All about becoming The Reluctant NRI
It was a long day!
I mean, literally.
We boarded the flight from the Kempegowda Airport, Bengaluru at 7 AM on 24th December 2021, and after 22 hours of flying and lay-over through Heathrow Airport, London we touched down at O’Hare Airport, Chicago (called ORD – Orchard Field Airport for historical reasons) at 5.35 PM the same evening.
I had lived a 29-hour long day with still some hours left over to spend. The plane taxied into the airport for what seemed like an eternity. I wasn’t complaining. I was busy taking in the newness of the land I was about to set foot on.
Not in my remotest dreams did I ever plan to go to the US! But here I was in the cab to a new home in a new country with my husband (also new at the time as we were newlyweds)!
Though I couldn’t see much except for the lights and the traffic. It was already dark out, not something a south Indian would be familiar with at 5.30 in the evening!
It felt surreal as I looked at everything with the curious eyes of a child that is new to the world. I was, in fact, new to this part of the world! So much to see and plenty to learn.
It was Day 1 of the new life I was about to begin here. Leaving the comforts of my home as I knew it to make a new one in this new land was something I never anticipated or planned but was plonked into by the determined hands of destiny.
As I advanced through various processes of my move and settlement as a non-immigrant resident of The United States, I could appreciate the differences between the country I grew up in and the country that is to grow on me.
During these initial days, I wondered about other people who would be going through similar, if not the exact same, situations as I did.
Living in a new country comes with a price. You need to learn the ways of the land, abide by the laws and rules of the land, and undergo the processes and operations required by the state. And getting all information is no easy task. It takes a lot of research and/or guidance from others. There are, of course, professionals who will guide you for a fee.
As I went through these processes myself, I can relate and share my experience for the use of others who might need it, so I decided to start this blog. You may either relate to some of the things if you have been here or are about to, and if you have not, then you would get an idea of what it is like and feed your curiosity.
The good part is I see and process things as a lawyer and experience them as a layman. I am able to give you insight from both perspectives.
In any case, I write with a wish to chronicle my observations, state of affairs, and the lessons I learned while becoming The Reluctant Non-Resident Indian!