R2I - North East to Mumbai

[norton]

Life is a box of chocolates you never know what you are going to get.

We will be r2i-ing to Mumbai in the next 6 weeks. I will be maintaining this diary to share my thoughts, the events and the circumstances surrounding the journey. Years from now it will serve as very interesting look into how I rolled the dice. Here goes....winner winner chicken dinner.

Background: Been here for close to 10 years. Worked for the first 3, quit to pursue an MBA, after graduation with the same company.

Reason to R2I: 1. Feel there is faster growth in India
2. Be closer to family
3. Enjoy a better quality of life..take actual vacations instead of accruing days for a India trip.

The original plan was to relocate over the next 3-4 years, but then got an offer I would have to be certified crazy to refuse and the 3-4 years turned into 3-4 months.

The initial phase: Right after the offer, a rush of excitement..and then a thud in the heart. Yes going back was always our plan, but this seemed too sudden. It meant we would have to leave behind every memorable place and the events. The places we used to haunt would now be much more than a 2-3 hour drive. It meant reinventing our social selves.

Thankfully found this forum. We had limited knowledge of Mumbai, so started asking the questions. I was very surprised and happy to see so many people respond. I will thank each of them in a separate post, when I have actually acted on their suggestions. For now a collective thank you to each of you who responded.

Everything is in question: We made and tore up so many lists in the past weeks. Each piece of furniture, decor, art work was now to be measured in emotional value. Did it merit a journey across the seas? How about we just go back with a couple more suitcases than when we first arrived? For the new start, let us build new memories and just take back from here those artifacts dearest to us. That was the wife's suggestion and I agreed. The only list pending is that of electronics and looks like it can go either way.

Where do we stand today: We will start listing stuff for sale on CL and the usual avenues. Thinking of getting quotes from shippers to ship a few boxes (4-5 all in), esp since the airlines can refuse to carry extra stuff if the flights are full, and this being the holiday season the chances are that all flights will be full.

These are going to be some crazy 6 weeks..... more to follow

[r2i-mumbai]

Nice to see someone returning to Mumbai. Good luck with your move. Keep us posted about your experience.

[london2india]

Good one, I am sure you will be fine...We are going thru similar situation, We are selling all our stuff, good memories are being sold at throw away price as we can not take all of them along with us in India. I think we all can understand this, I am in similar situation all of sudden I decided to go back to India just because of very attractive offer....still questions come to my mind if what I am doing is right or wrong?