 "‘Canada Gave Me Stability, But Not A Life’: Indian Techie Dumps Western Dream After 10 Nostalgic Trips, Vows Return To Chaotic But ‘Real’ India"){kind=small}
New Delhi: A 25-year-old Canadian citizen, born in India and raised at Gurugram in Haryana, is going viral online for something many in the Indian diaspora only whisper about. He wants to leave it all behind – the clean streets, the tech job and the Western “dream” – and go back home. Not for a break, but for good.
Posting under the handle @Competitive-Group-80, the young man’s Reddit post is titled “Moving back to India”. But there is nothing simple about what he wrote.
“I’m 25M, a Canadian citizen and an Indian OCI. Single. I grew up in Gurgaon, spent 11 years of my life there. I’m pretty unhappy with my life in Canada, we have a house and I work a meh tech job but I do not feel fulfilled,” the post begins.
His words echo an unrest. The kind that hides beneath polished LinkedIn updates and neatly filtered Diwali posts from the West.
Since 2021, the man has visited India 10 times. And every time, the memories came rushing in. Familiar streets, old smells and lost time.
“When I returned for the first time, it felt like I had gone back in time in a good way. All my memories of childhood came flooding back,” he wrote.
He described the sensation like a rewind button on the soul. He spoke of roots and resistance.
His parents do not share the same longing. “I have been pushing my parents to buy a house in India but they’re not buying into the idea,” he admitted. But that has not stopped him. “Instead, I’m thinking of buying a relatively cheap property for myself… I don’t know what I will do, but I definitely want to return,” he further wrote.
The techie made it clear that his is not some romantic fantasy. He acknowledged the chaos and contradictions of life in India. But he did not spare the West either.
“India has its flaws, I get it, but so do these western countries. I personally do not see a happy future for Indians in general in the West,” he said.
And then came a line most 25-year-olds rarely admit out loud: “I plan to stay single/unmarried. I have seen too much drama in my family alone pertaining to marriage and frankly it’s just not worth it.”
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His raw post sparked a storm of reactions across Reddit. One user offered measured optimism: “You are a Canadian citizen. If shit hits the fan in India, you can always go back to Canada anytime. Give yourself 3-5 years in India and see. Just don’t let Plan B come to mind too often.”
Another dropped the overthinking: “If you think it will make you happy, do it. Don’t overthink. Taking others’ opinions will confuse you more. Good luck.”
Someone else reminded him of youth’s rare gift: “Do what makes you happy. You’re young – you can afford to take risks.”
But some voices carried caution and real-life warning signs. “Going on a vacation is very different to living there. Try living there for six months first,” one user advised.
A more encouraging voice said it with experience: “Came back from the USA 16 years back and never regretted it.”
And then came the humour, uniquely Indian and sharp as ever: “Good. Indian tax and its return will make you run to Canada again.”
The post is a window into a growing shift among young Indians abroad. It questions the default script of success. It asks something uncomfortable – what if the West gave everything but joy?
The answers are not in immigration paperwork or tax laws. They are tucked somewhere between a Gurugram childhood and 10 return tickets to the past. And sometimes, those are the only tickets that matter.
