Watch: 8 Years in Germany, Trial Run in India – Why We Moved Back

3:23 Personal personal perspective say yeah from personal choice it was better to move to Germany as I was already aware of the country people and also some colleagues I had some friends at workplace and so on and that's how I decided to move there with my work and yeah >> so how was life in Germany. So by the time were you married like were you single like when you're going to Germany? So maybe you can paint a little bit of your personal situation and then how was the life in Germany? >> Mhm. well when I was traveling for work let's say when I was working both in both in both countries for like six months here six months there or three months here three six months nine months there I was single and just before moving to Germany I think I got married just before moving to Germany just one or two months ago we move we got married and after after marriage let's say we moved there so for for from a personal point of view it was a

4:24 Totally new experience I I from professional point of view I knew it how it was and so on and yeah so we got married and then we had kids there and now we are back life in Germany let's say it's really nice I would say it's very calm let's say very organized >> so just curious u because the Germany has a different language so were there any issues who's getting adjusted to the language or any any other factors that has an impact like you know living in Germany. >> So yeah definitely it's a big big factor I think especially it depends where you're living in Germany. So me I was looking living in a small town called Ouxburg which is close to Munich and here this is this is important that you you know the language mainly for your private life let's say for work life you can manage it you're working in MNC you have lot of multiculty

5:26 Colleagues but for private life to go to a doctor to go to a kindergarten appointment or to go to kids doctor and so on I think it is very important and when you are having the language skills in your backpack let's you are more welcomed in general and it is more easier also for you to integrate into the local systems. So yeah when I went there I did not have a lot of German skills let's say and after one or two years I realized that it would be very good also professionally and personally then I did the intensive courses I did like 180 120 days on the go every day 1 hour and yeah it was quite interesting and with with the language it's it's more easier but when you're in big cities like Berlin or I think In Berlin, you can still manage with English.

6:18 >> Okay. >> But I I would recom recommend if you if anybody's going to Germany or want to live there for more than 6 months or one year, it is highly recommended to have a minimum B1 level, let's say. >> Got it. So, sounds like I think the life

6:35 Is calm like you know more structured and what made you think to move back to India? >> It's nice. Initially for a few years you are you're living there you are exploring you're traveling and eventually after one point of time you you get to this mechanical point of life here then you you understand that there's nothing new or nothing let's say different or let's say there's no chaos in simple words and it it all depends on individuals some people may like a lot of stuff discipline and so on I like the flexibility the the the let's say freedom of having little things which is out of your let's say predefined standard structured life a little bit chaotic let's say so I think for me this was more appealing after a few years because that's when I realized that okay because when to be honest when I came to India 2023 for a

7:35 Project for 3 months back here in three in India for work assignment I was looking at the life here it looks ago. it's mega dynamic and social life I think this everybody has their standard reason right after one point of time they understand family social life friends so if I put all this together in a priority for me number one was priority was family to be close to my aging parents to be with them let's say to support with to support them secondly my social life this was very important for me and my wife because over there we were in our own circle in our own we had a social life there but it was let's say after one point of time it could be more dynamic as as it is here and we expected that that to be there and which it does not work a lot and yeah when I came here I saw it's much nicer and we did like a trials we

8:42 When we decided in 2023 already after the first 3 months it makes sense to to move here. We gave it a lot of time and that was let's say our trigger. So basically we moved here for 3 months and then we realized and we put everything on a you know pro and contra list and then we took the time and did the assessment and then we decided to move back. >> Got it. So was it an intentional

9:07 Assignment that you took on to experience the India or is it just like you know because of the work that you have to be in India for 3 months that's when you realized the things that you miss and you know that kind of certified your plan to move back to India. It was let's say a mix of both. plan was and also an destiny I would say. The plan was basically normally when you in Germany you have parental time after you have kids you can you're entitled to have some months of days off and so on. And we I I I decided to take 2 months of parental time. And this two months I came to India and when they knew that I would be in India my my company asked me okay once you finish your parental time as you were already in India if it it would make sense that if if I could work on a localization project and so on and that gave me additional two or 3 months.

10:02 So in general it was a long duration. So it was both my intention as well as I think it was destiny life. Yeah. >> Got it. Understood. So in terms of moving back, how did you choose the city where you wanted to live in India? >> I think this was super clear for me. I'm originally from Bangalore. Lived born, brought up here. And this was clear that if I have to move to India, it would be only in Bangalore. If it was not Bangalore, then I think it it had to give me a lot of other let's say advantages which which would be very difficult for me to choose again. But I was lucky enough to find something back in Bangalore because normally it's not that easy to find an automotive job back and at the expectation that you are point of view but also from the job u that you're expecting from not being on a let's say a back office kind of a job but you are mainly kind of a lead tech

11:03 Center or a lead lead location let's say you know it's not easy to find something like this and I it took a lot of time for For me to be honest I think it took more than one year to find something right and this opportunity what I got it was very fast. It was destined for me I guess. So this year I think in March I applied for it and in

11:26 >> you started like applying for jobs while in Germany itself and you're able to secure a job of your interest in the city that you prefer. you didn't take an internal job like is that an option that you have or you didn't prefer just you know wondering on that aspect >> yeah I would have an option but not in Bangalore it would be either maybe in Pune or in in the northern part of India but for me it was very clear that I want to come back to Bangalore and we also had for a few months I also had the thought process of moving initially to Pune and then maybe look back something in Bangalore but this was let's say second priority and I was mainly focusing on something finding back in Bangalore and if I if I was not successful in some finding something in Bangalore maybe I would have moved to Pune as an internal job transfer end of this year but I had a timeline that 2025 if I would not move if I would not go to get a job back in manure then I would maybe take this internal transfer.

12:25 >> Got it. And then any reason you had this specific timeline in mind that you have to move by this like 2025? Yeah, it was actually linked to my daughter's schooling. She had finished kindergarten this year. Okay. And she would be in normally as you know maybe in also other countries it's August and September the admission year but in India it's usually June and July. So we had kind of a timeline that she would it would be better that she would start her let's say first grade directly in India and not to bring any difficulties or discomfort or in inconvenience for her later in the in the curriculum. Yeah, this was the idea behind the time. >> Yeah, thanks for that. I think that perfectly makes sense. I want to go back to this career part again especially someone who is working in a nonIT u you kind of mentioned about this automotive industry there are some hot spots like Pune maybe some other areas that are like you know well known for

13:26 Like this automotive industry the one question I have is how are the opportunities in the automotive industry like whether from a design from those kind of works versus like some backend works maybe you can paint a picture of the reality of the automotive industry opportunities in India and where these opportunities actually exist right now. >> Yeah. So basically if you if I if I put it into two categories. So automotive is mainly manufacturing predominantly. so pred manufacturing would be mainly in the in India is in Pune or maybe in Chennai. I would not say that there are not so much opportunities in Bangalore but compared to Pune and Chennai it's less and in Bangalore you could still land a job mainly like you said into R&D center design center tech center and so on in jobs like central central let's say roles who are mainly R&D purchasing and so on basically so it

14:28 Is possible but the ratio is much higher and and the opportunities are much higher in in the automotive sector areas like I mentioned Pune Chennai. >> Got it. All right. Let's talk about I

14:40 Think in 2023 from your trial run that's when the family has decided you want to move back to India and so you finally made the move in 2025. Maybe let us walk you through your planning process in the last two years. What are the things that you have planned or executed so that you are ready for the move in 2025. >> Okay. So yeah basically 2023 we as I said we we arrived in India during the festival season celebrating this festivals and we were this is I think we were missing a lot in general adding to our let's say move back to India we were able to put some more points in our let's say list of pro and contra and we went back in January 2025 and we said okay Let's assess if this is really let's say really a point if we revisit in a couple of months or if it is just a feeling that we are now freshly back from India maybe

15:41 We will definitely have this you know feeling of moving back and so on and as on month on month the the drive to move back was getting stronger and in parallel already I had started to look at the market opportunities job opportunities but there I was not finding any success I would so in the first half of the year I could hardly get any calls from any companies and so on and by this time we were revisiting let's say every month the the the possibility of moving back and this was getting stronger and 2024 again when we second half of the year again when we came to India we thought okay now we are already here let's meet some people in person so if that this will help for job opportunities and so on unfortunately I did have the chance to do this but we spent a lot of time again on private side then 2025 I think 2024 end of de December we went back and we said okay now it's very

16:42 Clear again we took a couple of weeks to reassess and yeah and that's where basically we had to clear timeline in 2024 by by by the time my daughter starts schooling I think there's a lot of people who are also coming back later but for us it was just that if it is possibility let's start from the first grade directly or then if not let's see later when it is possible so yeah that's that's was one of the trigger for us that we must move before June but it was not let's say kind of a pressure or something and we were looking aggressively from January this year and like I said in March there was something some opportunity knocking at my door So in terms of the approach was there any different that you did in 2025 compared to what you did in 2024 like when you're applying for jobs or finding the opportunities in India because you were able to find one in 2025 but you are not successful in 2024.

17:43 Is there something like any tactical tips or anything that you can suggest for people who are trying to find jobs from abroad? I think it's very very I would not say difficult but it's not that relatively easy to find a job being in a different location because the recruiters firstly I don't think they will completely trust you or they don't completely believe that you will make a move. secondly it's also that when you are here there's a possibility that you are able to see them face to face. it makes a lot of difference and I think also the intensity that you are looking at applying online is too high when you are abroad and and yeah I think the in you you need to reach out to people I think this is very important your networks your colleagues your old colleagues your engineering friends I think this is the very very helping in general also feel free to don't be

18:44 Shy to reach out to people on professional platforms like LinkedIn or there are a couple more in Germany but I think that's important when you are moving to Germany not the other way around so yeah I think this is what I did I reached out to people and somewhere some opportunity came they said okay hey I might have something and and that's how it worked but what what was different from 2024 to 2025 was the intensity so as I was very clear so I think I had a plan or structure on applications and yeah >> got it. Yeah. Is there anything from a

19:20 Financial planning side that you can talk about in terms of you know winding down your assets in Germany moving them here other aspects? So anything that you can share for us from that perspective >> I think this is standard because for me I did not have a let's say I had not bought a flat and so on. so I don't know how it works when you are having a home that you want to sell and so on. So we were in a rented apartment. So for us it was super easy. let's say and I think these these would be one of the biggest administrative topics especially in Germany you have a lot of administrative bureaucracy. so from from banking point of view it's standard. You can still keep your banking account. You just need to inform your bank that you would like to keep your account there. so that they're aware because it could happen that if you're not informing and your address is getting dregistered you may

20:24 Trip physically to be there to to visit the bank and so on and I think it's very important that you communicate there are there are there's a list of things that you need to do the registration process and definitely don't keep any let's a dues or any as such. You may have forgotten something but make sure you you follow the checklist so that you don't get a big penalty or problem in your scorecard or something like that. Other than this, I think it's standard from financial point of view. You you need to plan. I think this is very good. I had a chance to look at your videos where I had some you know preparations done. So I think it's important that before you make the move I think it's important you plan your things in India if you want to buy an apartment rent an apartment where you will live what kind of safety net that you need before I think if somebody goes through your videos I think this is

21:24 Already quite helpful. >> Got it. Understood. And then anything on the the pension funds that is different for Germany specific folks is that something that you can bring back or any suggestions that you can provide on that particular topic? Yeah, I think if you are less than 5 years in Germany, you can get it back after you move. And as I was more than 5 years in Germany, I don't know the the the process for this. But once you are crossing more than 5 years in Germany, you are entitled to receive it only like at the age of 60 plus or something like that if I understood 58 or 60, I don't know precisely. But yeah just just make sure that you have all the contracts or agreements documents so that you are I don't know I don't know in 60 years what what will happen I mean in when you are 60 I don't know what will happen but there's no possibility to get it right now if I have to answer it like this.

22:23 >> Got it. So how is the family in India now? >> I'm very happy. I think the it's very busy life is mega busy here. I'm looking for one calm weekend which I'm not finding it to be honest. in in Germany it was the standard to find cal come weekends. it's very busy but it's very very nice I would say. family is happy. My daughter initially she had a couple of weeks of inconvenience. She was missing her friends mainly kindergarten and so on. But this changes very fast. kids get adapted like more faster than us.

23:03 >> So I'm wondering about like how are you handling the traffic situation? This is a common you know issue for a lot of folks. Are you able to manage your schedule? Just wondering on how you are able to work around the traffic situation. >> Actually that's in Bangalore I think it's quite overhyped also and this is the reality that there is a problem on the traffic side. Let's say you need to be like careful where you need to to choose your workplace or let's say not your workplace but your living if you are living close I'm not living close to my workplace definitely not but I'm I am going through this traffic situation but I'm able to beat it with some music podcast and so on. I'm able to beat it but maybe a lot of other people are not able to beat this and they are getting frustrated and so on. I think one thing what will help is definitely look for schools and you're living place close to your workplace this will solve half of the

24:04 Problem and on the weekends yeah you're not in a rush to be somewhere on time to reach us for some meetings and so on. So it depends on what you want to do on the weekends but Bangalore is crowded and traffic is getting very complicated. >> Yeah. >> yeah >> got it. So is there any topic that you

24:25 Wanted to cover or any advice that you want to give to the future aspirants who are thinking about moving to India? >> definitely make a good research about your or let's say make a good u planning that you if you really want to move back or not. It could be that initially you are just frustrated or let's say having this mechanical routine life and so on. But make a decision properly, make a assessment together with your family, talk to your spouse. maybe also with your kids if the kids are you know going to school and so on and then then once your decision is made you know don't don't think back it's very nice come to India it's very vibrant I think from professional point of view you have better opportunities for the next few years definitely and take care like I said to to to dregister yourself carefully there in Germany and once you dregister

25:28 Disturb properly then I think there's no issues. yeah >> got it. also like how did you hear

25:36 About DI return and how did it help you with your journey? >> they return actually I was part of a small social WhatsApp group there I think it was you Abby who just where I was raising my question about finding a job back in Bangalore. So I think it was you who invited me to this group stating that hey there is a bigger community where you can reach out to people and also maybe get familiar with other topics like like finance or general city life and so on and that's how I got to know so thanks to you actually that I'm part of this they see returns WhatsApp group. >> Got it. And then what were the couple of concerns that you had before moving to India?

26:23 Concerns what I had before moving to India. I think it was important for us to find a place. this was very important and it was not a concern but I think the issue was work life balance. this this was one of the you know gray area which was not clear. But if you are careful in choosing a your your organization, if you're and able to make some research before you join them, I think this can help a lot. definitely because you cannot expect 100% of work life balance what you have in Germany. It's totally different. I mean it's really really nice. so this was one of my concern and second thing was I was a little bit worried how my daughter would get get adapted but I think this was a little bit of overthinking but what I see now is really really fast they get adapted very fast. So as such these were only my let's say major concerns.

27:24 >> Got it. Understood. And finally like how did this return help with your return to India journey? is there anything like certain specific topics or anything that you want to highlight that this written platform help with the traffic? I think there is a lot of people who are having this u dilemma and this group is is clarifying or clear you get you you read a lot of people who are in this dilemma and you also read comments from people who are saying that they have done the move their experiences they are sharing the experiences and you are able to connect the dots. definitely you will not believe what everyone has is saying but at least you are able to connect with some people personally understand the situation and maybe they have gone through something which you are going through right now and this can help you and like I said if somebody wants to move to Bangalore I am open to help them in any I'm a

28:26 Local guy so if they are looking for some support in any topics administrative bureaucracy so I this would be really nice to help each other and yeah that's how I I found this group very helpful. >> Got it. Yeah. So yeah thank you very much Mr. Spocknail for taking the time and sharing your story and how the family has planned through it and then you know especially some of the input that you have on the career side it's really very helpful and thanks a lot again for taking the time and sharing your story with us. Thank you Avi. Actually thanks to you that I'm part of this group and also thanks for this podcast for your time and like I said if if anybody has any questions about Bangalore or any support needed feel free to reach out to me and then I'm able to I'm there to help you guys you know so >> thank you also.

29:22 >> Thanks a lot. Take care. >> Take care. Bye-bye.