India all the way. Review on Living Abroad vs. Living in India

I am an Indian based in Australia. I came here lived for 6 months, went back, then came back yet again to only come to one conclusion that India is India, your own country. This is where I would love to spend the rest of my life. I would be packing my bags again and this time forever.

So what went wrong? I always dreamt of the cleanliness and comfort of the western life. What I didn't realise that to gain something you have to lose something. And what I lost after leaving India was far more than what I gained.

I gained clean roads, white legs, cheerful hellos, pollution free cool breeze, ample parking, weekends, tranquility ( no horns), overall cleanliness, skin show, blue skies and beautiful beaches. So far so good but I also gained  an alien school environment for my son, lonliness at home for my wife, lot of domestic chores ( washing, cleaning, dishes, gardening even when you are sick). subservient job status at workplace, confused NRI friends who wouldn't care in your hour of need, huge taxes and extremely expensive rentals reducing my saving to almost nill, forced low tones of our voices at home ( or else the neighbours may call the cops for disturbing the tranquility), forced planned shopping during work hours or Saturdays( everything closes at 5:00 pm on weekdays and Sunday is off) and that 'white' attitude to face with ( even one racist remark in a month can keep you depressed for another month).

Coming to what I lost ( as if the above was not enough), I lost my cherished moments with my old parents, my son lost the love of his grandparents, he also lost the whole bunch of his friends, I lost the status of a senior in my office, my wife lost the good time she shared at her school ( she was a teacher in India), I lost the comfort of living in your OWN house ( not a rented house), we all lost the confidence we had of living in our OWN neighbourhood where everyone knew you ( from panwallah to security guard to rationwallah to the barber) and acknowledged you with smile and respect, the luxury of having domestic helps ( so that the minute you enter home, it is for relaxation as the full time maid will take care of your food, dishes, clothes and ready the dining table for you).

So what brought me to Australia in the first place. Let me tell you it was peer pressure more than anything else. If 10 people you see are doing the same thing you also tend to think that it is the right thing. Punjab is a perfect example of peer pressure where almost one child in all families is living abroad.

All those who come abroad, take huge loans and then after  living abroad for a year or so, get entangled in paying off their mortgages and study loans and have nowhere to go and have to continue to live there. Once they have children who are born and brought up abroad, they are further plunged into the mess when their children are more Aussies and wouldn't relate to their life in India. The shocks keep coming as they grow and call their boyfriends/ girlfriends home and ask you to shut up.

So the choice is yours, either be prepared to shut up or while not much damage is done, return to India and live life kingsize ( pollution, crowds, corruption seem very small problems really, at least we are at home)