Points to consider before moving back to India
I recently moved back to India after almost a decade in the US. This is the perspective of a 30M moving to a Tier 1 city.
I know a few people in my circle who are considering moving, so I thought I’d list a few things that could influence your decision.
Family: This can singlehandedly make/break your decision. It’s extremely important to understand the context in which your parents, siblings, and extended family live. Family dynamics, expectations, and boundaries may be very different from the West. If you are neurodivergent or particularly sensitive to social expectations, navigating this can be exhausting.
Contacts: Life runs through personal connections. Hospitals, schools, government offices, religious institutions, housing, contractors are broken institutions. Without a “contact,” even getting basic things done can become unnecessarily difficult.
Boundaries: You need to be comfortable establishing boundaries. People will test what you are willing to tolerate. You may need to be more assertive, push back, raise your voice and occasionally establish hierarchy.
Workplace: You may have to put effort into communicating what you consider inappropriate/toxic workplace behaviour. Some colleagues and managers may respond positively.
Baggage: India carries a lot of historical, cultural, class, caste, region, language, generational baggage. If you cannot learn to navigate some of this without internalising, it can become frustrating.
Most of these problems can be solved with one of three things: money, time, or mental health. My preferred solution is money.
Despite, I think moving back to India can be extremely rewarding. But it helps to come back with realistic expectations.