results.
Looks to me like life is too easy for you and you are maybe trying to force some changes into your life. I don't really see the need for you to move to india especially when you have a non-indian wife. You have a lot of money, properties, fat salary and a comfortable life. I would suggest you target some exciting vacations each year if you are bored (visit every continent).
The life in india is tougher even for indian people who move back after spending so many years in the USA. You will have to face a different kind of battle with your wife from another country.
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Imissindia
- Posts: 889
- Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:07 am
Should we R2I and when?
Ranger13;373440I am sorry..this may be a little off topic but what kind of a job do you have that offers 45 days paid vac and work from home with that much pay. I dont mean the exact company and position but just a general area and description. I would give an arm and a leg for that kind of a job.
If I were you, I would use the 45 days to go around where ever I want and if needed take some more unpaid days since you could afford it. Then if I like to be at a place say India I would still continue on the job ..since its WFM it shouldnt make any difference whether it is in India or here. If I like being in India I would stay there and give up the job if needed. If not move to some other place or find something that I really really wanted to do and try it. If it works continue that if not continue the job.
I would take a sabbatical or something if needed when necessary in this process.
It isn't anything very glamorous. We started working with a language services company way back in 1998 and have slowly risen towards (but not at) the top with promotions, higher salaries and more vacation. Our latest break came when we were offered a big promotion to move to DC from California about 4 years ago. That gave us much higher salaries. We kept our expenses the same and were able to save more than 70% of our income while having fun, travelling abroad a lot and so on. As far as unpaid leave is concerned, that is not an issue. We frequently take more than the 45 days and it is still paid (off the record). Our company leave policy is 20 days to start, then 25 after a year and it goes up after each chunk of years. The flexibility comes from the fact that we are a small group of 7-8 people who are in the upper management (we are the lowest in this group) and we have known and worked with each other for over a decade. We take all decisions as a consensus- no one issue orders (most of of the time) and we help each other out. Hence if I take an extra month off on top of the regular vacation one year, or a few off the record days in a week, my colleagues cover for me just I cover for them. It is a big multinational but we are lucky to have out office work like this.
Work from home is a cost cutting initiative to reduce the need for expensive work space. Most of our clients and employess are scattered around the world anyway and hence it makes no difference where we are working per se.
We won't be able to work from India (and wouldn't want to as that is the reason to move!) as we have many US govt contracts which require personnel to be in the USA. We could do it for a few months off the record of course but not permanently.
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Imissindia
- Posts: 889
- Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 7:07 am
Should we R2I and when?
arnold;373468Looks to me like life is too easy for you and you are maybe trying to force some changes into your life. I don't really see the need for you to move to india especially when you have a non-indian wife. You have a lot of money, properties, fat salary and a comfortable life. I would suggest you target some exciting vacations each year if you are bored (visit every continent).
The life in india is tougher even for indian people who move back after spending so many years in the USA. You will have to face a different kind of battle with your wife from another country.
We have traveled extensively and life isn't that easy. We travel abroad at least 2-3 times each year but choose it wisely. For instance, we might go to Panama if we get a $200 fare or Colombia if the fare is 300. We are flexible.
Our salaries are probably nothing compared to what most of the IT (read skilled unlike us) folks are making. My wife likes India even more than I do.