Watch: Early Retirement Made Possible: How Desi Return Gave the Confidence and Community to Return to India
Nithin shares his FIRE journey from Singapore to Bangalore and how Desi Return community helped.
The full write-up, with the numbers and the links.
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0:04 So where were you living abroad and for how long? >> yeah so I've we've been living in Singapore for you know last 16 years. So from 2009 until 2025 yeah so 16 years in Singapore. >> Got it. And how did you know about dii return? so yeah around so I used to kind of you know there used to be some kind of dilemma like what should we continue living in Singapore or should we move to another country or move to India. So that time I used to you know search in YouTube videos and you know mostly I was searching for different countries options and all that and then the recurring theme was that lot of people were also going back to India. So until then I was not very sure that you know that people are considering this as a good option and you know discussing this. So one of the so the AC return was like the biggest archive of videos that
1:06 Was there. So and I kind of watched most of them so just to get an idea like what are the main drivers that people are moving back and then I could resonate with some of them and that's that's that really helped me. Yeah that's fantastic. So what was the main driver for you to move to India? okay. So Singapore is like slightly different from other common countries like US, UK, Australia and all that. So Singapore their immigration is kind of very restricted challenging. So they want people to come as expats to work in Singapore during their prime years, you know, contribute to their economy, but they don't want them to live there forever. So they want them to contribute from their prime years until maybe 45 50 or whatever. Unless you go to very senior position, then you are welcome to stay until 60 also if you become like a director and you can you know kind of really impact their economy. If you're like a low-level
2:07 Individual contributor, your prime years will be until 40 45. beyond that you're not considered very valuable because your age is increasing but then your your output is not the same. So they look at it as if you are taking somebody else's job like another Singaporean could have done that job and you are not growing in your role. So unless you grow in your role you cannot justify your place there. So it's only for Singapore is for people who are in that hustle culture who want to keep growing and you know the next step. somehow that also didn't suit me because age- wise I was already 40 plus and my career-wise I was not willing to put that much effort to go to another country and try to work out all those things. So eventually I decided anyway the next step is to go back to India. So it can be another 5 years 10 years or you know now. So if it has to be that we have to go back to India, might as well go now because we can then go and you know get accustomed to the environment
3:08 And my especially my daughter for her it'll be like you know the longer she stays in Singapore the more difficult it is to come back and adjust here. >> Once you are u making a decision to move to India what are the top two or three things that worried you most like you know for written to India? the top number one was financial reason because as I said my career-wise I was not very kind of driven so my thing was that if I come back to India it will be extremely difficult for my age to get an individual contributor role unless I am I have to put like double triple kind of effort that I was putting over there. So I was kind of wanted to make sure that if I return to India it should be that I don't have to work in India. So at least I have some upside that otherwise you know if I have to go to work then I might as well continue there. It's much more easier in transport
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4:09 Over there. Everything is taken care. So Singapore is is much better to keep working. But India if you don't really want to work then India is good. So my first thing was wanted to make sure that I was financially independent and I could sustain my expenses and the withdrawal rate and all that was fine. I had to double check multiple times. So once I was sure that this corpus is enough, I that was the number one. Yeah. >> The second thing was about my family whether they can get accustomed to India like my daughter whether the schooling wise she'll be fine or not. it should be similar. The lucky thing was that my daughter was going to CBSC school already in Singapore. So foreigners don't are not allowed to go to the local school there. So we have to go to international school either CBSC or Cambridge IB whatever but not the local syllabus. So her interaction was mostly with Indian kids and you know Indian teacher everything was like kind of familiar territory for her. So we were always in the beginning itself we were we had planned that if you have to
5:09 Go back to India it should be easy. So we put her in CBSC school. So that was my top criteria that even though it's CBSC the culturally it should be matching. So luckily in Bangalore you know it's very cosmopolitan and you know the kids the the kind of language they speak everything is similar what they speak in Singapore the the kids. So for her that was my number one criteria and for my wife also the major thing was that the kind of independence that she had in Singapore she could go on her own you know on the trains public transport is very efficient in Singapore. So she could my daughter and she they would go independently. They'll never need me. >> Yeah. >> To take them anywhere. So coming here it will again be like a dependency that you know she'll not be so independent to go anywhere because of transport is not so you know convenient and all that. So that was so these factors were there you know just just to make sure that they are comfortable
6:09 And has diitten helped with any of these concerns. Have you used the like guide services or like you know WhatsApp anything that they return help you to get comfortable with some of the concerns that you had about moving to India? Yeah, they see returns. The main factor was that you know it's it was to know that there are other people also who are doing the same. So it's not just me who's taking this step. So there are like thousands of other people who are moving back from even more developed countries like US, Australia, UK and all and so everybody's moving back. So it kind of gives you this kind of comfort that you're not alone in this journey. So if they can do it, I can also do it. So and the another most important thing was the social circle. So once I moved back to India, I don't I have missed my social circle. So just being part of the WhatsApp group you know and helping others, taking input from others and you know bouncing ideas.
7:07 So the social circle was a very big factor why you know I continue to stay in touch with everybody because we are now it's kind of in the same boat. So everybody's in the same boat. Yeah. >> Got it. And then I know you mentioned about double check, triple check about the expenses about corpus. So have you watched any of our videos or like you know where did you get the information? Just curious on that part. >> Yeah, I have watched your videos but most of your videos people were coming back to work again in India. I from what I noticed that most people were keen to you know either get an intercomp transfer or they were planning to kind of you know find an they look for another job in India and then they came. So it was not exactly relevant to my situation but in terms of you know the kind of expenses and all that.
7:56 Yeah. I watch multiple videos like what are the kind of expenses that people kind of incur and what are people really you know open. So another factor was how to convey this message about you know that you're financially independent. Is it okay to tell this and you know kind of announce that you are financially independent or should we keep it a secret you know that I'm working from home and I'm doing my thing. So this was kind of a challenge but then after I watched the videos I realized that yeah it's it's kind of okay that you can you can tell people that you are financially independent and people are not that nosy. They're not kind of you know ask you why you left and all that. So so it has been yeah it has been okay. No problem.
8:43 So what's different in your life now that you have moved to India and you have been living here. So >> yeah. >> Yeah. What's different? >> yeah. Now I have a lot of time. So it become opposite. So before I used I had this excuse that I don't have time. So I could say that you know I not exercising because I don't have time. I'm not doing this because I don't have time. So now it is like I have a lot of time and I have to make better make good use of it. So that's the opposite challenge now. So when you no time you can kind of be on autopilot. you can say that you know I'm going to work. So that's a good excuse. You can tell anybody that I'm working you know I'm busy. So that's a very good excuse to give and life is on autopilot. Now life is not on autopilot. Now you have to you are on the steering wheel and you have to kind of decide what to do every day and you know how to even if you while away your time it's okay but then you have to it's kind of your own you'll be guilty that you're whiling away your time and you can do something else. Before it was at least
9:44 You're getting money for it. So you are saying that yeah the meter is running so at least some money is coming so you can while away your time it's okay. So now it's you have to kind of justify. So now I have started taking activities like I've started playing badminton. I drop my daughter to school every day and pick her up. So kind of family bonding is there. and I meet my parents every day. So you know I can kind of talk talk with them every day. So yeah these these are the positives. U so yeah I would say that it's there are challenges as well and positives as well. what would you say about TC return or maybe any advice from your perspective? >> Yeah. so this return it's a very good kind of you know set of people so who can share their knowledge and ideas and you know you have this community so if somebody has some plans to move back they can kind of
10:44 Watch the videos and bounce their ideas and you know the logistics I'm sure the AC returns has all these information about the logistics about the tax planning and all that lot of things were not applicable for me because I was coming from Singapore but for people coming from US they have to kind of plan their taxes their you know investments and all that. So there return definitely helps because I see a lot of people ask the same questions every time like should I remove my money should I keep it there and these kind of questions are recurringly asked. So yeah it it definitely helps that there are other people who have already done that and they can share their knowledge. >> Fantastic. And what's next for the family in India? >> family yeah it's still it's going on. So we looking to do a lot of traveling within India and lot of leisure time, leisure activities that we can spend together. So we kind of more bonded together now. we go and play badminton together. I take my daughter
11:45 For a badinton classes and I stay with with her over there. You know if I was working then I can't do that, right? So more of bonding, family bonding and spending time until you know my daughter grows up. After that you know then we'll become empty neester then we'll be together and we'll be spending more time together and my wife. Yeah. >> Yeah. So yeah thank you very much Nithin for taking the time and sharing your insights and journey with us today. I love this one.
