"Planning on returning to India? Things to think about "

After agonizing for years, have you decided to move back to India? Once that question is answered, now what?

Once you decide in principle about coming back to India, there are a number of things which need to be thought of and planned before you can take the actual plunge. Location and jobs are usually the first thing which you sort out and once that is out of the way, other important matters come up which need your attention before you can move back to India. A handy checklist of the things you need to do before you come back will read as follows:

Organizing Stay: First is the inevitable question as to whether to buy or rent a house. If you have stayed outside India for a long-time, you might have accumulated enough savings to buy a house. Alternatively, your strategy might be to first move into a rented house for the time being and then buy a house at an appropriate time. Either way, organizing a place to stay with the necessary infrastructure is better done before you leave for India. As there will be plenty of issues that will crop up that you need to sort out, it is better to plan and take care of this as much as possible.

Kids Education: If you have kids who are still in school, you need to look up a school for them as well as transfer credits etc. Some tuition may also be required for very young children to adjust to the Indian method of education. It’s best to ask the school to recommend the best course of action.
Spouse’s Career: If your spouse is working, then start looking for a job for her as well. Today, there are many online portals which allow you to search for jobs in your destination city as well as set up tele-interviews to help shortlist your options.

Logistics: Get all the information on shipping and customs to ship your stuff to India. Plan this well in advance and get it completed well before you leave your current city. Doing so will make your life a whole lot easier when you are trying to put things together later in India.

Disposing fixed Assets: Sell fixed assets and other household goods before you move to India. Some of the typical things that come to mind are your house, car and any other valuable household item (furniture, electronics etc.) that will not be useful in India. Doing it through an agent, or through local newspaper advertisements or online at Ebay.com are viable options, but be prepared to spend some time on this before sale can materialize. Leaving it till the last minute might force you to fire sale them and you will end up loosing a lot of money.

Finances: Close out your investments and deposits in your current country, open a new bank account in India and transfer funds. Again ecommerce comes to the rescue as most of the banks in India have a strong online NRI Banking service. You can consider choosing a bank which allows you easy wire transfer options and gives you online banking.

It is best to get some local support from family or friends to help you with your move. You might even consult some friends who have recently moved back to India to get first hand information from them. Local help is very useful especially when it comes to logistics. Logistics in India can be challenging (euphuism for a nightmare!).

Overall moving back to India is a plausible thought today and it does help to be in touch with your roots as well as help your children grow up in the same culture. After all, isn’t it well known that the home is where the heart is!

Maliniji,

such a wonderful article,and no comments.Sad.

I agree with u, if the kids grow up here in india , nothing like it.But here too we have spoilt Children,if the parents overindulge them with fancy gadjets.The discipline is a must.But a great article with sensible tips.

Regards.kamal

Very nice article to look upon, Malini, for those like us who would like to move to India, in the near future.
Sriniketan

Dear Malini Iyer,

It is a nice article and informative. You mentioned about selling house and car. What if the mortgages are still outstanding. I read an article that many Indians have abandoned their cars in parking lots just before moving to India since that way they don't have to bother about paying the mortgage. Regarding the culture angle I am afraid India is adopting lot of western culture. When I firsr went to London I was shocked to see girls wearing their pants so low on the hip virtually showing off their private parts (sick). But, I was more shocked to see recently in India girls wearing like that. Already cultures like living-in, lesbianism etc. are gaining ground. I think last year a scandal in Delhi broke out in which somebody had sent porno pictures through mobile phone. This is not to scare you or others moving to India. But, be prepared for cultural shocks in India the same way you must have experienced when you move into west.

Regards,

TDU