For those who have been reading my blog, I write about climate change and about our individual responsibility in the pursuit of a Net Zero future. Later this week, we are relocating from California to Hyderabad after 10 wonderful years in the US. Today, I want to talk to about why I am so excited to go back to my home country. Some of you may be wondering, ‘How is moving from the United States to India have anything to do with global warming?’ I will touch on that as well.
When I landed in San Francisco back in 2013, I always knew that I’ll return home someday. My friends and colleagues used to question my plans, arguing that a lot of Indian immigrants want to go back, but no one actually does. Back then, I did not have the clarity of mind to articulate why. Now, I can talk about this for hours!
Firstly, let me address the most common questions people ask when they hear about our plans:
- ‘Hope your parents are not ill?’ ==> No, quite the contrary in fact. My mom is flourishing in Hyderabad and has reinvented herself as an artist after spending 30 years as an eye surgeon. She divorced my dad a few years back and has never been happier.
- ‘It must have been the visa issues?’ ==> No, my wife and I have H1B visas. Apart from usual delays in processing times and a dearth of visa appointments after the pandemic, we have not faced any unique challenges that are forcing us out of the country.
So, it may come as a surprise, but we are moving back out of choice, not out of compulsion. We are moving because we want to live in our country, help our people. We came to the US in search of financial success; having achieved that mission, we don’t see a strong reason to stay back. Furthermore, simplifying our life and reducing our expenses (due to the lower cost of living in India) will help us in our pursuit of happiness.
The Pursuit of Happiness
I remember a famous line from The Pursuit of Happyness. When the protagonist’s son is taken away from him due to lack of basic necessities, he wonders if happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never achieve. Twenty years on, I still remember that scene vividly.
This never-ending quest is nicely illustrated using the ‘Fulfillment Curve’ below. It was originally described in Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin; they postulated that happiness (or the sense of fulfillment) increases rapidly when we spend money for life’s basic necessities (food, clothes and housing). But the relationship reverses beyond an inflection point. My wife and I are at this point. We have all the comforts we need, but we are constantly in pursuit of more happiness. We are at a crossroads with two paths forward:
- Option 1: Block all this noise about fulfillment and happiness. Put our heads down, earn more money and buy a bigger home. Accumulate so much wealth that our great grandkids don’t have to worry about money.
- Option 2: Stop spending on useless stuff. Give back to society. Live for a greater cause, like addressing climate change, or solving childhood obesity, or regenerating soils. Support people who share the same mission, in any way possible.
We are choosing option 2. Looking at all the variables, we came to the conclusion that we can only pursue this mission in India.
So, why are we moving?
My wife and I have realized that long-term happiness must be holistic. Financial well-being is very important, but it is merely a launchpad for a well-rounded life. Here’s how moving to India will help us in achieving our goals:
- Financial health: The cost of living is significantly lower in India. Secondly, in my opinion, once adjusted for the cost living, the quality of life is better in India when compared to California. Having worked in the Silicon Valley for 10 years, we have ‘financed’ our future plans. We now have the freedom to pursue alternate careers, where we can contribute to society in a more meaningful way.
- Physical health: Our tech jobs are so sedentary. Humans did not evolve to sit in one spot for 9 hours a day. We want our future endeavors to involve more movement, whether that is through farming or by organizing cooking classes.
- Working for the greater good of humanity: If I use the fulfillment curve as an example, spending on basic necessities gives people the most happiness ROI. Ability to buy healthy, nutritious food is probably very high on their list. Worryingly, food security and nutrition density in the face of climate change is going to be a big challenge for the entire world. My wife and I both want to work in the food sector, in different capacities.
- Emotional attachment: Our parents live in India. Our ancestors have lived there for nearly 10,000 years. My wife and I both grew up there. Just like Salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs in the same alpine lake where they were born, I too want my daughter to grow up in my country.
- National service or duty: Our country was thriving before the Britishers showed up. India contributed ~23% of global GDP in the early 1700s. By the time the British left, that number had gone down to 3%. My country has been trying to recover from this for over 75 years. I enjoyed a relatively peaceful childhood with many comforts, thanks to the tireless efforts of my parents but also due to countless hard working people who paid taxes to support the rapid development of our nation. The onus of supporting future generations lies in the hands (or in the purses) of the current generation, our generation.
- Reducing carbon footprint: We will no longer need to burn 2 metric tons of CO2 to spend time with our parents. We will no longer need to heat our home in Hyderabad, which is a big portion of our family’s footprint in the US. We plan to install solar panels for our air conditioning needs. We will drive hybrid or EVs to minimize our road emissions too.
- Climate action: India’s economic prosperity is inevitable in the next few decades. If India’s prosperity comes at the expense of the environment, like it has for all advanced economies of the world, we are all doomed. That’s why our India move is related to my climate action plan. India will continue to be the world’s most populous country for the foreseeable future, so, whatever we do there can have a huge impact in the long run.
- Climate resilience: When climate change starts affecting more and more cities around the world, I would rather be in my home country. In times of scarcity, people become more racist, they become more nationalist.
As I said, I can talk about this for hours. But let me stop here. I also have so much to say about my time in America. I will talk about that in the next article (which I will be writing from Hyderabad). Thanks for reading!
