Why India is Becoming a Top Expat Destination

As a cross cultural training consultancy, we have a great insight into the countries which rate highly as expat destinations.

It seems that India is certainly viewed highly as a popular ‘go to’ country at the moment....especially with Americans.

The numbers now moving to India for work is phenomenal.

 Why is India so popular for American Expatriates?

 Trade deals are a key reason. 

The US is India’s key second biggest trading partner after China whilst India is the US’s eleventh largest trading partner.  The strength of mutual trading makes for a pretty strong relationship between the two countries and clearly generates considerable relocation opportunities for both parties. India is also one of the fastest growing global economies which makes it more likely that investments in this part of the world are likely to do well.

Clearly however, strong trade deals with a country are not the only conditions necessary to make someone from the US decide to relocate to India.  So what else makes India such a popular expat location?
 
We have kept in touch with a number of the expats who have participated in our relocation training programmes and many have been tempted by the vibrancy and cultural adventure of their move.

With the second highest global population and a relatively small land mass, India is certainly hectic, so for the expats relocating there, there is a wealth and variety of people with whom to engage.

For those who have a fascination with culture, India is known for its ancient and strong cultural practices. 

Indian etiquette, manners and ‘ways of doing things’ are vastly different from practices in the home country of our US expats; offering rich cultural insights. The cultural richness of temples, monuments, museums, festivals and culinary destinations really put India on the expat map. Let’s face it, our US expats never need have a dull weekend here!

What makes this country further attractive is that Indians tend to be great with languages – particularly English.  English is cited as an official government language (alongside Hindi) and the most recent bilingualism and trilingualism census in India suggests that English is spoken more widely in England than in Western Europe.

This is great news for our relocating US expats as the lingual expertise of their Indian counterparts presents opportunities for them to engage more readily with the local population – for those monolingual expats, it means that they don’t have to focus their entire social existence on the expat community as is so often the case.
 
The cost of living is another attractive draw for those relocating from the US.  Money goes much, much further here - particularly for those who receive their wages in dollars and in line with home country pay averages.  The lower cost of living in India, can literally change the lifestyle of the relocating expat as domestic help is a fraction of what it is back in the US.

Expats in India regularly employ maids, chauffeurs and nannies which is not often an option back in the home country. This enables them to get away from the never ending domestic drudgery of cooking and cleaning, by engaging paid help.  A win-win for both parties.

Clearly there are the downsides too (such as regular power-cuts!), but relocating expats can be sure of a richly rewarding experience.

---

India Online Cultural Training for Business Professionals

For anyone considering relocating from the US to India, our online India cultural training course equips professionals with essential insights needed to navigate Indian cultural differences effectively. The training can also minimise culture shock and limit transition stress.

---

India Cultural Training via Webinar

Prefer live, customised India training with one of our India country and culture experts?  Then contact us to discuss our India Cultural Training webinars for groups and indiviudals. 

---

Photo by L.Filipe C.Sousa on Unsplash

---