Advantage US?

My friend, who had plans to leave her job and settle in the US with her husband, recently came to me with a dilemna. To go through a consultancy firm on H1, or through her husband's organization on L1. That made me wonder - what prompts her to live abroad in the first place? There was a time - about 6 years ago - when I was in her position. Recently married, my husband and I had been fervently attending interviews with consultants and also with firms based in India for onsite openings. Our motivation was the lure of the US - the luxuries it had to offer, the lifestyle, and the dollars. However, each time we got an offer, we would end up comparing the compensation with our Indian salary, and remain dissatisfied with the lure of the dollar amounts. Soon, we decided to stop the hunt. Now, looking back, I think we made the right decision. For, here I am, with a daughter who goes to one of the best schools in the city, in-laws to support us, our own house, a comfortable mid-size sedan for a car, weekend outings to the theatre, and, most important, good jobs. Could we have had such a lifestyle had we decided to work in the US? First of all, I would not have been able to continue my job after the birth of our daughter. (Am not keen on the daycare centres). Secondly, with only 1 person in the family earning, our savings might not have been as much. So where does the question of a house and a luxury car arise? There was a time when it was lucrative to work abroad. India was developing, and comparatively, life in the US offered a lot of luxury. But things have changed now and are much simpler - we can do a lot of things sitting at home - pay our telephone bills, electricity bills, book movie tickets, order groceries through the phone, keep in touch with our loved ones via cellphones, employ maids/cooks to help out with the household work, etc.In addition to these, living in India has one advantage that the US can not offer - the support of the family and relatives. They are within reaching distance during times of need. Whereas if you are in the US, who can you look to for such support? All said and done, there is nothing like living in your homeland - no place in the universe can give you the pride and belonging that your motherland has to offer!

My first blog!

For quite sometime now, I've been thinking of some outlet to pen my thoughts. Read about the Blogger's Unconference - that spurred me on to blogging. Now the question was - how do I create a blog, and where? My brother suggested blogger, so here goes!