Is it really worth it?

Is it really worth it?

The pains of staying away from your loved ones, the street you grew on, the city which gave you the sense of belonging and the country you are so proud of and will always be.

I have been staying outside India for the last 5 yrs, if not more. Most of this time I had been in Australia, and recently I have moved to USA. But which ever country I have been in, there is one feeling which has never left me - 'Is it really worth it'? Are these countries able to offer me so much which makes it worth living away from my people. Not that you don't have your people in these countries, you have lots and tons of them. But the feeling is never the same and will never will be.

A decade earlier, countries like USA, UK, and Australia had much to offer, which India could not. Fancy Jobs, high paying salaries, comfort of sophisticated cars, high-tech gadgets, glittering malls and rest. Career opportunities in western countries were far better then what we had back then. Even to pursue higher studies a student did not have many choices. But I am afraid to say there is not even a single point from my list I can keep, which India does not have to offer in comparison to countries overseas as of today. India's fast-paced economic boom has brought a sea of change in the way western countries and the MNC's look at India. Foreign investment has been growing exponentially in India; all the major companies of the world have their offices in multiple cities of India. Companies line up outside the doors of the B-schools, so that they are the first to pick from the lot. Recruitment has been its been peak for all the other graduates as well. Flashy car bands like BMW, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce have their dealers in the big cities. Malls bigger then what they are in these western countries have already opened, even in the B-grade cities. The salaries have been growing in double-figures for last many years. The ratio of American to Indian salary used to be 10:1 approximately. Slowly and steadily the gap between those two numbers has been reducing.

So what is it that is making me stay away from my country?

I guess this kind of feeling comes out only at times, and especially when I am away from home on Diwali :)
Have a safe one everyone.

Places visited in 2008

Melbourne , Australia
Sydney , Australia
Kolkata, India
Mumbai, India
Jaipur, India
Delhi, India
Bangkok, Thailand
Taipei, Taiwan
Auckland, New Zealand
San Francisco, USA
Portland, USA
Bangalore, India
Ahmedabad, India
New York, USA
Interlaken, Switzerland
Lucerne, Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland
Atlanta, USA