For over a decade, Neha (name changed) built her life in the United States. Raised in Mumbai, she moved to the US for undergraduate studies and went on to live and work there for 13 years. She became a US citizen through marriage, built her career, and started a family. But the idea of returning to India never quite left her. “I kept wanting to return to India for a lot of the same reasons, missing family, food, culture, family support,” she said.
With her parents still in Mumbai and a young daughter at home, the pull became stronger. So she did what many Indians abroad think about but hesitate to do. She returned. When her child turned three, Neha and her husband decided to make the move back. But, five years later, she left again.
Returned to India for family, five years later, moved back to the US again
The early months after returning to India felt reassuring. “The first 3–6 months felt amazing,” she recalled. Being close to her parents again brought comfort. There were family meals, support with childcare, and the familiarity of the city she had grown up in. For a while, it felt like the right decision. But as the months passed, daily realities began to replace nostalgia.
Neha said she struggled with cultural attitudes that she had grown unaccustomed to during her years abroad. “People judge you on everything — your job, how I’m raising my daughter, skin color, weight, whether you live in south Mumbai or not,” she said. “Even faced annoying comments from my family.” After years in the US, where she had grown used to a more individualistic way of life, the constant scrutiny felt overwhelming.
Professionally, Neha joined a fast-growing tech company in Mumbai. While she described it as an ambitious setup, she found the work environment different from what she had experienced in the US. “The work ethic, quality of talent and lifestyle is just not the same as in US,” she said. She also felt that the rapid growth in artificial intelligence in the US created opportunities that were hard to match. “Unfortunately it kept feeling like we’ve already lost the AI race to US, which will create much more prosperity in the next few years in US than in India,” she said. Work-life balance and respect for employees, she added, felt weaker compared to her experience in America.
India vs US: Quality of life concerns
Beyond work, everyday life became another source of concern. “Pollution, traffic and quality of life are real problems,” she said. “My daughter would cough going downstairs to play even in Mumbai.” Traffic congestion consumed hours. Public spaces often felt overcrowded and disorganised.
Although household help was readily available, Neha said it did not compensate for the bigger challenges. “The cooking and cleaning help is nice but it started feeling redundant after a while,” she explained. “We’re pretty low maintenance — we don’t need freshly made 3-course meals for every meal.”
What she missed most, she said, was a sense of calm and personal space. “We’d rather have a peaceful home and be free to leave whenever we need to, than to manage a whole suite of people who come in and out.”
Over time, Neha began to feel that the move had come at a cost. “All in all, it felt like we had given up too much financially, professionally and quality of life-wise by moving to India at the peak of the AI boom,” she said. Unlike many others who relocate permanently, Neha had the option to return. As a US citizen, she could move back if needed. At the end of last year, she and her family chose to do exactly that. Today, she said, they are content with the decision.
Moving back to the US: A personal choice
Neha emphasised that her experience is personal and may not apply to everyone.
“We are lucky we were able to try both sides,” she said. “Ultimately it’s your personal decision based on what works for you and your family.” Looking back, she admitted that emotion played a strong role in her decision to return to India. “I definitely romanticized moving back to India and hope everyone can choose more objectively than I did.”
Her family, she clarified, is entirely Indian. Her spouse moved to the US as a child. For them, the decision was not about identity, but about lifestyle and long-term opportunity.