The American dream is not so popular these days. With a moody president, whimsical policies and rising racism, the country has become less of a global village and more of a suffocating pothole. Amidst this, many Indians living in the USA have finally found the courage to come back home. Either tortured by the H-1B visa trials, suffocated by the backlash culture or just missing home and their parents, individuals with years of experience and massive packages are now on their way back.Amidst this, a post made by a Delhi techie on their return to India has gone viral. The man who spent seven years in US observed that the gap between online narratives and lived reality in India is wider and urged people to be practical rather than believing internet opinions.Now working in Bengaluru as an electrical engineer, the man took to Reddit to share a post titled, ‘Moved back to India after 7 years in US. My experience so far…’ The man noted that he came back due to lots of reasons including the visa hamster wheel, his ageing parents and that he couldn’t see himself settling there.
Reality beyond online narratives
“I didn’t come back with rose-tinted glasses,” he said while adding that a lot of long-standing concerns about India were true such as pollution, hygiene, civic sense, uneven infrastructure and bureaucratic hurdles. “Those aren’t imaginary problems, and I’m not trying to downplay them. I was told by my friends and family not to move back, and that I’ll regret moving back,” he wrote.However, he said that daily life in India had felt “less ideological and more practical.” Instead of thinking that “this country is broken,” he shared that he had been living, working, meeting people and dealing with annoyances as they came up. Meanwhile, he was enjoying the food, hanging out with friends and family, easy household chores like cooking and cleaning and the freedom from “stupid visas.”
Life in USA
Long hours and blurred boundaries exist in USA too
The man also wrote about the challenges he faced in US, sharing that in Houston as well he faced issues like homelessness, gun violence, racism, missing family and traffic despite the 8-lane highways. “Heck I didn’t feel safe roaming there at night in certain neighborhoods. So while there as well I had to find a way to work around these issues and go on living my day to day.”He added that he had noticed the gap between online narrative and lived reality in a way he “didn’t fully expect before returning.” “So far I haven’t regretted my decision of moving back and I don’t intend to go back to US anytime soon,” he added.In terms of work-life balance, he said that there is no meaningful difference between India and USA. Long hours and blurred boundaries exist there too, where he would work long hours and even on weekends, just like in India. Similarly with traffic, congestion and stressful commutes are a reality in US metropolises too. “I have lived and been to cities like Houston, Denver and Boston and the traffic is horrendous so Bengaluru traffic doesn’t feel that unfamiliar or unique to me.”
Advice for others
For those considering returning to India, the man advised taking the online rhetoric with a big grain of salt. “Lived reality can be very different. I moved to Bangalore fully expecting bad traffic, language issues, and hostility for not being fluent in Kannada — none of that has been my experience. Traffic is manageable from my perspective, and Kannadigas have been warm, welcoming, and genuinely kind,” he shared. In the end, he said the move should be a personal choice and not driven by online narratives or trends.
Social media reactions
He said he was enjoying the food, hanging out with friends and family, easy household chores like cooking and cleaning and the freedom from “stupid visas.”
The man’s post received mixed reactions online, with some users agreeing with his views and others contradicting them.“Nice post. Life is such – when you live in the US, you enjoy what it has to offer and navigate its challenges; when you live in India, it’s the same approach. No point fighting reality – study it, adapt to it, play the game according to its rules. Can’t play a game even as you resent it,” wrote a netizen.“A lot of Indians who immigrate to the US try to find India in the US and set themselves up for a miserable time (not saying OP did this). If you’re going to stay in an Indian community, only interact with Indians, only go to Indian markets for shopping etc instead of adapting/ seeking new experiences, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Similarly, if you’re in India constantly comparing it to how things were in the US that’s equally bad. Both countries have pros and cons. Enjoy the pros of the country you live in,” added another.“Very well balanced and articulated. I hope to move back too, in about 7-8 years. Need to save more so that I don’t have to work in India,” a user shared.“This is something a lot of us underestimate: the privilege that we have to come back to a country where we have roots, a house, a family, and a degree of familiarity,” one wrote.
