Life in US- of a software professional

[Shreya Rao]

This is my first post.
I have never been to US and trying to contemplate how days go by for a software professional in US. How will be their routine? Especailly if the person is married and both wife and husband work, if has got school going kids too; how will they manage?

[Amit Biswas]

Even I have never been there. I don't think it will be too different from what we have in India.
Probably there will be more fun in weekends and people there are known have very lavish vacations --- Carribean beaches, rum and pink-spotted bikinis!!

[swarup reddy]

most people come here to find their expectations not met !!
ofcourse, the standard of living is better, and you end up putting fewer hours in the office than in India.
But for a married couple, a decent neighbourhood and other factors are a must and this is where we have to be selective.

[Amit Batra]

Seriously, Unless you are planning to send your kids to a private school in the states. I wouldnt bother.

[Jesus Angeles]

Originally posted by Amitabha Batranab:
Seriously, Unless you are planning to send your kids to a private school in the states. I wouldnt bother.

Why do you say so?

Maybe our American ranchers can share some opinion - especially those who has actually researched on sending their kids to public versus private school. The fact that USA is so big, I would expect that answers from different residents will vary a lot.

I think though that it is okay to send your kids to public school in USA (based on my 3-yr stay there in Houston, Iowa, and Virginia - all suburbs).

[Shreya Rao]

Thanks all for your valuable responses. As Jesus Angeles said may be our American ranchers or anybody who have actually researched on sending their kids to public versus private school, please share your opinions.

Thanks,
Shreya Rao

[Amit Batra]

Well if youre in the suburbs then that shouldnt be much of a problem I would think. But that aside , I think the level or standard of education wouldnt be in tune with what kids have to go through here. So If you plan on coming back there could be issues with merging into our Indian curriculum. Ofcourse this is what I gather from people who have experienced it. Every person may have had a different tale to tell.

[Rahul Bhattacharjee]

I do not think that there should be much difference between the life here at India to that of the life at USA.Only thing might be , things should be easier in the US because of good process.Things like paying bills etc should be more easier.The only thing I do not like about people going there is the mindset.People go there for earning , but apart from earning there are many more things to do when one is at USA.People should talk with a lot of people ,socialize, roam around new places.
Take the advantages of various universities there those which have night PG or part time courses.

[George Harris]

The important thing to remember is that the U.S. is quite large and diverse. You should not try to generalize what life in the U.S. is like, because it is very different between regions. I know of a number of people who live in New York who have a 90 minute each way to work daily and they don't have a problem. I live outside of Pittsburgh and people complain if the commute is over 20 minutes. Schools (public and private) likewise are very diverse. Some schools (my school district for example) are so large that unless the kid excels or is a probem child, they are overlooked. Another school district (10 minutes away) has the situation that if you are willing to participate you are on the team regardless of ability.

So to get a better understanding and a better answer to your question, what part of the states are you looking into?

[Sania Marsh]

I agree with those who say that life is so different, you cannot know for sure.
One major difference will be the culture, almost all indians feel great difference. Jobs are also different.

Most of my friends who have kids are actually returning back to India now, as they have better opportunities and culture there. (by "better" I mean more suitable for them)

[trupti nigam]

Originally posted by Shreya Rao:
This is my first post.
I have never been to US and trying to contemplate how days go by for a software professional in US. How will be their routine? Especailly if the person is married and both wife and husband work, if has got school going kids too; how will they manage?

The life of working couple is no different in US than in India. I am considering both husband and wife are in IT(Software professionals).
Especially if you have kids, then I would say, you are better off in India as you get lot of domestic help, like maid for house cleaning, maid for cooking etc. Also you have strong family support as your parents and in laws can always help you out when you need them.
In US, you can always invite them but max they can stay here for 6 months depending on I94 etc.
On week ends, there are many chores to be taken care of like groceries (and esppecially for indians, you have to visit many of them , there is Asian grocery , american grocery and bulk grocery which can be done in shops like costco, sams, BJs etc.), usual cleaning, if you have house then back yard cleaning etc. (you can outsource these jobs but in US labour costs a lot than in India).
Being in IT, there are flexible working hrs, which is really a good thing especially if both partners are working and have small kids. One can always go early and come early and the other can go late, in that way you can reduce the number of hrs, the kids spend in day care.

I hope this information helps!

Thanks,
Trupti