[neon115]

Originally Posted by prasha7

Greetings BHPians,

This is my first post here, have been following this thread from long time and would like to get inputs from esteemed and learned members of this community. To give a brief info about me:
I'm a software developer with six years of professional experience, with an annual earnings of approximately 75 lakhs. Recently, I have been granted an H1B visa through a reputable US consultancy, offering around $115K USD. While the precise location within the US is yet to be determined, indications point towards either California or Texas.

Prior to relocation, I anticipate traveling only upon the assignment of a specific project, ensuring a tangible earning prospect rather than idling on the bench. Wanted to get a view from everyone here that should I move to US, I can switch companies after few months and earnings would be increased but I'm also reaching 30s (currently 28 years) so need to settle on personal front (marriage stuff) due to family

Should I go there and spend few years and come back from experience perspective or continue in India and focus on my career?

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

Short answer : No - 115k is a very low salary for most tech focused jobs here in North America.

Long Answer : Hell No. 75L in india is well above 250k USD in most major cities. If you are planning to settle down in US, H1B to Green Card for Indians is almost impossible (unless you get EB1). Looking at your salary in US I am very sure you are not on the list of EB1. Better stay in India and try to get jobs with higher salary (1Cr).

Taking from the perspective of Indian immigrant to Canada.

[PZK]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Our kids have gone to different schools on different continents as they were growing up. We always choose their schools carefully. So yes, we asked questions about how they talk/teach about sex education throughout the curriculum. How they talk about religion, and which religions are covered in the curriculum. The school stand on homosexuality and so on.

Irrespective of your views and or beliefs, there is a lot of ground you can cover in choosing the school for your kids.

Jeroen

Here is how we have selected the schools so far or I should say the schools selected us:

Gurgaon: Filled up forms for 5+ schools spending 5K INR approx. The schools selected were Lotus valley, Sun City International, Heritage, Shri Ram, DPS, etc. The draws come out and we only get selected in DPS Sector 45. We never thought that we had any options to ask those questions as there was no choice.

USA: Check greatschools ranking and niche.com school rankings, read their reviews, school's study focus like STEM, Arts, etc while keeping your office address in mind. Choose the highest ranking schools in that area, rent a house in the school boundary to ensure you get the admission. All public schools in the county will have the same curriculum, so it just makes sense to choose the highest ranking ones. Again, limited choice.

Never evaluated private schools, but I will be open about them starting next grade onwards. If anyone has 1st hand experience, please do share the comparison b/w public and private schools here.

All things aside, gender identity is not a big enough issue for us to move out the kid from the school. So far, a couple of sessions have popped up and we have opted out of those sessions. As VB-Saan also pointed out, the pros outweigh the cons.

On bad neighbours, they are a global breed. We have been very fortunate to make some decent acquaintances with other nationalities, and shall cherish this experience in future.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Guys do you mean smoke alarm or fire alarm, both are different. And I haven’t seen smoke alarms connected to DCS in residential entities. We have smoke alarms connected to DCS in offices.

Can you throw some light how the system works in case of smoke scenario? are the smoke alarms too connected to DCS, that must be too difficult to monitor for the fire teams.



That must be a task to dangle wet towel to the ceiling !! I can’t visualise how it was done. But I’m not surprised, we are champions to play around the safety.

OT
Some clarification on the Fire system -

Correct Terminology is smoke detectors and fire alarms. Two main parts of the fire system is detection and notification, leaving out releasing and suppression systems.

Detection - What one see in the room is the smoke detector. It detects the smoke without waiting for fire. Heat and Rate of heat rise detector types have become less common now and mostly now it is photo electric smoke detectors. Main reason detection has moved from flaming fire to more smoke based ones is usage of poly urethane foam and similar ones used in modern building and furnishings unlike paper and wood in olden times.

Many USA state codes now mandate photo electric detectors only. And there are multi criteria detectors also available. Even further speciality detectors also available that makes the electric fire smokes detection very fast in commercial sector.

On the alarm part - It is part of notification system.
Detectors typically has a sounder base to notify the occupant with audible alarm. Detectors are looped and connected to a fire alarm control panel which is part of fire alarm system which is connected to monitoring stations.

USA is governed by NFPA72 which gives very few exceptions like 1 or 2 family dwellings or less than 16 detectors in a defined Sq feet space (Distance between detectors is also mandated). Only those small buildings have smoke detector with sounder base (local alarm).

So even most small residential apartments have Fire alarm system by default and inevitably connected by CMS. When the fireman enters, they check the Fire alarm control panel in the building entrance which shows the detector that went off and with building plan they reach quickly there. Large residential complexes have graphic interface which shows the origin of alarm to the detector.

On nuisance alarm, the latest detectors can differentiate between cooking smoke and non cooking smoke with particle analysis for reduction in nuisance alarms.

Hope this helps!

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Chisels121

The apnapan is simply not there in the first world countries and you are always reminded of it. Today Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad are rapidly developing cities and you visit them to see how far has India progressed.

The so-called apnapan only works when you are part of the majority in an area. Try being one of the following in some areas of Indian cities:

• Non-vegetarian in a vegetarian community
• Cook fish in an apartment complex
• Not knowing the regional language in an area where everyone around you does
• Bachelor in a gated community or apartment complex

There is no doubt about how far India has progressed, the newer generation being exposed to greater globalisation thinks a lot differently than what the previous generations did, which is inevitable and good to see. In saying that, pretending that it's only people in other countries who differentiate is like ignoring the log in your eye while trying to get the splinter out of someone else's (Biblical context example).

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The so-called apnapan only works when you are part of the majority in an area.
.
.
. In saying that, pretending that it's only people in other countries who differentiate is like ignoring the log in your eye while trying to get the splinter out of someone else's (Biblical context example).

Well said. There are more families having the same mother tongue as us in the apartment complex we live in the USA as opposed to the Apartment complex we lived in while in India.

Festivals are also a much bigger affair as opposed to tiny niche celebrations we had while in India.

So yes, apnapan will be there if you belong to a state with lots of jobs in your field. Otherwise a big city in USA or Bangalore will feel similar, infact you may find a bigger community in some cities of USA.

[Sk8r]

Woah, so people can cook whatever they want in the US?

In Chennai, back in 2018/9, I had a hell of a time finding houses for rent as a handful of them had " Vegetarians only " board. Sometimes the entire apartment complex!

And this continues till date even in upmarket places like Adyar / Besant Nagar.

Oh, Mr. Deepinder Goyal might be getting new ideas to go green!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The so-called apnapan only works when you are part of the majority in an area.

From what I've seen of my friends who have emigrated, the ones who moved with the intention of integrating and making a new life permanently in the new country, seem to be happier. Their children are first-generation citizens of the country they were born in and seem to be doing well there.

The ones who moved with the intention of re-creating their home country in another country (usually the older guys, who moved for work) seem more conflicted. Always finding something to be unhappy about, bugging their kids about life choices that they perceive to be in conflict with their "values". (While the kids have absolutely no conflict in their minds about where they belong.)

I guess it helps to be clear about what you want from the move.

[Chisels121]

Sir I don't know when you migrated but my mom's elder sister went to U.S around 1996 and we have fellow members too who have gone around that time. These are the people due to whom you feel that apnapan in your neighborhood and you can ask them how tough it was for them to adjust yourselves as I have and their reply was simply that there is a reason they are planning to retire in India.

Regards
Anshuman.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Chisels121

Sir I don't know when you migrated but my mom's elder sister went to U.S around 1996 and we have fellow members too who have gone around that time. These are the people due to whom you feel that apnapan in your neighborhood and you can ask them how tough it was for them to adjust yourselves as I have and their reply was simply that there is a reason they are planning to retire in India.

Answer to the situation they find themselves in is mentioned by am1m here:

Originally Posted by am1m

From what I've seen of my friends who have emigrated, the ones who moved with the intention of integrating and making a new life permanently in the new country, seem to be happier. Their children are first-generation citizens of the country they were born in and seem to be doing well there.

The ones who moved with the intention of re-creating their home country in another country (usually the older guys, who moved for work) seem more conflicted. Always finding something to be unhappy about, bugging their kids about life choices that they perceive to be in conflict with their "values". (While the kids have absolutely no conflict in their minds about where they belong.)

I guess it helps to be clear about what you want from the move.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Chisels121

Sir I don't know when you migrated but my mom's elder sister went to U.S around 1996 and we have fellow members too who have gone around that time. These are the people due to whom you feel that apnapan in your neighborhood and you can ask them how tough it was for them to adjust yourselves as I have and their reply was simply that there is a reason they are planning to retire in India.

Regards
Anshuman.

Half of my extended family over generations have moved to the US; back from early 60s till date; so I can give you a more detailed perspective on the toughness of settling in a different continent. My uncle moved there for higher studies back in 60s. It was extremely tough for a 20 year old's first international trip who lived his entire life in Chennai initially but he didn't limit himself to fellow Indians but rather he made his life around locals and other immigrants from South America and rest of the world and has lived the majority of his life happily well integrated among them. So have my extended uncles and aunts; some who went for higher studies while others shifted looking for better job prospects. None I know ever settled into an Indian community setup but rather integrated themselves across cities with their usual neighbors and sorts.

I remember speaking to an uncle (who passed away a few years ago) who was in the banking sector in India and faced a lot of issues (red tape, north-south divide, etc.) and found an opportunity there back in early 70s. It wasn't an easy shift for him; they had to liquidate every asset and start out fresh, the role he got was atleast 3 levels below what he was doing in India. But they dug in and their children (my generation) are well settled and doing well. They still used to remember the culture and friends & family they had in their setups here but they recreated the same over there among the folks they interacted in their jobs and around their lives.


Everyone has a different experience - it boils down to what they aim to achieve over there (as correctly put by @am1m). A decade ago when I was in the US, I consciously decided to stay away from the gated complexes that Indian generally batch together and live as a community. Did it across the three cities I lived there. To my office colleagues, I was the odd man out - people used to wonder why. But I enjoyed living on my own and made friends with Americans & immigrants of different origins (Mexico, East Europe, Sri Lanka, India and others). But I acknowledge most of my colleagues preferred to do otherwise and it's their choice. Apnapan can be created among multiple races / communities. It comes down to the individual on how flexible and open they are to it.

[Chisels121]

All right I rest my case.
There are just too many different scenarios for people to give a general perspective.

[androdev]

It always amuses me when I see "effort to integrate" is seen as some kind of virtue or a desirable trait. It's one thing to blend - make local friends, to embrace the local sports, clothing and cuisine. This is fairly superficial and any half-decent educated person born after 1980s can very easily do it. The real challenge is to culturally integrate - replacing the values you believed in while growing up with the new ones especially when you believe your values are better.

The so called regret of some immigrants doesn't come from the lack of superficial integration but their failed struggle to reconcile different value systems. In many cases, fulfilling family responsibilities is the sole purpose of taking up the arduous endeavour of immigration. Imagine the shock and betrayal when you finally realise that family has a totally different concept in the West. It's irrelevant to discuss which version is better. Do you accept the new reality and would you find it very fulfilling to have made all the sacrifice to end up here?

I'm pro-immigration. Lot of good things can come out of it. Worst case, it can be a great "test drive". I'm also a very proud Indian. I prefer to pick and chose the best stuff from different "worlds" - songs, movies, sports, food, living amenities, type of schooling, companies I work for, etc. When it comes to the concept of family and social interactions, I find it impossible to leave India because I can be in India and recreate "a lot of" the best of the west with a Mastercard but can't do the reverse.

[kbnissan]

Personally, I feel that in India you really need to be in the top 5% to have a seamless life when comparing to USA.

Thinking back to the decade I spent in the USA, few things that immediately come to mind:

School fees

I feel the public school system in the USA provides equitable education to all students.

We have talked about education standards increasing in India. How many of us will enroll our kids into Govt schools? I am sure most of us are spending a bomb putting our kids through school.

Infrastructure

Take the highways for example. My hometown is 440KM away from Bangalore and if I start right now, I will reach home in about 9.5 hours and this is entirely highway miles.

A similar distance in USA which we used to drive frequently in USA (280 miles from NE Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh) takes a maximum of 5 hours.

Quality of life

In India for us to have a really high QoL you are dependent upon the Bai / Maid. Ask your wives on how they would feel on QoL if the maids don't turn up for a few days.

In USA, we were accustomed to doing things ourselves and it used to be a less of a chore due to all the convenient appliances. Even dusting was easier even if we left the windows open the entire day. Try that in India.

Work pressure

When your work hours stretch from 9 AM to 10 PM it kind of takes away a lot of sheen from Shining India experience. And moreover, if you are in the services industry, you get hit with the double whammy of having to work when USA has a holiday since it is a working day in India and having to work on India holidays since USA is working. Late night calls used to be minimal when I was working in USA for 10 years and is pretty much then norm since I moved back to India (more than a decade ago).

So yes - While India has grown by leaps and bounds and the Quality of life is much better than a decade ago, I feel that USA or any western country is much better option when compared to India as it stands today. It will be different and India will be better - but that will still be a decade or two away.

Ultimately the location where you decide to settle down / pursue career / raise family etc boils down to what is your life situation at any point in time. We need to learn to be flexible and take the curves on the road of life as it comes.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by androdev

The real challenge is to culturally integrate - replacing the values you believed in while growing up with the new ones especially when you believe your values are better.

There in lies the problem. As long as you believe in respecting others' value systems without thinking of them as inferior and be open to viewpoints different than yours, you should not have any problem.
Maybe I misunderstood your post. Can you elaborate on how one value system would be better than other?

[prasha7]

Thanks everyone for pitching their views around my post(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5754194 (Emigrating to a Foreign Land!))

My main motive to move is to gain new cultural experiences and given I'm in my late 20s and single, I felt it'd be my last chance to experience that without thinking of other responsibilities.
I have plans to come back after some years(H1B seems to have 6 years validity without I140) as I want to be close to my parents. Given the salary is very low and based on inputs from everyone I'd try to push them to give higher salary may be around 150K for Texas(As taxes are less there). Just don't want to pass on this opportunity and regret later, I know the risk is high looking at my current earnings but I believe I'd be able to achieve that there also after few switches. Worse if everything fails can come back to India and try to get another job.

Would request folks living in US or been to US to give inputs around how feasible it'd be to switch jobs given current circumstances? And experienced members to pitch in if they feel the decision needs some other considerations to be accounted.