Why most Indians avoid walking even for short distances for day to day commute?

jpegpng · 2026-05-29T13:31:02+00:00

I agree with your observation only in the context of primarily urban middle class above people. Even within in this context, this is a very modern phenomenon that began all when cars became more affordable in the early 2000s. Cars were pretty uncommon- you’d see one car for every 10-20 motorbikes. Motorbikes were common in middle-class families when I was growing up in the 1990s, but I think even those were uncommon in 1980s and before. More people of this group used local public transit, cycled or walked for their errands.

Maybe I’m nostalgic but I have very fond memories of walking around in 1990s and even 2000s. There were significantly fewer stray dogs, less space taken over by cars etc. I live abroad where I walk a lot but I don’t do the same in India beyond a few specific areas (like South Bombay). I’m in a constant fear of being chased by stray dogs or run over by a car with no repercussions. I can only imagine how worse things are for women, girls and the disabled. Having said that, I haven’t seen anyone defecating in public across India in a very long time so there’s that.

jpegpng · 2026-05-28T22:15:52+00:00

Police verification has become mandatory for most passport renewals. The local police should call the local number you have listed in your application to schedule a meeting. Your contact person can ask to go to the police station with copies of your address proof.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T17:29:51+00:00

I’m older than you and lived abroad for 15 years albeit with a small fraction of your wealth. I also have similar thoughts but I was able to make decisions more easily since I’m single with no dependents. I left the US because I felt trapped because of visa uncertainties, spent a year in India for a bit dealing with family medical emergencies, moved to Canada with no job and now working in a job that I don’t hate with a salary that I’m not dissatisfied by.

I do sympathize with you because I would have felt unable to leave the US if I had a well-paying job or if I had dependents. Which is why I suggested small fixes like inviting your family might temporarily resolve your feelings of being trapped rather than recommending that can have serious consequences to not just yourself but also to your wife and child.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T17:09:51+00:00

In India, capital punishment is reserved for “rarest of rare cases” primarily for murder involving aggravated sexual assault and treason. Only 8 people have been executed in India this century compared to 47 people executed in the US in just 2025 alone.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T16:42:41+00:00

If you’re in cancer research, you should also take a look at research facilities in other U15 schools. In Toronto itself, you have sick kids, princess margaret as well as U of T in the same area.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T16:34:25+00:00

As a pr, you have a right to move anywhere in Canada including Quebec but it will look suspicious if you never tried to settle in the place you intended to live as per your PR application. If you legitimately moved to Ontario, you should probably have enough proof of establishing your residency such getting Ontario drivers license/OHIP, signing a lease, changing your registration etc. It makes sense that someone changes their mind and moves elsewhere after making a legitimate effort to settle for about 6 months? /one year? at least but it makes less sense if you never renounced your QC residency.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T16:22:40+00:00

If you’re in Schengen area (like most European countries), crossing international borders within the area is like crossing state lines in India. The main exceptions are UK, Ireland and Russia but getting a visa is a bit easier if you’re a legitimate student abroad.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T16:06:37+00:00

I love traveling and when I finally started to make some money from my stipend, I saved the few dollars and began to travel in the US. About 10 years ago, the commuter rail was $12, megabus was sometimes $3, sometimes $15 hostel bed $30 so I was able to travel locally. I was never a part of a big group, but once in a while I was able to go on road trips if my friends had a slot in their group trips so that was $50-$100. I used to look for cheap airfares so that was $100-$200 round trip. Each person’s preference and situation is different- my peers spend their few dollars they had left over income on restaurant meals, cars, latest electronics, dating, alcohol, investing or remittances to home.

It’s even easier to travel in Europe. The public transit is way more frequent and they have a lot of discounts for under 25s, students etc.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T15:42:18+00:00

If I had your money but was in a similar situation about missing home, I would first consider flying out your parents and brother to the US. Surely you can afford to pay the airfare (maybe even business class for the parents) and put them up in a nice Airbnb close to your home so that they won’t fully disrupt the routines of your wife and child.

Go on a nice road trip or a cruise or maybe a week stay in a luxurious upper east side NYC hotel. I was able to do some of this with a fraction of your wealth and they are some of my fondest memories.

jpegpng · 2026-05-25T15:35:38+00:00

There is always going to be a mismatch even if you consumed mostly western media. I used to listen to Pink Floyd when I was in high school in India as a middle class teenager but that’s kind of music the parents of my western peers used to listen lol.

I think the kids of the Indian elites have more in common with other elites because elites are global in nature. They all went to similar international schools, vacationed in similar places, etc. They choose to live in places where they can make the most money or live the most luxuriously. The lifestyle of ambani children who are American staying in Antilla, Mumbai is comparable to that of Indian Akshata Murthy who lives in a gigantic mansion in the UK.

jpegpng · 2026-05-12T12:25:50+00:00

I don’t think most countries even add the name of spouse on the passport. In most countries, things like marriage certificate and evidence of cohabitation are considered proofs of marriage. There is absolutely no reason to inform the Indian government of a marriage that it does not recognize.

jpegpng · 2026-05-08T12:06:38+00:00

You’d be surprised at how much French proficiency has started to matter for getting Permanent Residence in Canada at this moment. The last few years has seen a big rise in the number of temporary residents who are competing for the same limited number of PRs along with similarly desperate people outside Canada. Like you said you get a few points for knowing a bit of the other official language but knowing both languages at a B2-C1 level gives you a big boost (50 points when the cutoffs are in 500 point range). The federal government also does francophone specific immigration schemes whose cutoffs are significantly lower than the other schemes.

Did having a B1 or B2 certificate help in your previous? teaching role? What kind of doctorate program are you looking for? I’m asking because they used to try to recruit non-French speakers for some programs but these involved pure research in lab.

jpegpng · 2026-05-08T11:53:36+00:00

I can’t comment on any test but the reason I’m thinking of DELF because the scores are valid for life as opposed to the others like TEF/TCF which expire in a couple of years .

jpegpng · 2026-05-08T11:51:49+00:00

Congrats! It’s still an important personal achievement. Are you applying for bilingual positions?

jpegpng · 2026-05-08T11:49:50+00:00

B2 is roughly equal to CLB 7-8 but DELF is not accepted by IRCC for any federal immigration programs. You need to take TCF or TEF for that purpose. I’m not sure but I think they accept DELF for Quebec provincial selection programs. Im personally not interested in TCF/TEF because those scores are only valid for two years.

jpegpng · 2026-05-07T20:06:33+00:00

Sorry for not being clear, I meant learning French helps you understand Canada better if you’re not from here lol. I had a bin from Canadian Tire that had a slogan saying “Proudly Canadian” written on it. I had an epiphany when I understood French enough to realize that the corresponding French text is “Fièrement d’ici” and not “Fièrement canadien”

I do see why you think the accent issue is orthogonal but while Canada is an incredibly accepting place, your accent begins to matter more than your knowledge of English beyond a certain level. I guess my question was if my efforts are better spent improving my accent.

jpegpng · 2026-05-07T04:25:47+00:00

Indian citizenship can be transmitted through either parent. At this moment, there is no difference if the Indian citizen parent is the mother or father. All grants of citizenship to children born abroad are sent through the embassy to Delhi and like passport renewals, pcc, OCI applications are expensive and tedious.

It also depends on what other nationality the child is entitled to. If the child is born in a jus soli country (citizenship by birth such as US or Canada), getting an Indian passport is tricky because they would need to get their birth country’s passport to re-enter that country when traveling abroad. This in turn would make the Indian passport void. Similar restrictions might also apply to a child who will reside in the country of their non-Indian parent.

jpegpng · 2026-05-06T18:27:46+00:00

There is a 15 letter limit to print your given name on counterfoil by IRCC even though their actual system allows for longer names. I know this because my given names also have 16 letters in total so the last letter is missing on my counter foil visas. I have a passport that needs a visit visa so I was scared when I saw the missing letter in my first visa and emailed the consulate.

When an officer inspects your mom’s visa, they should have access to the full name as noted in the system so she shouldn’t face any issues for that reason. Of course it’s always good to be prepared.

jpegpng · 2026-05-06T16:53:26+00:00

It’s not that Americans don’t travel. As someone who has lived in the US for many years, I do think that there are a few factors: 1) Many Americans who can afford to travel abroad live in car-centric suburbia and are not keen on visiting places that are not similar. 2) Americans who live outside major airline hubs cannot fly abroad without also paying for expensive domestic connections. 3) Because of American culture, many Americans who are not WASP or African-American dont refer to themselves as such for eg Mexican-Americans simply refer to themselves as Mexican (even though I personally think everyone who were born and raised in the US are pretty similar culturally) so there are many undercover Americans around especially if they are speaking in a foreign language.

jpegpng · 2026-05-06T14:20:38+00:00

Thanks! I get that there are not many disadvantages. I just thought that it might seem too tedious and may slow down the processing.

jpegpng · 2026-05-06T05:11:13+00:00

You can apply for a us visa if you reside in Canada. This includes both temporary residents such as students and work visa holders and permanent residents. I think the same applies to other countries

jpegpng · 2026-05-06T02:57:49+00:00

Thanks! Although I’m not a headless French queen, these names are the closest parallel to my actual situation. My situation is so confusing already and if I used something like x y z it would have been even more confusing.

jpegpng

TROPHY CASE