Foreigners Settle in India more Easily than Indians do Abroad
Many Western countries are more racially diverse than India, so you might think that Indians would have an easier time settling in one of these countries than foreigners would settling in India. But the findings of an HSBC survey seem to suggest otherwise.
The survey of more than 7,000 “international citizens” found that it takes them an average of about 8.3 months to feel at home in any new location. This average is even less in India: foreigners felt like they belonged in 7.4 months. More than a third (36%) felt at home right away, 23% in under 6 months, and 21% in 6 months to a year.
But Indians moving abroad had a harder time feeling at home. About one third of respondents did not “feel like a local” in their new countries, while slightly more than 30 percent were unsure about their sense of belonging.
“Home is a psychological state as much as a physical place, one defined by a sense of belonging – a feeling of being an accepted part of a larger community,” said Geoffrey L Cohen, professor at Stanford University and author of “Belonging: The science of creating connection and bridging divides.”
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Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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