Being in the NRI business, Indians often ask me, “Why would ANYone want to leave the luxury of America and move back to India?”. Moving abroad is a pounce-on-it choice. Poll any MNC office going Indian and they’ll tell you, “Heh, EVERYONE in my office is in line to move abroad”. FAANG companies in India see a churn after 1 year anniversaries. Young Indian graduates are jealous of friends “Going for MS in US”. Slightly older Indians have FOMO — “My classmate just bought a house in New Jersey! And look at me”.

One lazy 3:30 pm at the office, an odd request came from a colleague. “Nupur, can you write about why I should NOT go to the US. I’ll feel better”. Tough one! I usually tell Indians to “GO FOR IT!”. This guy? He’s been FOMOing about moving to the US, because all his friends have moved there. He’s confused. My Family or My Future?

Curious to understand the demography more, I sent out a survey to feel the pulse of what Indians feel about leaving India– 300 people responded. Here are the insights covered

How badly do Indians want to move?
Why do they want to move?
Should Indians move?
How do they plan to move

All surveys come with a fine print — my audience leans toward techies, so take these conclusions with a pinch of techie salt. Data analytics and Graphs are done with a combination of R + Canva.

How many Indians want to move abroad?

We’ve always assumed all Indians want to move. Putting this to the test, lets see what the survey tells us

Question: Do you want to move abroad?

Of the respondents, about 75% of Indians want to move abroad. Quite a sizeable number — but hey! It’s not 99%. It’s 75%. Let’s note that. Correct anyone who says “99% Indians want to move…”

Are Indians actively trying to move?

You can assume 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 of your colleagues want to move and are actively trying to move abroad. If you have a young team, brace your team for attrition!

Question: Are you actively trying to move?

Indians trying to move abroad nupur dave

How badly do people want to move through?

I remember my US visa interview — when I got my visa approved, I quietly walked back to my seat. The man in line after me erupted in “I got it! I got it” in a crazy happiness I’ve seen only after a sixer in an India-Pak cricket match. It felt like there’s a madness to get out. In the survey, I was curious to know how badly people want this. How many Indians really really really really want to move?

Question: How badly do you want to move abroad?

One in four, really really really want to move abroad. There’s a 20% at the left end of the curve saying “Chal theek hai. Hota hai to good, otherwise forget.” I wondered if this urgency to move is distributed differently by gender. So I split it.

*Question: How badly do you want to move abroad? Split by gender*

Caught that? Men are more aggressive in this goal than women. Do you know why? DM me your thoughts and I’ll update this portion with a crowdsourced explanation :D

The Ultimate Question: WHY do Indians want to move abroad?

We’ve seen how bad people want to move. But why? What’s the reason? Are Indians unhappy? No? Then what part of the foreign life attracts them?

Here’s what I found out from the comments.

Combine a stick-able job with a dollar salary — Indians are all set baby! From the survey, moving abroad is attractive to Indians for these reasons:

Money dominates the reasoning list: In the survey, 60%+ Indians think NRIs are Mr richie-rich-money-bags walking inside a mall, fanning themselves with $100 bills. Ok, I added that visual, but LOTS of Indians are clear that NRIs are much wealthier than Indians. Moving abroad gives Indians the ability to earn more money, save more money and generate wealth — they can’t ordinarily do this In India.
The Best & Better Jobs are Abroad: 45% Indians feel NRIs have much better job opportunities. The gangotri of latest tech, finance or research is, abroad. Combine that with a merit-based work culture — Aur kya chahiye?

Actually, Aur bhi milega!

Here are additional reasons survey respondents said they want to move abroad:

Luxury and ease of life are major attractors: Better quality infra, education, and healthcare. Access to the latest iPhone, Mac, Cameras, and the best gadgets. It’s what I call “cheaper luxury”.
Non-judgemental, non-nosey society: Indians (especially women) love this! No one’s going to ask you when you’re marrying, no neighbour will tell your mom she saw you talking with a ray-ban knockoff-wearing man on a motorcycle, and no man on the street is going to stare at your micro shorts — people mind their business abroad.
Far from Relatives: Additional attractive add-on of living abroad — Staying away from bugging relatives that you’re obliged to entertain and if you don’t “Why didn’t you come for the lunch haan?”

So now the question is, SHOULD Indians move abroad?

My answer?

YES YES YES. Mooooveeedaatassbaby!

Wait up though. There is an expectation setting to be done. If you’re Indian, reflect on the following two points in great detail because this is where your perception clashes with reality.

FIRST: Set your Salary expectation right.

We’ve all seen news reports of a college student getting a 1.5 CR package abroad. Commendable. But Uncommon. Most small cities and non-IT jobs are lingering below $100K. After tax, that comes to < $ 4000 a month. Here’s how much Indians expect to earn in dollars per month.

Question: What salary are you expecting if you move abroad?

Indians are SO OFF in their salary expectations. This needed a deeper understanding. I split this info by age.

*Question: What salary are you expecting if you move abroad? Split by Age*

Look at the black bar in the graph above. It’s the % of Indians expecting $8000+ per month in each age group. The younger age group is also expecting to earn $8000+. My response is a statement I heard on Instagram and it might be appropriate here: “kya fook ke aya hai be!”.

All software engineers reading this, go get your water refilled while I give a shakeup call to non-tech folks. Non-techie Indians, lower your gaze and look at the number $3000. That’s about what you can expect a month post-tax. Also, quickly run to www.levels.fyi, and search for, ok let’s say, a 10 yrs experience marketing person in Accenture in Michigan. Their “CTC” or “Base” as it’s called abroad, is 100k — that’s about $4000 a month after tax. Ok, it’s good for that location but where you’re thinking $8000 in hand– dude if I earned that much I’d have been partying in Ibiza every 3rd month.

SECOND: Set your Perception of life abroad right

If you’re an Indian getting FOMO when your college friend posts a grinning selfie at the golden gate bridge with other batchmates, remember, it’s goddamn cold on that bridge, and so please, never FOMO an NRI caught in a bare-armed T-shirt in 30F weather.

Me smiling. Me also freezing. At the GG bridge

Here’s what Indians need to see about living abroad to manage their expectations:

It’s a Treadmill: Like a machine. You have to show up to work even if you’re not feeling it. Because Visa. After a tiring day at office, you have to clean up after yourself — the chips are going to lie there — no bai to clean the floor or cook edible food — or you could just pour milk into cereal and eat that. Eating out? HAHAHA. Show me the money. 20% of the Indians who replied to the survey, are aware of this and sympathise with NRIs — “Poor NRIs, I have a better life than them”. (I’m guessing these 20% might have seen their exhausted brother/sister living abroad putting an i-pad in front of their kids or something :D)
Loneliness: Some NRIs have a sort of forced social life — “itne chote suburb mein itnaich milega”. They are away from the support system — no mom to talk to during those bleh, boring nights. A society that minds its own business is attractive but comes with its own set of edge cases. No one will coddle you when you’re sniffing sick. One Indian respondent said “They (NRIs) compromise on their family and social life. Their life seems nice in photographs only”. Ouch. :D. It’s lonely for singles, and if you have any kind of mental health condition, it will only get aggravated. Watch out for that.
It’s difficult to return to India: Indians who think “I’ll go abroad for a few years and save money and come back” must not say this sentence to anyone unless they want to look redunculous to NRIs. We’ve heard many times before. After so much hardship of job, home, car, visa, you are NOT going to leave and return quickly, unless something compelling happens (fired, depression, didn’t find a job, 0 hustle capability etc). One survey respondent said “You know it’s funny, every time I talk to an NRI, they always mention missing their families in India and how it makes them feel bad about everything. But then when asked if they consider moving back to their families, they almost always get defensive trying to justify how things are good outside and it’s good for their children and their future and how they can’t leave all this. How ironic!”
Weather: Indians: “How cold can it possibly be?”. Other countries: “Try me”. Snow Shines. Snow looks good. Snow feels adventurous on a vacation. But Snow caked up on Monday 7 am on your car? NOT fun! Turn a building corner to get caught in a cold wind tunnel without a scarf? NOT fun! Many countries have 3 months of summer and 9 months of staying indoors — you make best friends … with your heater. Be ware of this silent mood killer.

Are these enough reasons to not move? Noooo. You’re not gonna be like “I don’t want to move abroad because I will feel cold through my jacket when I’m walking on Broadway St” or “I don’t want to move abroad because I’m afraid my social life will be the neighbours labrador”. Don’t be duh :D.

A respondent has summarised our answers well

“But then, it’s all in the mind.”

Different people have taken to life abroad differently — those who chose to stay abroad are OK with folding laundry while watching TV and vacuuming their floor (or leaving it dusty) and wiping their snow-caked car clean.

Living abroad is about HOW you lead your life.

Moving abroad is good if you promise to take care of your happiness by spending money or slogging and taking advantage of what other countries have to offer– otherwise, you’re better off staying in India and chilling here.

Now back to more data

Where do Indians want to move?

There are Indians all over the world, but which is the most popular destinations for desis? Any guesses? I asked Indians which of the following countries they would like to move to. Let’s check out what it reveals.

Question: Would you like to move to any of these countries?

Answer: On a scale of Never-to-Love

USA is the most popular destination for Indians to migrate to. Why? It's possible USA is where most Indians have that friend who moved after marriage, a friendly relative who grew up there and that stupid classmate who failed strength of materials but still got through Stanford.

Europe is a close second, though I suspect, as I am a Dilwale Dulhaniya le Jayenge (DDLJ) fan, it’s a great home for easy travel.

England is the third most on the list– probably for permanent stay– you don’t move to an island to travel easily right? :D

Canada, or shall we call it K-NNEDDA, is wide open 2nd choice for everyone. Canadians, are you hearing this?– you’re someone's plan B. :P

The other “theek hai chalega” countries are Ireland, Australia, Singapore, and, for god knows what reason, people would rather stay in India than move to close-by Dubai, hahahha. The most popular destination, USA, is the farthest away from India– you could incorrectly conclude Indians want to run as far away as possible, wink wink.

What makes USA so attractive?

USA Education is better than most countries by a Magnitude!
USA is a Land of opportunities even with the constraints of a visa. Do you think I could have got a Google offer in 2007 sitting in Pune? Yea. See. So if you’re wondering how that stupid classmate got into Google after San Something State university– remember, location matters baby.
USA is the land of the free. Freedom to do whatever– Freedom to do, say, wear what you want. Freedom to explore places, things and people. Within the legal limits ok? (However, are you truly free though? While on visa, 9–6 job, living on weekends- it might look like a good life for the 20’s but later you start questioning it. A longer blog post is needed for this). Chalo next point.
Lots of educated desis in the USA– you join a running club in Sunnyvale and you will meet Staff engineers or Directors at FAANG companies. Not truck drivers. I mean, not that there is anything wrong with a truck driver :D.
Friends, family, familiarity: Many Indians have friends & family in the US.
Wealth creation and Purchasing power– yes the UK gives it too, but the combination of opportunity and money exists uniquely in the USA. Earning and growing your wealth is a magnitude faster in the US than India.

Wait? Did I SELL you on moving abroad? OUCH. Ok, let’s keep reading. Hang onto your seatbelts (though I’m not sure how that’s going to help in a crash, anyway).

How are Indians planning to move abroad?

I remember being a tang-bit jealous of this girl who moved through Google from Hyderabad to California on an L1 visa. No loan, no hardship, all expenses paid. Directly into a $110K salary. And me? I slogged for the GRE, heartbrokenly bought flight tickets to US with the little money my parents got from breaking PPF, ate banana and cereal for meals, and 88c apple sauce spread on expiring bread. Uffff. Those days. Slow violin please. This part about HOW Indians can move to the US is sensitive.

I asked both Indians and NRIs how they moved abroad.

Let's start with Indians’ plan on how they are thinking to move abroad. I split these respondents by status to see if single people have a different path than married Indians. The conclusions are fairly intuitive.

Question: How do you plan to move abroad?

Unmarried Indians’ love to study

Unmarried folks– oh the options the youth have! The most prominent way younger Indians are trying to move is by the path of studies (see the pink bar on the left).

Married (with/without kids) Indians love office transfers

The more dependents, the more Indians lean on their company to transfer them. Office transfer is back seat driving to get to the destination. It’s easy. It’s funded. It’s safe. But it’s not guaranteed.

Studies isn’t a popular option amongst the Married. It is a harder route. It requires more work, more money, no salary– It’s also age-bound– imagine a 36 yr old man with 2 kids who wants to do an MS in analytics in the US– gosh those bills! PRO TIP: Do your studies abroad before marriage!

How feasible is the Office Transfer route?

I’ve heard many people dream “I’ll join Google Bangalore and then in one year, transfer to the US”. Not even joking. (Hello Google managers starting a team in India– read this :)). The India offices of FAANG companies have a high transfer rate since many see FAANG companies as an easy path to move abroad.

It’s not so easy with non-FAANG. Services companies (WITCH) have a common teaser …errrr… retention tactic, to keep employees from resigning — they tell the employee to “get your passport ready soon”. Remember, “Going onsite” is not just a carrot — it’s a diamond-studded gold bar! The employee gets excited. In 3 months, they hear “ok wait another 3 months”, and this goes on for a year. The poor persons' hope to move abroad is squashed like an avocado in a guacamole.

It is easy to get a job directly?

Is it really super difficult to move abroad or is it perception and not reality? It could be a bit of both. Consider this path:

Get a visitor visa
Visit a close relative's place, in say, Seattle, for 2 months.
What will it cost you? Rs 40,000 flight ticket, Rs 30,000 per month to buy toothpaste type stuff, yes?
Apply to jobs in BIG companies like IBM, Amazon, MSFT. Put your relative's local address on the resume. Companies have to sponsor your visa in any case — it doesn’t matter that you’re visiting.
Nail the interview. Get offer. Pay ticket and relocation from pocket.
Boom! You landed a US job!
(Note that I haven’t really ever met someone who has done this, hehehe)
I *think* It’s legal, but IANAL

The above idea is still slightly unrealistic because, hey, how do you get two months in the US while being employed full-time in India?

Is finding a path to move abroad like dating ?— you gotta try all options, dating apps, matchmakers, meet-ups, chaat houses, friends, and hopefully something will work out. Or not? Let’s ask NRIs!

How did current NRIs move?

To compare reality and aspirations, I asked current NRIs how they moved abroad. See the results!

Question to NRIs: How did you move abroad?

NRIs have a different spread of routes than Indians. To compare and find the gap. I plotted the plans to move VS how NRIs actually moved.

Most NRIs made the move happen through higher studies. I really feel this data might not be too conclusive beyond that one observation.

What’s holding Indians back?

There is much excitement to move abroad, so why aren’t all the 75% already in Cincinnati, sampling taco bell sauces yet? I asked Indians what was preventing them from moving.

Question: What’s holding you back from moving abroad?

Mostly love for parents and no easy path to finding a job, are preventing Indians from moving.

What about Indians who don’t want to move? What’s their reasoning?

There is a population in India, that is clear they don’t want to move abroad. I have summarised their reasons for what’s making them stay:

King Lifestyle: India offers them a better Lifestyle. Their material wants needs desires are getting fulfilled in India. There is nothing compelling to leaving this life of comfort. One said “It needs to be A 100x opportunity”
Support & Healthcare: Raising a family and access to better healthcare is easier in India. (You know what’s funny. :D Some respondents want to move abroad for better healthcare. Suggestion to all Indians to visit USA on vacation, fall sick and go to the Emergency Room. Let me know how that went. Thanks.)
Parents: Supporting their parents and also getting support from their parents is a huge attraction for Indians. One said he will change his mind if abroad is “Half an hour flight from home” :)
Dependents: Multiple people said “If all my family gets to relocate, I will consider it”
Temporary ok. Permanent not: One said, “Might try it out for a short time”. “It’s great for a vacation”.
Phase of life: “That phase has gone. I won’t move now”.

My advice and conclusion

I hope the colleague with US FOMO isn’t reading this because the content isn’t going to make him feel better. For those with FOMO, my advice is — to look at your actions and feelings. Are you yearning daily for it? Are you actively trying for it? Or Is it a passing thought? If it’s on your mind all the time, work for it and go for it! If it’s a passing thought once In a while, enjoy your current life and see what opportunities come your way.

Hope this helps bring clarity to Indians :) You can reach out to me if you have any questions.

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Hi, I am Nupur. I help NRIs make critical decisions like where and how they should live. Find out more about how I can help at www.nupurdave.in. You can also subscribe to my newsletter here. Survey results on NRIs moving back to India are here.

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Noteworthy comments from survey respondents

“I doubt NRI’s tell the true picture. A lot of them want to come back but can’t say what is holding them back. They do not speak up”

One Indian said NRIs are “Very conscious about spending their money, otherwise leading a good quality life”, basically kanjoos, and i’ve covered that in previous articles and my book as well.

“India has moved on. Yes, we have our challenges but this is a land I belong to. Many NRIs think low of India — they shouldn’t”

“I can’t speak about something I don’t know much about. Going abroad is not my dream but a solution to the broken system I am part of. One can either change the system or leave the system. Leaving is easy and that’s what NRIs has chosen prior to me.”

“The thing with young people moving out early in their lives is, they either don’t properly weigh in the pros and cons of moving and settling abroad or realise what they are missing only once they have moved. And I know a couple of folks who moved back to India from abroad but couldn’t stay here for more than a year and ended up moving back (only to never return again — at least in saying). You need to be fully conscious of your decision and understand what you will miss and what you will gain. It’s not a casual call to take as being an Indian, it’s tough working out the investment and in case of most people, managing the loan required to move abroad. However, if you make up your mind and are confident in your decision then do not stop — the world is out there for your taking and carving!”

“Even though one has feelings for India, a practical approach would be to pursue goals according to the state of affairs in a particular country. Unfortunately, India has too many barriers and little scope for development compared to other countries so it is not wise to be jingoistic and stay in India when u have opportunities abroad”

Why Do Indians Want To Move Abroad? This Survey Explains It All