THIS COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED IN INDIA WITHOUT LOSING ME

[kevinUsa]

Traveling down memory lane - Memoirs of a DESI in the US (Male in early fifties, settled in the West Coast)

The Voyage:

I first came to the US in 1998, in my late twenties right after my marriage

Multiple IT consultancies (body shoppers as they were referred back then) processed my H1B (I think I got 8 petitions approved). I picked one with the highest package of $75K in the Bay area and within 6 months joined my client company as FTE for $120K. I could have never imagined this kind of salary back then in India.

Over the next 5 years, I got exposed to a new world, I was awestruck and enjoyed the comforts that were nonexistent in India. I had abundant time to play with my newborn kid, travel far & wide, and enjoy nature's beauty without hassles. The whole experience of pregnancy and parenthood was unrealistic compared to what I had seen in India.

I saw professional growth that none of my peers in India witnessed. Saw the tech startups journey up close. MadeMG lots of $$$ from stock options & RSU. I was a confused desi with loads of money and no clue about what to do with this money. I used to send all my surplus money back to India and invest in real estate. I knew nothing else about investments.

Life was looking perfect from every POV but as I am a hardcore desi from a small town in India, I slowly started feeling “foreigner” despite being in Silicone Valley. Never considered GC and the mere thought of spending my entire life here in USA was disturbing. The nostalgia and homesickness took over me and I returned to India in 2004.

The Homecoming:

I spent the next 15 years in India till 2019.

My first 6 months in India were mesmerizing. I felt on top of the world. My real estate investment grew crazily, I was the foreign-returned elite in my social circle and was always the center of discussion. I was happy being close to my parents, the job was paying well. Bought a luxury house and car. Wow, what a life.

In addition to my corporate job, I started a business and hired a professional team to manage the business. Growing revenues and a sense of pride in creating jobs for people were my catalysts to invest more & more.

I was all set for the dream life of an upper-middle-class FAMILY MAN in India, but destiny had other plans.

The pride and euphoria started dying very soon. Surviving as a law-abiding ethical businessman is tough in India. Things were getting complicated and it looked like the centrifugal forces were dragging me away from my path.

The system (or lack of system) - Be it Private or Public or Government, started acting as a leech to devour me.

Owning a business, Living in an expensive house, and driving a good car attracted all the wrong elements to me. The house got burgled 3 times and the car was stolen without any recourse from laws & order machinery. Registering an FIR was a trauma back then

Police harassed me for extortions on frivolous reasons

Local goons threatened and extorted money

I had to forcefully donate money to NGOs, charities etc.

Income Tax notices were common

After all these nuisances, whatever mental peace remains, gets destroyed by painful commutes, road rage, and public apathy.

Going out with Family became an ordeal. There is hardly any place in India where you can enjoy family outings with females without getting mental trauma.

There is no recourse available for you in most of the small crimes and incidents that you are subjected to. You can be beaten on the road, females can be groped, your car can be stolen, your house burgled, your jewelry snatched, etc. I have not yet seen any successful outcome from any such reported crime or incident. In fact, reporting adds to your agony.

The Tipping Point:

My girls were growing and the Indian education system was hell-bent on making them Engineers, Doctors, or Financial Gurus. My girls were more excited about unconventional career paths and they were not ready to be part of the rat race. I could not see any viable opportunities for them in India and I started regretting my decision to stay put in India. I wish I had applied for my GC when I had an opportunity.

I grew desperate to relocate to any of the developed countries like Australia, the UK, Canada, and the USA. However, by now I was no longer a SW developer, as I had progressed to a top executive in my job and there was hardly any opportunity for me to get work visa sponsorship.

The soaring flight to the open sky:

Finally, the stars aligned for me and my family. Being one of the senior leaders in my job, I was offered an opportunity to create and lead a new Business unit in the organization. This was like creating a startup within a traditional big fat company. I took the challenge and established a successful new unit and to support the expansion in the US, the company relocated me to the US on L1A.

This time, I was crystal clear about what I wanted from the USA and what I was going to miss about India.

For me, the USA offers a better environment, a better lifestyle, better law & order, better infrastructure, freedom to express, mental peace, and above all better career opportunities for my girls.

For me being a hardcore Desi, I was sad at the prospect of missing the street food, the social circle, the festivity, the extravagant weddings and functions, etc. But, I realized that I can still enjoy these if I make 2-3 annual trips to India

Despite COVID hitting immediately after my relocation, I was successful in expanding my BU in the organization and got handsome bonuses. Within 2 years, my family got the GC.

The quiet time during the pandemic gave me ample opportunity to research and understand the economy of the USA. I got a good grasp of the business ecosystem, the new investment opportunities created by JOBS act, and the nuances of personal finance.

I was slowly losing the charm of my corporate job and was drifting towards setting up my own business. The day I received my GC, I resigned from my job and was set for a Soaring flight to the open sky

My Goal was to achieve financial independence for me and my family by creating an eco-system of passive incomes and disposable wealth for my next generation

The Golden Nest:

Within the first 6 months of landing in this country, while I was still living in a rented house, I bought a rental investment property to experience the real estate market in this country. The real estate transaction in this country is such a charm as against a painful one in India. I became a remote owner of a rental property in a city that I never visited with only 20% downpayment and a mortgage under 3%. This rental property gave me a 15% Cash on Cash return. I knew I got my first golden egg.

Motivated by my first investment in rental property, I diversified and invested in Tech Startups, stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, crypto, REITs, syndicates, etc.

Quitting my job was the best decision and I could not have taken such a decision in India.

I utilized my maximum loan capacity before I quit my job and became self-employed (not qualified for big loans).

By mid-2021, I took on Loan obligations of about $3M and exhausted the limit of 10 conventional mortgages in an individual’s name. This $3M loan obligation helped me make a net worth of $3M within 3 years of relocating to the US.

Today, I own and manage more than 50 residential rental properties, a portfolio of startup investments, REITs & syndicates besides a big portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds.

As of this year, I completed 5 years of my relocation to the US and my annual passive income has surpassed my highest job income with the tax benefits as icing on the cake.

Now I am full-time focused on managing my investments and enjoying all the free time with my family. My girls finished college in top US universities and are excelling in their careers

In my experience, this country rewards the hard work and intelligence of the people, The system supports you all along to make your journey smoother and helps you achieve your goal. This had been the exact opposite for me in India.

In my personal experience, THIS COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED IN INDIA WITHOUT LOSING ME

NTAL PEACE AND BEING A LAW-ABIDING CITIZEN

[ManOffSteel]

India has a system and you need to learn to utilize that system to your benefit. Those who have learnt it are living happily in India and those who still want to be that fresh water fish are exiting the country. Nothing wrong with both. But being successful in India is a different kind of life style compared to being successful in western countries. The level of comforts and luxury are not the same.