Returning to India after 10 years, laid-off techie finds life not so ‘incredible’

Homecoming is expected to be sweet for most people, especially if they return to their home country after being away for 10 years. But that did not turn out to be the case for an Indian techie who returned home after working in a Fortune 500 company in the US for a decade.

It was not just the ordeal of being suddenly laid off from his lucrative job in 2024 at the end of his six-year H-1B visa period and having his green card application revoked by the company following the lay-off. His experience after returning to “Incredible India” has been, well, not so incredible.

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Ground realities

Although he was initially excited to restart his life in India, but soon the ground realities of the country caught up with him. With a sense of disenchantment, he found that the differences between the standard of living in the US and India were not only overwhelmingly contrasting, but after having spent one year in India and lived in three major cities, he found that life here is lacking in even the basic civic and infrastructural amenities.

Jotting down his experience of living in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, the techie, in a Reddit post, listed 11 reasons why he is struggling to adapt to his life in India. Pothole-ridden roads, polluted air, often causing him to fall ill, mushrooming construction work, dug-up roads and lack of civic sense among the general public featured among his pain points.

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'People driving like animals'

He said while nobody cares about fixing the roads in the country, people also “drive like animals” with traffic rules going for a toss. “Who gives a damn about traffic signals? They will drive on both sides of the road and simply go over the divider…Who gives a damn about pedestrians,” he said in the post.

He said that despite living in a prime gated community in Hyderabad, he had to make repeated calls for fixing the shower but even such a basic task does not get done without hassle.

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'Lack of civic sense'

Lack of civic sense among the people also featured prominently in his post. He said several people blatantly throw their garbage on the road from their cars and urinate in public. “No need of using a toilet,” he added.

His post received mixed reactions from netizens. While most agreed with his observation about the standard of living in India, some advised him to try relocating to Dubai, Singapore or Australia. Others said they were trying their luck in Europe where even with less pay, they will get to live a pollution-free and peaceful life.