Do you guys prefer going to a local vendor or a super market to get your groceries at a reasonable cost?

Hi everyone,

(Too many thoughts, so had to ask Chatgtp to help write the post)

My spouse and I are planning a relocation to a Tier 2 city in India to live a simple life. We don't have a massive corpus compared to some of the milestone numbers often posted here, but we want to see if our math checks out for a modest, comfortable lifestyle.

Here is a breakdown of our current financial situation and strategy:

Our Portfolio & Strategy:

• Active Liquid Corpus: $350,000 held in ETFs on US brokerage platforms (Fidelity and Charles Schwab).
• The Backend Growth: $70,000 in a US 401(k). We plan to completely leave this untouched so it can compound in the background for the long term.
• Withdrawal Strategy: Our current funds generate an average of 18% annually. However, we plan to be conservative and only withdraw 6% to 7% annually to cover our living expenses and buffer against market downturns.
• Future Safety Net: (We both have more than 40 credits)- At age 62, we will both be eligible for US Social Security benefits, which will bring in around $5,000/month combined. If we hold off until age 70, that jumps to roughly $7,500/month.

Taxation & Logistics Plan:

• RNOR Phase: We will leverage our Resident But Not Ordinarily Resident (RNOR) status when we first move, meaning our US-sourced investment income won't be taxed by India for the first 2–3 years.
• Post-RNOR & W-8BEN: Once we lose RNOR status, we will file Form W-8BEN with Schwab and Fidelity. Under the US-India DTAA treaty, this will result in a 25% withholding tax on our US dividends, but 0% withholding on capital gains from stock/ETF sales.
• Indian Taxation: To optimize our taxes in India once we become full residents, we plan to split withdrawals and transfer the USD into our respective individual names to keep our individual taxable incomes within the lower or non-taxable Indian tax brackets.

Our Goal: We aren’t looking for a lavish lifestyle. We want a peaceful, simple life in a Tier 2 city.

Given a monthly budget of roughly ₹1.7L to ₹2L from our withdrawals, backed by the safety net of a growing 401(k) and eventual US Social Security, does this plan seem structurally sound? Are there hidden banking, remittance, or tax traps we are overlooking?

Appreciate any insights, especially from anyone who has done a similar move!

Hi,

I am a different situations and not sure if there is a plan for my family. Please advise if there is one. We are planning to move to India in the near future.

NRI- with Indian passport

Spouse- Foreign born American with X1 Visa

Child- American with OCI.

Spouse had DVT issues 10 years back and since then is on Xeralto as a precautionary measure.

Hi,

I am looking at purchasing a land to build a house in Kochi and it seems that the normal price is around 6- 10 Lacs which is high i feel. I am sure it's because of all the development happening in the region.

Is there any other town around Kochi, which is still on the sea coast, has decent hospitals, clean and family friendly with walkability factored in, accessibility to train stations?

We are retiring and love the vibe of Kerala.

Thanks