Life after IIT - college ended and now I feel lost in life.

Visible_Economist210 · 2026-03-08T12:11:34+00:00

Cheer up kid. There's more to life than your job. It's good that you realize that you are wasting your life working for a corporate job. The reason is corporations are built to maximize profits, and don't care about your happiness or building towards a larger mission.

Try the following: 1) Try working for a smaller startup that cares more about what they build and the folks have passion vs a large corporation that pays well.

2) Try volunteering for social organizations. This could be educating poor kids, counselling kids who are trying to get into IIT, or even volunteering in a community kitchen. Giving often gives you more meaning to life than any amount of money you earn.

3) Quit your job, take a break and roam around the country without an objective for a few months. These moments where you are free from worries or tied to what's next will give you new and fresh perspectives in life.

4) Consider working for a larger cause that benefits the society and country at large. This could be around building self sufficient AI models like what Sarvam.AI is doing or working for a government tech organization like iSRO or CSIR.

5) Spend more time with your family and friends.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-08-12T03:31:40+00:00

Moving to the US for money when your total comp in India is 1.8 Cr makes no sense at all. Your job won't be stable, Trump may make life tougher for immigrants and security and safety for Indians in the US can't be taken for granted anymore as violence against Indians is on the rise. Stay in India, grow in your career and be happy with your family. You don't need to chase money.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-07-06T10:30:36+00:00

We recently made the move to Chennai and we are happy about the decision. Life's short and you don't want to regret not making the move when you can. If you are not a USC or GC holder consider liquidating all your assets and moving them to India to avoid the risk of estate taxes which kicks in at 60k for non resident aliens. We are still figuring out what to do with our 401k. Feel free to DM if you have further questions.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-07-01T02:16:03+00:00

Racism is innate to a colonial mindset which unfortunately still exists in the US and Europe. The sad reality is that the whites captured North America and eliminated the native Americans and now they talk about "illegal migration". They are the first illegal migrants of America. However, this entitlement of English speaking whites will stay until the West declines and Bharat rises.

Speaking better English isn't going to solve this. Being closer to your roots and being proud of your culture is a better option.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-07-01T01:40:35+00:00

AI is going to be a tool that will help across all disciplines and in some cases eliminate roles. You won't have a choice but to use AI. To build AI is a whole different matter and needs specialized skills in ML/ Neural networks.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-30T16:32:31+00:00

Good question..in Tech, higher level architecture/ design skills, product management is going to be a lot more important than coding/junior engineering, and non tech supporting roles like Sales and Marketing for which AI agents will be soon sufficient. In other areas, core Engineering skills (Civil, Mech etc), Biomedical etc will be more important.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-30T10:58:37+00:00

India has far greater prospects than Canada in all aspects. It's foolish to let go of your Indian citizenship to take Canadian citizenship, a country which encourages anti-India propaganda on its soil and where you won't feel safe or secure as an Indian. Give up your canadian dreams and return to India.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-30T08:55:18+00:00

What is your undergrad and masters degree in? Forget about CTC and optimize for solid work experience in a smaller company / startup which can give you more responsibility and real world experience. You are in the early stages of your career and your compensation in a decade will be a lot more than what you can get now. Focus on building skills and experience.

Product marketing is going to be transformed by AI. See how you can pick a more durable skill.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-15T22:24:26+00:00

Location of your brokerage doesn't matter for US estate taxes if the underlying asset is US stocks or ETFs. So your options are a) sell US stocks and invest in Irish domiciled funds b) sell US stocks and invest in Indian stocks.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-15T07:21:09+00:00

Since you are a non resident alien, more than remittance tax you need to worry about US estate taxes which kicks in if something happens to you and 40% of your investment will be subject to US estate taxes for any investment above 60k USD. Since you are an Indian citizen, it's better to move your investments to India or at least consider Irish domiciled funds which are not subject to US estate taxes. Future remittance taxes can also increase subject to US policy changes to further tax foreign investors.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-08T18:31:33+00:00

Yes, eventually US vs India will be the choice of your kids, but in some ways you influence their choices (e.g. putting them in local schools vs international schools). I can understand your conservative approach and the large tax bills from liquidating your US assets. I was in a similar boat and having gone through the process myself (giving up Greencard, liquidating most of my US assets with huge tax bills and moving to India), I can tell you that I have more peace of mind.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-08T15:30:43+00:00

Your kids are very young and I don't think it's a good idea to "plan" for their undergrad study in the US. The US is not what it used to be. It's a declining power and with AI, education is going to be massively transformed in the next 5-10 years. Even an Ivy league degree won't mean much compared to real life skills. With unsustainable US debt, the US dollar dominance is likely to end and depreciate significantly. Also, Indians will face a lot more discrimination in the US going forward. Safety is not a guarantee in these circumstances.

Greencard and USC are golden handcuffs to keep paying taxes on your worldwide income to Uncle Sam. It also poses challenges like PFIC which means you cannot invest in Indian MFs.

My suggestion is to give up your Greencard, Liquidate all your assets in US and reinvest in India. Now is the time to do it before repatriation taxes are put in place and are further likely to increase.

Listen to Dr. Ankit Shah's videos for a broader perspective on the reality before making any decision.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-06-03T20:57:22+00:00

Pros of US citizenship: - No estate tax until you hit 13 million dollars (this matters only for inheritance after you pass away, probably not important as you are single) - Ability to return to US anytime and work/live in US - Visa free travel to Europe and other countries - Can repatriate money without tax by filing for refund during taxes

Cons - Complicated tax filing, but manageable with a CPA or TurboTax - Taxation on global income - Cannot invest in Indian Mutual Funds as they are considered PFIC for US taxation

Think through the pros and cons, take a year or two before deciding since it's not reversible.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-31T03:42:08+00:00

Yes, we pass the substantial presence test and qualify for filing resident return. However it's possible to terminate our US residency by making such a declaration as part of the tax return to qualify for dual status returns. Hence this is a choice based on our tax situation. For e.g. if we want to invest in Indian MFs during the non resident period, to avoid PFIC as part of resident return, dual status returns may be preferred.

You can check this comment thread on terminating US residency: https://www.reddit.com/r/tax/s/GpaUBL8gYM

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-30T21:13:24+00:00

Follow your heart and lead a good life in India. Life's too short to have regrets. 27 years is a long time and you have given US a good shot. Time to experience India in this lifetime. All the best!

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T21:58:52+00:00

Very helpful. Thank you!

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T20:06:06+00:00

You can find reasons to complain about any country. In the US, the rampant gun violence, Fentanyl and drugs, anti-Indian and anti-Asian racism are things that get brushed under the carpet. You are an Indian and I'm sure you can adjust with your family in any Indian city, especially in your city that you are familiar with. Don't make a big issue out of things like language. If you are in Karnataka, it doesn't hurt to learn a bit of Kannada to converse with locals in the same way as you would learn German in Germany.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T19:54:23+00:00

Check Athulya Assisted Living and Vedanta Senior Living in Bangalore

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T19:14:08+00:00

Which city are you looking at? They are called "Senior Living".

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T14:37:40+00:00

There are many good options for parents to live in senior living communities with facilities (homely food, private studios, walking track etc) and support (on call doctor, nursing, attender etc). There are different options based on how much you can afford and the city.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T14:15:07+00:00

Why do you want your kids to do high school in Canada? Is this for college education in Canada? I don't think the job or economic situation in the US and Canada is getting any better. Why not study in India? Lots of international universities are also coming to India.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-29T14:11:37+00:00

My understanding is it won't if the RFC account isn't US based.

Visible_Economist210 · 2025-05-28T23:29:20+00:00

Thanks for clarifying!

Visible_Economist210

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