re: Emigrating to a Foreign Land! Is Emigrating from India worth it?
Not an easy question to answer, and even if one does, it will not be applicable to everyone.
(for the below, I assume emigration is to a developed nation and for a salaried job) - From an income/saving/money perspective -
Abroad makes eminent sense.
For similar input effort in India vs Developed nation, the income/savings is much higher abroad. Even, considering education, a similar education will yield better income abroad compared to India. - From career growth perspective -
Equal.
In the private sector, motivated folks who are smart + intelligent + industrious will reach the higher echelons of management in India as well as abroad.
Though, I must add that given the growth in India, the chances may be a bit higher in India in this aspect. - From leisure + activity perspective
Abroad, definitely.
India sorely lacks clean and desirable public spaces esp in the large cities. Club memberships are notoriously cornered by old upper caste gents and their entitled progeny.
Avenues to seek specialist hobbies are much more abroad, though one is quite pressed for time to pursue those (see next point) - From home/personal work effort perspective
India.
Domestic help, full time helps, cook, driver, car cleaner, milk delivery etc etc, pretty in-expensive in India, so one has much more free time to relax, catch up with friends, watch movies etc.
Abroad, weekends are full of errands of the house and taking kids to tennis/dance/music lessons. In India, a household with income of 20+ Lakhs will typically have multiple helps. Whereas, very few Indians are willing to pay $200/hr for helps abroad unless they are at $150K+ income levels. - From family perspective
India.
Assuming one’s parents, in-laws, siblings, spouse’s siblings are based in India (most, if not all), it will always be better here than anywhere far.
Unless, one is emigrating to Gulf or Singapore, other countries are too far off to give a sense of comfort to ones aging parents and in-laws.
Festivals just aren’t the same without some members of family around, it is unfair to deny kids the joys of being near their grand-parents and vice-versa. - From social / family support perspective
India.
The sense of support that come by being close to extended family can never be had elsewhere. Consider medical emergencies, early parenting support, etc.
And this works both ways – perceived support by your siblings/parents by your presence in India and by you due to their presence close by.
The society, not only families but friends, colleagues, acquaintances, is much more connected in Asian and African cultures compared to the West. This directly impacts happiness and stress quotient as a person ages. - From societal adjustment perspective
India.
Anywhere else, one has to be investing effort to fit in which is an additional burden. In India, you can be the desi that we all are.
For emigrant kids it is even worse, they have no idea why they are looked at differently by natives, as far as they are concerned they are themselves. From safety perspective
Abroad – if one is emigrating to Nordic countries, Australia, NZ, HK, Singapore, Japan or most EU nations.
India – if emigrating to US, UK, etc.
This is debatable, but the gun violence in US is crazy and the political ineptitude to address it really is maddening. From “Tax value” perspective
Abroad.
No questions, the feeling of paisa-vasool on one’s Tax paid monies is so much more in developed countries than in India. From Kid’s future perspective
Equal.
Access to world class education and ability to pay for those is higher abroad. Think MIT, Purdue, Oxford, Stanford, INSEAD etc. But jobs are less and getting scarce by the day.
Getting into good institutions is very difficult, but plethora of jobs for those with good education and drive. From “India’s Debt” perspective
India.
If you have taken advantage of India’s highly subsidized public education system (Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT, IIM, RECs, NLS, AIIMS, etc), then it is your obligation to repay that debt to India before quitting.
One can debate this point, but this is a fact that an emigrant cannot wish away.
Whew, never typed so much (I prove my name wrong today).
Hope it is of value to some. I am open to debate.
But, one final thought I’ll leave you with – Never leave India to run away from its shortcomings, one can never be happy that way. Always go towards something better, eg, a better career option, or a loved one, whatever that one big goal is.
Because running away from negatives isn’t possible, many of those negatives aren’t India’s, they are one’s own.
cheers
lazy |