A woman who recently relocated to India after 17 years in the United States has shared her honest, unfiltered perspective on repatriation. Dhara, a content creator on Instagram, said that while she is still adjusting to the massive cultural shift, her experience has been a mix of pleasant surprises and everyday challenges. She claims that while some aspects of daily life back home have vastly exceeded her expectations, others, particularly navigating public infrastructure, remain a major work in progress.
“I moved back to India after 17 years in the US, and these are my completely subjective ratings,” Dhara wrote on Instagram. She explained, “Some things have been even better than I expected, some things have taken a little getting used to, and a few we are still working on.”
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She further expressed her surprise at UPI. “One thing’s for sure though: UPI deserves all the hype.”
In a video, she rated different aspects of her life in India. While she rated both food and convenience, including online grocery shopping, 10/10, she said that her traffic gets 0.
In the rest of the clip, she rated Mumbai’s weather, festivals, and UPI, and talked about her life back home.
(Hindustantimes.com has reached out to Dhara. This report will be updated when she responds.)
What did social media say?
The creator’s perspective triggered an intense debate in the comments section, drawing contrasting views from fellow returnees. While some echoed the sentiment that life back home is vastly more vibrant, others strongly criticised India’s infrastructure and food safety standards.
An individual posted, “The Google Maps ETA comment is so true.” Another added, “I also lived out of India for 30 years and moved back in 2024, but I still don’t like the taste of vegetables and especially fruits. I always doubt and fear adulteration in food, milk, milk products, vegetables, and fruits. I find festivals noisier and more chaotic than spiritual and religious, the way we celebrated in the country we were living in. UPI is not new to me, as we have used a similar system on our phones, installed by our network provider for the last 20 years, known as MPESA (a term coined by this company). I can only appreciate a quick delivery service. The weather is no comparison with what we enjoyed. And better not to talk about the civic and social sense of people here.”
A third commented, “Life in India seems very colourful and enjoyable compared to boring life in the US.”
A fourth wrote, “I appreciate the video you created, and yes, many things are a blessing! However, I cannot overlook pollution, traffic, and most importantly, food adulteration and water contamination. No matter what the other perks are, I cannot live without the basic needs being met. And I agree with the other commenters, any convenience earned by abusing labour is a strict no for me. I don’t want the luxury of domestic help and quick delivery at the cost of someone else’s life. I like my independence and self-dependence so much that I would never sacrifice it. Again, it’s totally my personal choice. I still enjoy watching such reels that people make to share their perspective.”
According to her Instagram profile, Dhara is a certified fitness coach. The twin mom often shares content on lifestyle, fitness and healthy recipes.
