Settle back in India for good? Ummm let me think!

Settle back in India for good? Ummm let me think!

So I recently visited India for vacation. While I was there, the most common question asked by friends and relatives was: "Why don’t you come back to India? Enough of staying abroad". I had to make an ‘I don’t know’ face in front of them because I know that question is not answerable in a simple Yes or No. So let me try to answer that question in the shortest form possible! 

Let me start from the beginning. I came to this country in year 2006 as a student. I had a burden of education loan on my back when I landed here. Not that my parents weren’t able to afford my college fees but after working for a year in the IT industry, it felt shameful to ask to parents for money. That education loan kept building up with each semester as I ordered checks from my bank to pay towards my college fees. At the end of my educational cycle, I had quite a heap of debt sitting on the back of my neck. The bank allows you a grace period of one year before you can start re-paying the loan so I had immense pressure on myself to find a job. 

I passed out in 2008 and started looking for a job. Autumn of 2008 was insane where the big financial crisis of 2007-08 had taken place and jobs were being slashed. Many of my college mates had to return to India because they weren’t able to find a job here in the US. I was lucky to have survived and found a job for myself. There was a lot of mental stress during those days where finding a job was extremely difficult. Well, that is my first reason why I don't want to come back to India right now. I had a very hard time finding a job here and I don't want to quit now. I have seen my classmates head back to India with no jobs under their belt. I have found a good one with extreme efforts and I don’t want to look back. 

Anyways, my job started and things got a little better (There is light at the end of every tunnel). Soon I started to re-pay my education loan which was of course in dollars. So I had to earn in dollars if I had to survive with paying that hefty amount each month to the bank. That was my second reason to stay here. I had to earn in dollars because I was paying in dollars to my bank. Banks in India charge a good 11-13% interest rate on education loans so it took me 5 years to get that loan off my back. So 5 years gone and I didn’t come back to India (You already know a few reasons why I didn't!)

Well, in the meantime several major events happened in my life. I got married. I had saved very less money because I was paying my loan for the past 5 years so now saving money and family responsibility was a top priority. Also, in the meantime my company was ready to sponsor my green card. That was a good news! I knew so many people who had to return to India because their employer didn’t file for their green card. I was lucky that I was getting an opportunity to become a permanent resident of this country. My honest work had paid off in a good way. How could I let it go? I couldn’t. Now there comes my third reason for not returning back to India. My green card was being filed and I had to get it! Approval of green card takes anywhere between 5 to 10 years so now I am at a phase where I am waiting for it to get approved and just can't leave everything and come back.

Also, once my green card processing was approved, I got a home for myself. It made no sense to keep paying rent to someone else every month. Buying a home was a good investment and I had to take that decision. There comes my fourth strong reason to stay here. I have a commitment towards a mortgage now and I have to stay here longer to make my investment well worth.  

To sum up, there is a very vicious cycle of events that makes one stay away from their country. It is like a big maze. You keep walking into it only to realize that the point of entrance is now out of sight. I am sure many Indians who live outside of India have similar stories. And I also believe this post would clear doubts of many people in India who wonder why their friend or relative isn’t ready to come back to India. 

I could have covered so many other points but I wanted to keep this as short as possible! Thanks for taking your time and reading through this patiently.