Woman Returns To India From UK, Reflects On Challenges Of Living Abroad

Moving to another country can bring new experiences and opportunities, but staying away from home can also come with financial and personal pressures. A woman who spent four years in the UK has now revealed why she decided to move back to India. In a post on X, Arshiya Mahajan spoke about the financial pressure, loneliness, and immigration worries that influenced her decision. 

She wrote, "After 4 years, I've moved back from the UK to India and started a new job in Bangalore."

She said living abroad had never been a lifelong dream for her, but she was grateful for the opportunity.

She wrote that she got to build a life in another country. She added that the UK allowed her to travel more than she had imagined, meet people from around the world, become more independent, and grow professionally.

Check Out The Post Here:

After 4 years, I've moved back from the UK to India and started a new job in Bangalore.

Wouldn't say it was 100% the happiest decision I've ever made.

But it felt like the right one for my nervous system.

A few things I've been thinking about since making the move 👇

— Arshiya Mahajan (@ArshiyaMahajan3) August 24, 2026

She mentioned, "But somewhere along the way, staying started becoming more about maintaining a life than actually living one."

She spent much of her last eight months thinking about visa paperwork, rental issues, immigration timelines, money, and what would happen when friends moved away.

Financial pressure was another factor. Arshiya said she was increasingly living from one pay cheque to another and occasionally needed financial help from her family while trying to convince herself that she was doing fine.

She wrote, " I realised how much of my mental bandwidth was going towards simply keeping the machinery of my life running."

Eventually, her question changed from whether she could make it work to whether it actually made sense for her anymore. 

She said she began looking at her life from financial, professional, social, and mental perspectives.

"So I came home," Arshiya wrote.

Arshiya clarified that she does not consider her time in the UK a failure. Instead, she believes that living abroad gave her valuable experiences and helped her grow.

She wrote that she was able to come home because living abroad had already given her what she needed from that chapter.

Arshiya said being back in India has been good for her so far, although she is still processing the decision and expects to have moments when she wonders whether she made the right choice.

She wrote that she is increasingly convinced that not every good decision has to feel euphoric.

She wrote, "I think we need to talk a lot more honestly about the darker side of living away from home."

Social Media Reaction

Arshiya's post resonated with several people who shared their own experiences of living abroad and returning to India.

One user commented, "Similar story here, came back from New York in 2021."

Another user noted, "Just moved back after living 14 years in the US. Loving it."

"Hey! Really good decision. I think most people stay stuck rather than admitting they're not happy with the choice they made. I've seen plenty of people come back for a variety of reasons including me and previously my parents too," added a third user.