Watch: We Didn't Wait Till 60 to Move Back to India After 12 Years in UAE | NRI

2:49 Of made me a very stagnant in my career. And I got into fitness and I started working on myself. I got interested in that and I worked on physically myself and I lost almost like 15 kg, 20 kg and that brought me into where I started my business later on. 2017

3:19 I happened to join a group a local group there online and that time Facebook was like growing in in leaps and bounds and that's when I got introduced to a local women group and I did experiment. It was absolutely with no thought of any business idea that would pop up later but then I did as a goodwill gesture with women some 50-60 I think 80 80 numbers of women who participated in that fitness challenge. It was a 90-day challenge. It went really successful and that's when my current partner she happened to call me and she said okay what are you doing and how are you and how's life and that's when I said okay I did not get up get into a job and there's something that I'm doing. I'm doing a 90-day challenge with women and it was really successful and they had a lot of transformation stories to share.

4:17 And she said you're mad. You're doing it for free. You're you're really crazy. Why don't you charge people and and stuff like that and it just was a very casual conversation and it we just left it there. After a couple of months she happened to contact me again and we happened to speak about this entire thing and that's when we said okay why don't we start a business or a concept around this and make it see see where it goes. And we just left the conversation there again and a month later in October 2017 September end 2017 one one of my known person not known but an acquaintance she connected with me that saying okay Liba I need to lose weight and can you help me? And that's when it struck me that maybe we can work on this and that's when I spoke to my same friend and she said okay let's

5:17 Go ahead with it. The challenge was we did not have a nutritionist. So she was a fitness trainer. I was a trainer. We needed a nutritionist. So we had another friend who was a who was known to us from social media at that point in time and we connected with her. She was doing her she finished her nutritionist course and she was working with Fortis we just came together formed the company. We named it overnight and we said okay let's let's do a pilot project or a pilot program with this one client. So that's when we started in 2017 with that one client. And today we are cliental programs of around 10,000 since then. We registered our company in 2018 from that one program we evolved into yoga. We evolved into counseling and lot many other stuff that we do

6:19 Online with our clients.

6:22 See there are opportunities. I will not say there are not enough opportunities. There are enough opportunities in IT sector because if you see UAE UAE is a growing market. They always want to be ahead of everyone else whether it is having the tallest building, having the biggest island theme park or any any of the stuff. They are always ahead and they are top number one. But then when you see for a job opportunity it is all connections. It is you need to have somebody very strong because it's built on relationships. The market is built on relationships. So and especially obviously when you're moving into the market for a job opportunity the hiring party would also want to see what are you bringing on the table. Are you bringing in with a list of clients along with you? Are you bringing in with a list of funnel with you?

7:19 Do you have the connections who they can address from the business front? So definitely there were smaller opportunities which were coming but then frankly Avinash when you see the market there's there is a market which offers you 2,000 dirhams also or 20,000 dirhams opportunities also. Now when you're new you can be exploited if you do not have the right connects or the people in the industry who can help you with the right people at the right time at the right place. So that was something that I lack which I feel. It's it's my personal opinion be having their own experiences where they would have got excellent opportunities by themselves. But then when I started I did not have that kind of connects in the local market. With a baby of 1 and 1/2 year old you can understand both the partners if they are working they need to put the child in child care or with

8:22 Some nanny at home. Paying a nanny and then ending up a job at 3,000 or 3,500 and paying half of the salary to the person who is helping at home it did not make a financial sense to me to spend say 10 hours in the market and then come back home with such a low salary. It did not motivate me ahead. Maybe it was the wrong decision at that point in time but hindsight maybe it was something that I do not want to regret at this point in time but that was the decision that we we took that we do not want to end up compromising on many things when it comes to our child.

9:09 Start at a low package then the growing number is very low. It's not exponential. So you have to spend that much time in the market and the supply is more and demand is less. The UAE market is such that the supply is is is just it's every day like the market is flooded with good candidates. So as I said I felt that I was a right candidate. There there might be 100 other candidates who are as equal equally qualified as me. So that is a choice and being a woman it becomes the hiring party also may they may choose not to hire a woman though they say okay it's a equal opportunity driven firm and everything but then that's how the market is. Whether we agree to this, it's not just UAE, it's everywhere.

10:02 Hiring a woman and a man, the decision is completely different when it comes to the hiring part. So, all all that factored

10:13 And most of the people would not believe that this decision was made just during the the last vacation that we came down to India in Kerala. And it was made in a in a day or two. While sitting with a cup of tea, my husband asked me, "Why don't we shift? Why don't we come back?" And I said I was waiting for you to come back to me with these thoughts and I was having these thoughts 2 days back. But I didn't want to voice it out because I wanted it to be a mutual decision and not something that I wished to do because I just wanted to do so. It just so happened that he spoke about something that was going through my mind 2 days prior to he coming and discussing with me.

10:59 We sat over it, we thought about it, and we were supposed to fly back to UAE after 2 days. After the vacation. So, we were just packing up stuff from from here and my husband and me sat together and we said, "Okay, let's just look at some schools around here. Let's just see before we fly because once you fly, obviously you can't be here physically to do all that stuff." And we listed out the schools that we have in the surrounding place and we found a school which is like well-known and everything and we didn't know that the school is like 20 km from our place. We spoke to our daughter. She's she was 12 at that point and we said, "This is something that we are thinking." She was in tears. She was like she because she had her friends and everything. But then we made her understand that we will not make a decision without taking you into consideration and everything.

11:57 We spoke to her, we told her this is cool and we looked at the school and the only concern that she was having that she should have a good toilet. It should have a clean pool. So, that was the only condition that she put in. We went back and we reached Dubai and we sat across. So, there was this one day me and my husband, we sat with two Excel sheets in our hands. He was sitting in this work desk, I was sitting in my work desk. We had a list of things if we stay in Dubai, what are the pros and cons, what are the cost involved. He sat with if we move to Kerala. So, two questions. If we stay in Kerala, if we go to India and if we stay in Dubai. So, we posed these two questions to ourselves. We listed down our own pros and cons, the cost that we feel that will be cost of living that will that is there in Dubai and what would be the probable number that we have to end up every month. We did that cost analysis, we

12:59 Then came together, we sat down, we discussed on the points. concluded that it makes sense to move now. >> Got it. Rather than move at 60. And that's how we So, it was it is something that happened within a span of 1 week. We spoke to the school, we did all the initial interviews. She my daughter went through with the test, interviews and interactions, parent interactions, we did the admission. We told our parents, our parents were more than happy because they are aging. So, my in-laws, they are 80 and 79. My parents, they are in their 70s. They are here. So, they were more than happy to have this news that their children are coming down because usually it's the other way where I mean once the children are gone, they do not want to come back to India and the parents are usually like left alone in India. So, they were very happy about this decision.

13:58 So, we were sitting outside having a cup of chai and the peace that you have at your home where you can just sit and just explore other things in life. So, in hindsight, so that's when the 5 years of right investment, right financial planning, and all those things helped us. So, as I as I said, my husband was working there. So, we were not earning so much in UAE that we could save from the UAE money. So, when I put up my post on Instagram, that's when it went viral and all those So, there were a lot of people who actually commented, "You made all the money and now you're talking okay, you wanted to go and settle." And it is not the case with everybody.

14:45 People don't understand not everybody is a millionaire in UAE, but that's the story and the what do you say? The glam that you see on social media that everybody is making money and everybody is like making lakhs and millions and coming back to India. No, it's not the case. People There are people who are middle-income families who are trying to live their life a little better than the Indian infrastructure if you if you compare. The safety that we talk about, the infrastructure development that we have in UAE, everything from At least in tier two cities or apart from the cities like Bombay, Delhi, the metro cities, there are cities where you you may not get that kind of infrastructure.

15:38 So, in UAE, we were having a certain income, but that income was only able to give us a life which could which was happening on a month-on-month basis. I was earning in India with my business and everything. And that money we were saving up a part of it in investments, a part of it was going into our annual trips coming to India because it's a significant People don't understand the amount of expense that one family needs to make sure when they are traveling to India to meet their parents. It's a big It's a big money. So, that money was being saved from the income that I was having in UAE. So, it was a balance of both that we were able to do with whatever the situation that we had.

16:30 So, we made a certain investment in certain mutual funds, SIPs, and stuff and we were doing our annual trips. So, from an outside world view, everything was going like good. What you When we see social media, when we post pictures, people see that end picture. They don't understand how probably that picture has ended up. So, because of that, in 2018-2019, we happened to have this house done. Knowing my background, I'm a I'm a North Indian born and brought up. My husband is from Bombay. Taking a house in Kerala was also absolutely unthinkable thing that we did. But then it it ended it ended up here and in '21, we did our housewarming and there was a certain loan on that part and we were paying that loan since '21.

17:23 Which was very which was around 20 lakhs. So, if you if you ask me. 20 lakhs of loans and best to pick was done. And that loan was being paid from the income that I was generating in India. So, there was a loan payment, there was an investment that I was doing from the money that I was earning, and then there was a annual travel trip that I was So, this was the plan that was happening for last 5 when we came when we were deciding to come back to India, we they and we were we were having So, we did a medical insurance 3 years back. So, that was a decision that worked in our done their insurance on time.

18:10 So, we made sure and before our 40s, we do our medical insurance. Some of the investments in insurance were done prior which we knew will mature during this particular time which will help us as a backup. There was an investment of SIPs and mutual funds that were already in place. our house was already done. there was only a partial loan which we had to pay. So, from a decision perspective, all these factors actually helped us to look at it from a long-term view. So, we we have only one child. So, her education is something that we planned, okay, this amount will go into her education next. She's in grade eight now. So, next 10 years 5 years of schooling, 5 years of whatever education. So, next 10 years education, this is the amount that we would need. So, by 2030-2031, this is the amount that we would need for her education for higher education.

19:07 So, all those planning had been done. we started in 2020-21. Got it. So, because those things were in place, we could take this immediate decision of moving to UAE in 2025 last year September.

19:27 As I said, the moment the day we decided that we are okay, we are we are planning and this thought has come in our mind. And we as a family of three, we have always considered or made decision rather I would say for any matter in our life which concerns three of us together. So, we've always involved her in all our decisions and made her feel important in all the decisions that we feel because it is concerning her also. She has to have a complete change of place, change of friends, change of schedule, and everything. So, initially when we told her, she was a bit upset, but then gradually when she met with the principal, she had her interviews done, and when she came down here and she started going to school, she Today if you ask her, Avinash, she says she doesn't want to go back.

20:19 So, we We actually kid around and we actually joke around, "Okay, we're planning to go back to UAE." So, she's like, "You You both go. I'm not coming." So, it's it's that. So, we made sure that her transition to this school is easier in terms of So, not See, it is not it is not an inexpensive school here in Kerala where she's going. It's It is expensive from a India perspective fee structure if you see. But then, if you compare the fee that we were paying for her in UAE, the amount of time that she was traveling in the morning, which I also mentioned it in my Instagram post also. 1 and 1/2 year of commute in the morning and 45 minutes in the afternoon. Now, she is the last pick up and first drop.

21:07 So, house the school and house is like 3 km away. The school is of international level. the transition from a UAE brought up kid to this school was by God's grace, it was it was very smooth for her.

21:28 Make sure that your finances are in place and you make that decision. Don't wait for the challenge to come and strike you. Don't wait for that time where, "Okay, everything goes wrong and you have to Like Like currently if you ask me today, UAE Middle East is going through a very tough situation, and there are families who are really struggling hard. The business has taken a hit. The job market is really bad. make that decision. Not Not that we had a control over it. Not that we could foresee it. But if you are already just meeting expenses and it has been going on for the last 1 year, then probably it's time that you make Sit together. So, the the the most beautiful thing that happened in our decision was that we sat together as partners because it's not just one person's decision to move.

22:27 It's >> Yes. obviously two people, two individuals who have to go back and restart. So, if if you if you have a comfortable life, you're you're able to save at least 20% of your money that you're earning there in UAE, you're comfortable. Place that money, save that money for in in the right way. Invest and plan your retirement accordingly. So, it it is a it is an individual choice, Avinash, whether you want to retire at 40, whether you want to retire at 60. Sure. Make the emergency funds for at least 6 months if you're without job. If you're coming to India, you should be able to have that backup plan which will sustain you without any a lot without any lot of pressure that you have to get into a job, you have to start earning, you have to have a income in place. Yes, you need to have an income. The expenses are rising. It's not getting cheaper by the day. It's only going higher.

23:29 See, you go to UAE for what? To make money. not getting any other benefits other than having the infrastructure, safety, and those part. So, if the that country was giving you a citizenship or some kind of pension fund or some kind of insurance medical insurance and stuff like that, there is that country makes sense. Like people go to UK, Australia, New Zealand, US. those countries are aspirational country because you know, even if you struggle for 5 years, after 5 years you're going to get a PR. But if in a country like Middle East, you are just living month to month and you're not able to save 20% of your income, that should be bare minimum. So, if you're not making the 20% of saving in your earning, then you need to evaluate. Malayalis are the greatest the the largest expats in Middle East. If you If you understand the If you go to Middle East, 70 60 to 70%

24:30 Of the population is Malayali. and looking at the previous generation, most of them went in their 20s or late early 30s, and they left the country probably in this late 60s, 70s. There's no retirement age from from that person. You can definitely take a business license, and people start their business and stuff. they do not want to come back to India for the simple fact that they do not know how to operate in India other than how they operated probably 30 35 years in Middle East. Middle East. So, there's a lot of fear that I have seen with my father, with whoever that I have interacted with in that age, they do not know what "What can I do other than this in India? There is There's nothing I That fear of restarting is there when you come back at that age.

25:30 So, you need to have because they they are coming at an age where they cannot get a job. So, they they make sure that they work till the time that they can in Middle East, and then they come back with some money. As I said, the the motivation for us to come back now is that we we have time in our hand to explore life. Yes. So, I've seen my parents at the age of 60, 70, 80, they they spend their whole life working for us as children, giving us a foundational stability and everything, and they postponed everything in their life for later. For later trips, for later happiness, for later gatherings, for later exploration. But now they are at the age where they are not physically able to do all of that or even enjoy all of that. So, we do not want to live with that regret.

26:24 That's something that has motivated us or triggered us where which you asked, "What was the trigger that made us take this decision?" So, I think the trigger was that, Avinash, that we wanted to live life to the fullest. So, thanks a lot, Leeba, for sharing your journey.