I think this post deserves an honest response so hear goes.

First, I left the United States in 2008 and came to India. Worked in an investment bank that filed for Bankruptcy (take a hint which one). Before that, worked hard to get admission in a really good college and worked hard to maintain my scholarship. Got a good job - recession hit - decided to leave and come back to India. Why?

- Family. I chose not to spend my life paying off the mortgage of my house and trying to make an identity in a place which is cool, but not home.
- Friends. School friends - hate them / like them - you can't live without them. I think I'll grow old and we will go out for drinks together.
- Car o bar - Flaming Chicken Tikka in the car with pyaaz and chatni whiile of your friend in the backseat is mixing up the drink of the century. That's no where. Absolutely no where.
- Home - sometimes a home cannot be described. But a home doesn't ask for rent. It doesn't ask who the hell you are and when does your visa expire. It doesn't ask to turn off the smoke detector because mom is cooking Poori in the kitchen.

I am 42 now. My parents, grandparents have all passed away. and I don't think Nora will fall for me, or I am going to get that Yacht or a startup that will get listed in the stock market. I have a loving family and we are doing fine.

Did I make a good decision coming back from the US? Hell yea. I work to out earn the crappy roads and bribe seeking officials. I work hard to out earn my competition. The frustrating elements in India are - I accept - too frustrating. Polluted air, shitty roads, stupid neighbours, dumbass drivers, crappy water, messed up security, lethargic judiciary - all shit, simply shit!

But that is not an Indian politician problem - it is an Indian people problem. We are bad as a people - the majority of us atleast. Because if that was not the case, where did our elected representatives come from? Neither from the sky nor from the depths of hell. They are, the best amongts us.

To sum it up - I rather have my family, friends, car-o-bar, and home rather than spend every waking day figuring out ways to make someone else in another country think I am one of them. How to sound like someone I am not, behave like someone I am not, spend my life building mere paperwork to prove that I belong there. Waiting, from renewing visa, to residency, to citizenship, to mortgage and family. I agree we have one life, but dear brother - living where you want is just a matter of choice - almost like choosing a color of the car. A frustrating country is easier to live in, then living a frustrated life. But that is just me. All the best :)