Our Experiences Living in India after 20 Years in US | 8 Key Insights
After 2.5 years back in India following 20 years in US, honest reflections across 8 key dimensions: kids, family, career, convenience, lifestyle, finances, environment, and social life. No regrets.
In this story
It's been 2.5 years since we moved back to India after living 20 years in the US. Now that we've settled in and passed the initial honeymoon phase, here are honest reflections across 8 key dimensions of life in India.
The 8 Dimensions Covered
- Kids: School adaptation, curriculum choice, language, activities
- Family: Parents, extended family, quality time
- Career & Entrepreneurship: Work culture, opportunities
- Convenience & Services: Apps, domestic help, deliveries
- Lifestyle: Pace of life, balance
- Finances: UPI, cost of living, real estate
- Environment: Pollution, traffic, gated communities
- Social Life: Friends, hobbies, travel
The Bottom Line: "Looking back, my wife and I never really compared our life here to what it would have been if we stayed in US. Instead, we treated this move as starting a new chapter and embraced it wholeheartedly. Life in India is different, yes, but it's also dynamic, fulfilling, and rich with opportunities and connections. No regrets of moving to India at all."
👧 Dimension 1: Kids
When we moved, our kids were 9 and 7 years old, joining 4th grade and 2nd grade in India.
Curriculum Choice
One good thing in India is there are several curriculums to choose from. We selected IB, and honestly, they have adapted very well - no complaints about curriculum or school overall.
Language Considerations
Telugu Language Experience
- Our kids can speak Telugu but couldn't read or write
- In Telangana, Telugu is mandatory but it's a third language
- It's not formally evaluated
- Taught according to the kids' level
- Took longer to become fluent in conversing because many community kids come from different states and countries - English is their common language
School Fees Reality
The Cost Factor
- School fees are really expensive
- Increases by 10% every year
- Additional fee hike when moving from primary to secondary or secondary to high school
- Tuition costs add up as kids get into higher grades
The joke: "If we had invested the money in a corpus instead of paying for school fees, it would have grown into a small fortune by the time they graduate."
Activities
The Advantages
- Warmer weather: Kids can play almost year-round
- Community kids: Plenty of children around, secure area
- Outdoor freedom: Can spend time outdoors after school and on weekends
- Extracurriculars within community: Basketball, dance, art, and more
- Time saved: No need to drive kids around for regular activities
For specialized training, you still need to go to specific centers outside the community, but for regular activities, the convenience is a huge time-saver.
👨👩👧👦 Dimension 2: Family
Parents
My brother moved to India a few years ago to take care of our parents. Now that I'm also back, I feel so much better knowing I can be around when they need me.
What This Means
- Can take parents for annual health checkups
- Spending quality time with them
- No guilt of being far away when they need us
- Sense of comfort and closeness
Grandparents and Grandchildren
Extended Family
After spending so many years abroad, it's easy to lose touch with extended family as everyone moves along with their own lives. But here, we've had the opportunity to reestablish those connections through different events and regular meetings.
💼 Dimension 3: Career & Entrepreneurship
Corporate World
I'm personally no longer in the corporate world, so I can't comment directly. But from what I've heard from others:
Work Culture Observations
- Odd timings for some meetings can be challenging
- Work culture is improving but still has a way to go compared to abroad
- Product-based companies tend to offer better work-life balance than service-based companies
Entrepreneurship
The Opportunity
One thing that stands out is the sheer number of opportunities here. India's growth is real and you can feel the vibe, especially in cities like Hyderabad. Whether you're looking to build something new or work in a growing field, there is so much happening.
The Challenges
- Inefficiencies and bureaucracies
- Need for multiple follow-ups
- Can be very frustrating
The solution: Over time you can get adjusted or find opportunities that minimize those interactions. It's all about choosing your battles and finding your flow.
📱 Dimension 4: Convenience & Services
The Good
Apps That Make Life Easy
- Zepto, Swiggy: Quick delivery
- Urban Company: Home services
- Dunzo: Easy shipping across the city
These conveniences really free up your time and make life a lot easier.
Domestic Help
Domestic help can definitely assist with chores, giving you more time to focus on what you enjoy.
The Flip Side
It's not all rosy. Managing domestic help comes with its own set of challenges:
- Had to change many maids
- Training them takes time
- Uncertainty if they'll come back after going to hometown
- Supervising them can be stressful
"While the help is great, it's not at all rosy."
🌴 Dimension 5: Lifestyle
💰 Dimension 6: Finances
Fintech Revolution
UPI and Digital Payments
India has made incredible advances in fintech. UPI payments, online banking, digital transactions are so seamless. It makes life very easy and convenient to manage finances here.
Cost of Living
The Reality
- Cost of living is quite high but varies widely by location
- You can get a cup of tea from 20 rupees to 200 rupees - all options available
- It's the lifestyle you choose and you have to pay for it
- In western Hyderabad, cost of living is almost comparable to living abroad
Biggest Expenses
What to Budget For
| Expense | Notes |
|---|---|
| School fees | Major expense, increases annually |
| Housing/Real estate | Quite expensive, especially in western Hyderabad |
| Everything else | Several options to choose from |
Big Surprise
The cost of real estate was a big surprise - it's quite expensive, especially in western Hyderabad.
🌆 Dimension 7: Environment
The Challenges
Yes, pollution and traffic are definitely challenges here. But you have to find ways to work around them:
Coping Strategies
- Travel at non-peak hours if you have flexibility
- Plan your routes
- For us, it's not a deal-breaker - it didn't bother us
Gated Communities
Strong Recommendation
I highly recommend people planning to return to move to gated communities if possible. It helps with a much smoother transition for the family:
- Facilities
- Security
- Presence of like-minded people
These factors are invaluable for making the transition as smooth as possible.
✨ Final Thoughts
No Regrets
"Looking back, my wife and I never really compared our life here to what it would have been if we stayed in US. Instead, we treated this move as starting a new chapter and embraced it wholeheartedly."
"Life in India is different, yes, but it's also dynamic, fulfilling, and rich with opportunities and connections."
"For us, moving when our kids were young felt right - it allowed us to build this life together."
"No regrets of moving to India at all."
Considering Your Own Return to India?
Every family's journey is unique. These 8 dimensions can help you think through what matters most to you. Connect with others who have made the move and learn from their experiences.
Get honest insights from families who have been through the journey.
Chapters
- 0:00 Life through 8 key dimensions
- 1:05 1st dimension (kids)
- 4:19 2nd dimension (Family)
- 5:51 3rd dimension (Career & Entrepreneur)
- 7:19 4th dimension (Life style)
- 8:58 5th dimension (Finance)
- 10:30 6th dimension (Environment)
- 11:21 7th dimension (Social life)
- 12:22 8th dimension (Hobbies/travel)
Transcript
Auto-generated captions, lightly cleaned
0:03 Today I want to share our experiences living in India after our moo hi this is ainash here and I moved to India after living 20 years in us at da return we share information and captivating stories so that you can make an informed decision of staying abroad or move to India let's dive in in today's topic it's been 2 and half in 2 and a half years since we moved back to India and time has flown by now that we have settled in and past the initial honeymoon phase of the move I feel it's a good time to reflect and share our honest experiences in today's video I want to talk about life in India through eight key Dimensions how it went compromises and some unexpected surprises we have encountered along the way so let's dive in first
1:05 Kids when we moved our kids are 9 and 7 years old which means they were joining the fourth grade and second grade here in India one good thing in India is there are several curriculums that you can choose from we selected IB and honestly they have adapted very well no complaints about curriculum or School overall I know a lot of people have concerns about language in our case my kids can speak in Telugu but they can't read or write in Telangana Telugu is a mandatory however it's a third language and it's not formally evaluated and based on the kids level it is taught it's taught accordingly also I want to mention it took a little bit longer for our kids to be fluent in conversing in Telugu and
2:08 The reason is many kids in our community come from different states and countries so English is their common language to communicate we know the school fees would be high but it's really expensive it increases by 10% every year and in addition to that when kids move from primary to secondary or secondary to high school there is an additional fee hike so please keep that in mind in addition you have to Shell some money for tutions as they get into higher grades sometimes we joke that if we have invested the money in a corpus instead of paying for school fees it would have grown into a small fortune by the time they graduate next one activities one of the biggest advantage of living in India is the warmer weather which means kids can play almost year
3:10 Long in our community there are plenty of kids around and the area is secure this helps a lot for them to spend time Outdoors after coming back from school and in the weekends the sense of freedom and opportunity to make friends while playing Outdoors has been wonderful for their overall growth another aspect is we loud is how easy is it to get access to extracurricular activities again in communities kids can participate either in basketball Dance Art and much more this saves us a lot of time to take them around for these extracurricular activities of course if the child needs a specialized training you have to go to a specific centers outside the community but for regular activities the convenience of having these within the community has been a huge time saer overall I would say kids are really
Read the full transcript (14 more sections)
4:13 Happy and they adapted fast here in India now let's talk about the second
4:20 Dimension family my brother moved to India few years ago and honestly it's great that he is here to take take care of our parents now that I'm also back I feel so much better knowing that I can be around when they need me whether it's something as simple as taking them for an annual Health checkups or just spending quality time with them it's a blessing the time my parents were able to spend with their grandkids is truly invaluable seeing their bond the stories they talk about the joy they bring to each other is one of the rewarding parts of living in India overall I say there is no guilt of being far away when they need us it's a sense of comfort and closeness I wouldn't trade for anything extended family after spending so many years abroad it's easy to lose touch with the extended family as
5:21 Everyone moves away along with their own lives but here we have had the opportunity to reestablish those connection especially with different events that are happening and you get a opportunity to meet the extended family on a regular basis having a regular conversations and spending time really helps in reestablishing those relationships and rekindle those connections now let's talk about the
5:53 Third dimension career and entrepreneur I am personally no longer in the corporate world so I can't comment on it but what I heard from others is the work culture you know the odd timings for some of the meetings can be challenging of course the work culture is improving in India but there is still a way to go compared to what we can experience in abroad that said for those who are still in a corporate roles product based companies tend to offer better work life balance than a service based company companies on an entrepreneur side one thing that stand outs is the sheer number of opportunities here India's growth is real and you can feel the vibe and especially in cities like Hyderabad whether you're looking to build something new or work in a growing field there is so much happening of course it's not a smooth sailing you know inefficiencies
6:54 Bureaucracies need for multiple followups are still part of the game and it can be very frustrating but over time you can get adjusted to that or find opportunities that can minimize those interactions so that it wouldn't have a big impact it's all about choosing your battles and finding your flow the next Dimension is about
7:21 Convenience and services one of the things I really appreciate is how convenient the services are in India apps like zepto swiggy ensures quick delivery Urban company helps with the Home Services dunzo you know where you can ship something easily across the city these convenience really free up your time and make your life a lot easier it's amazing how these things work in India with domestic help yes you know they can definitely help with the chores and all that stuff and it definitely help you with more time that you can focus on what you enjoy the most but it's not all Rosy here is the flip side managing these domestic help commits with own set of challenges in our case we have to change so many mates training them and don't know if they come back after going to Hometown so it
8:22 Is not completely Rosy that you have a domestic help it is definitely much more stressful supervising them so while the help is great it's not at all Rosy now let's talk about the other dimension which is the life style life in India in general is a bit laidback compared to us which honestly I came to enjoy it allows for a better balance of different aspects of family hobbies and so on in the India like especially like when you look at the finances
9:00 Which is another dimension ptech India has made credibly incredible advances in that sector UPI payments online banking digital transactions are so seamless and it makes the life very easy it's in very very incredible and convenient to manages the finances here the other Factor there is the cost of living frankly the cost of living is white high but there is a wide range when you move from one place to the other place you know it can change drastically for example you can get the a cup of tea from 20 Rupees to 200 rupees all these options are available it's the lifestyle that you want to choose and you have to pay for it in the western part of the Hyderabad the cost of living is from me is almost as comparable to living abroad you have to choose what works for you
10:00 One big surprise is the cost of real estate it's quite expensive especially in western part of the Hyderabad from our perspective school fees and house are the biggest expenses and that you have to keep in mind and whereas the rest it definitely have several options and you can choose from and that has been a big surprise
10:30 Now let's talk about the environment yes pollution traffic are definitely a challenge here but you have to find a ways to work around if you have the flexibility to travel at non- PE covers or planning your routes helps a lot for us it's not a deal breaker so it didn't bother us I think the gated communities I highly recommend people who are planning to return to move to a gated communities if possible that helps with much more smooth transition for the family the facilities the security also the presence of like like-minded people will be very invaluable to make the transition as smooth as possible now let's talk about the social life as a dynamic social life has been
11:23 Very vibrant while we busy with the family friends you will find plenty of like-minded people one thing that I didn't expect was meeting so many of my us friends here because they visit India at least once every two years so actually we see them more often than when we live in us because they might live in the East Coast or the west coast and it just makes it a bit hard but you know since we've been living in India we have been seeing our friends much more often one surprising thing is that I'm surprised to see how many naris moved back to India I know it's still a minority but it's more than I imagine for example in our community 30% of people or the residents are retes so it's it's a big surprise now the last Dimension you know
12:22 Hobbies travel so on the Hobbies you know Hyderabad has so many active groups for different Hobbies personally I have become part of hyderabad's Runners Runners Club and my interest in running has grown dramatically whether it's hiking biking even Iron Man training there is something for everyone I know people say there might not be infrastucture for Parks or you know places to run I find it different you know there are lot of parks available yes you might have to go early but but I'm really surprised about the number of active groups for the different hobbies that are available and you can find that's interesting to you and you can join them and it's dramatically changed in the last decade India living in India can provide lot of opportunities from travel whether it's within the country or around the region it's easy to go to Southeast Asia
13:25 Explore I think that's the best part I think in living in India so so that you know while in US you you know accumulate your vacation so that you can visit to India but here while living in India you can actually use it or take vacations go to different countries check them out I think it's definitely you know something that we enjoying it overall I think on a food yes you know the options are fantastic in India of course the best food from India is Indian Cuisine you can't miss it but you have options from authentic Indian to International dishes the variety and quality are top notch so you won't miss I think in terms of like you know access to certain Cuisine and overall I think some people have concerned about the adulteration of the food I personally think there are
14:27 Several options you can do your due diligence and you can get some of these Goods from the right vendors so that's my personal take on that so looking back my wife and I never really compared our life here to what would it would have been if we stayed in US instead we treated this move as starting a new chapter and we have embraced it wholeheartedly life in India is different yes but it's also Dynamic fulfilling and Rich with opport opportunities and connections for us moving when our kids were young felt right but it allowed us to build this life together no regrets of moving to India at all I hope this experience helps some families I love to hear your thoughts or questions let's keep the conversation going in the comments below thanks
🎉 Dimension 8: Social Life, Hobbies & Travel
Social Life
Social life has been very vibrant. While busy with family and friends, you'll find plenty of like-minded people.
Unexpected Benefit
One thing I didn't expect: meeting so many of my US friends here! They visit India at least once every two years, so we actually see them more often than when we lived in US (where they might be on East Coast while we were on West Coast).
Surprising Statistic
I'm surprised to see how many NRIs moved back to India. It's still a minority, but more than I imagined. In our community, 30% of residents are returnees.
Hobbies
Active Groups in Hyderabad
Despite concerns about infrastructure for parks or places to run, there are many parks available (you might have to go early). The number of active groups for different hobbies has dramatically changed in the last decade.
Travel
Living in India provides lots of travel opportunities - within the country or around the region. It's easy to go to Southeast Asia and explore.
Food
The options are fantastic in India. Of course, the best food is Indian cuisine - you can't miss it. But you have options from authentic Indian to international dishes. The variety and quality are top-notch.
Some people have concerns about food adulteration. Personally, I think there are several options - you can do your due diligence and get goods from the right vendors.