For many Indians living abroad, returning home is rarely a straight line. For Nidhi, an electrical engineer who spent over two decades in the US, moving back to India was a journey that unfolded twice, shaped by family, health, and her children’s changing needs.
Sharing her journey on the ‘Desi Return’ podcast, Nidhi said she moved to the US in 2000 after engineering college to work at a startup in California’s Bay Area.
Over the years, she and her husband built successful technology careers, became US citizens, and welcomed their daughter in 2007. Despite a comfortable life, the idea of returning to India always remained in the background.
‘Decided to move back to India in 2008’
That thought became reality in 2008, when the family made their first move back to India, settling in Pune. The decision was driven by a desire for their daughter to grow up close to grandparents and family. Professionally too, the transition was smooth, Nidhi said as she continued working in leadership roles. Her son was born in Pune in 2011, and the family enjoyed a slower, more connected life.
However, in 2014, circumstances forced a rethink. Her son developed severe asthma, and concerns around emergency medical services prompted the family to move back to the US, this time to Dallas. “I think the environmental change did help my son…because [of his] asthma,” she said.
What was meant to be temporary stretched into nearly a decade. The plan to return to India resurfaced in 2020, but Covid-19 and their daughter being midway through high school delayed the move once again. “Moving children during high school is extremely difficult,” Nidhi explained, noting that timing became critical.
Family moved to India a second time in 2024
In 2024, the family finally executed their second and final return to India, but not without testing it first. Her husband and son moved a year earlier to assess adjustment. When her son thrived academically and socially, the family committed to relocating fully.
Now settled back in India, Nidhi works with an India-based arm of an American company and credits networking, not job applications, for easing her professional transition.
Reflecting on her experience, she said returning home isn’t about choosing one country over another, but about knowing when a move makes sense, especially for children.