Neo is moving back to the US
by neo
Neo thought he’ll play an April Fools day prank on his readers by announcing that he was ending his stay in India and moving back to the Bay Area.
But, like any responsible blogger, Neo tests all his pranks on his hapless colleagues at work before releasing them on his higher-valued blog readership.
So he abandoned the idea when all four of his test-subjects at work merely said “oh ok” (instead of some variant of “OMG WTF”), when Neo told them he was moving back to the US.
Neo later realized – the reason for the stoic reception was not the fact that they expected Neo’s move – but rather because its not that big of a deal to move back to the US.
Like Neo, many of Neo’s peers at work are US citizens, and all of them have a strong network of professional and personal friends in the US. Moving back and getting a job would be quite easy for them (well maybe not in this economy, but in general it would be).
Here’s the epiphany that Neo had at an exceptionally boring meeting (do you really need 34 PowerPoint slides to explain the new hiring process?) – the fact that its relatively easy to move back actually helps people stay in India and enjoy some of those “only in India” joys (see: 6 surprising benefits of moving to India).
In fact, many of Neo’s Indian-American friends would find that moving to India for a year is actually less effort than discussing it every weekend over the overpriced Indian buffet at Amber India ($50 buys you the best all-you-can-eat brunch – at the Taj Bangalore – with unlimited drinks).
And, just like those poor souls who move to India to “be happier”, those who never applied for American citizenship actually tend to be unhappier in India than American citizens.
So here’s a tip for April Fools day – don’t be a fool. Keeping all your options open is not just smart, it helps you relax and enjoy what your move to India should be – a rejuvenating, exhilarating adventure to an exciting emerging economy. Get your US citizenship, get the Indian “overseas citizenship” – and then you can spend the rest of your life moving as often as you like (packing does get easier with every move – partly because you threw out all the junk 2 moves ago).
And yes, Neo just checked – the domain “neoindianamerican.org” is available. But does anyone really want to read the blog of an Indian-American who returned to India and then returned back to the US?
Neo,
Sure, but would you wait for your USC for another 5 years (and your kids become 10+) ?
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@Foo
Yes, that’s the tough question (and one that I didn’t have to answer). But if you put a gun to my head and forced me to answer it, I’d say – wait till you get your citizenship. There are two reasons I say this:
1. I’m a big believer in everyone in the family having the same citizenship. In today’s world of geopolitical tensions, you never want a situation where some in your family can travel, while others cant, depending on their passports. If your kids are US citizens, you should be citizens too.
2. Between the pain of getting a 10-year old to adjust to India, and the double-guessing that can creep in without that American citizenship, I’d bet on trying to get my 10 year-old to cope.
There are no easy answers here, but that’s my take on it.
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Thanks Neo.
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Yeah, US citizenship and then OCI. That’s how it will (?) be!!!!
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@Roshni You never know about the OCI. I hope it stays around long enough for you. Already the Congress government watered down the initial proposal, which was to grant full dual citizenship (i.e. the ability to have two passports).
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wish someone had advised me this while moving back. Everyone that we asked for advice (& we were very young & foolish, I see that now) insisted that u shud never keep ur options open, else ur mind would waver so we gave up the green card 4 yrs into it. Really Really regret it
Your blogs are tooooo good. Am at work and laughing soo hard at some of them, ppl r looking at me weirdly. love your writing!
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Love your blog!
I have been the US for over 20 years, my husband for 34 years and have 2 kids, one in HS and another off to college this fall. We have often thought about moving back and now the kids are older we really cannot leave them here and go back. We have compromised by traveling frequently to visit friends and family and maintain a home in both countries. I like living in both countries . I am in general, a happy content person so I can easily agree with your statement that if you are unhappy in the US moving to India will not make you happy. The grass is always greener on the other side!
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