Dishan Gupta

·
Follow
Studied at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK)Updated Aug 8

Is living in the U.S. better or worse than living in India?

I have lived in India for 22 years, and USA for 12 years. I’ll try to answer the question
disregarding visa issues, location of family or where you grew up, to be as objective as
possible.

Let’s break it down into some major factors that constitute a fulfilled life,

1. Family and friends,

2. Educational opportunities,
3. Economic opportunities,
4. Real Estate,
5. Food and culture,
6. Safety,
7. Infrastructure and cleanliness,
8. Healthcare,
9. Public transport,
10. General social life,
11. Reservation,
12. Weather,
13. Corruption, law and order,
14. History and geopolitics
Now let’s rate each on a scale of 1 to 10 in each category.

1. Family and friends - India 8, USA 1

Family is a central part in Indian society. Divorce rate is one of the lowest in the
world. There is lot of extended family, and there is an overall strong community
feeling. USA has an extremely individualistic culture, so family is not important.
Parents and kids are not closely connected or at all after 18.

Similarly, friendship is mostly for personal gains and fleeting in nature in USA.
The fake ‘hi, thank you, sorry’ is always there, but not much beyond that. This is
increasing in India too, but still not nearly at the same level especially if you
 leave the major metros. As a simple example, you cannot expect to borrow 20$
from anyone in America even if you have known them for 15 years.
2. Educational opportunities - India 5, USA 5
India has relatively few universities to support its enormous population.
Admission systems emphasize rote memorization through entrance exams and
lack creativity. On top of this, the quality of education in most universities is
mediocre at best. Many Indians have degrees but not the skills required to
succeed. STEM education is highly regarded.

USA has a huge number of universities, many of them world-class. Acceptance

employs few objective measures such as standardized testing and a multitude
of random parameters like sports, essays, extracurricular activities,
recommendations making it extremely subjective. Non-Asians benefit unfairly
from this. In addition, most universities are prohibitively expensive rendering
them inaccessible to a majority of people. Most Americans are not very
educated. Going to grad school is rare. STEM grads are outcast as anti-social
nerds in middle and high schools, where the quality of education is poor. The
anti-intellectualism reflects directly in the society as most cannot do basic
calculations without a calculator, and are oblivious to external affairs. The
media propaganda doesn’t help.

The European model is ideal in this category.

3. Economic opportunities - India 6, USA 10
Even though India still remains a difficult place to start a business, it has the
advantage of scale through reaching 1.4 billion people just locally. There is still
a shortage of quality jobs, low salaries, and too much competition.

USA is the economic leader in most areas, especially STEM. Lots of jobs, highest
salaries, lower taxes than other developed countries. No other country pays
nearly as much (not true for low wage earners though). Minimal red tape in
starting new businesses.
4. Real Estate - India 5, USA 10
Buying a home, isn’t that the dream? Purchasing property in India requires
jumping through a bunch of hoops. The interest rates are high, black money is
involved, laws and procedures are not strong. Tenants can illegally occupy it
and it can take years to get them evicted. Real estate is used to avoid taxes in
India, illegally.

USA has some of the beautiful real estate one can imagine. Can be bought for
as low as 5% down payment. Interest rates are low (around 3%) and are locked
for 30 years, laws and procedures are strong. There are strong landlord-tenant
laws and illegal occupation can be dealt with very quickly and easily. Real
estate can be used to avoid taxes in USA, legally. The tax code allows for a set
of deductions, reducing effective rental income to zero or even negative.
 Both countries let you buy as many properties as you wish. Democracies.
5. Food and culture - India 10, USA 4
Not much to be said here. India has a variety of authentic cuisine specific from
state to state. Lots of culture, festivals, colors, vibrancy, noise, you name it. USA
seems very homogeneous and doesn’t have too much of it’s own culture
(country of immigrants). Authentic American cuisine is completely bland.
6. Safety - India 5, USA 5
Answering as a guy, women may feel differently. India has a high volume of
petty crime, very low life threatening crime. USA has a low volume of petty
crime, but significant life threatening crime. This is due to gun culture.

On paper, India registers far fewer firearm-related deaths and sexual violence
per capita as compared to USA who ranks in the top 10 in the world in each
subject. The difference is too significant to solely attribute to mere lack of
reporting. Is USA really safer for women?
7. Infrastructure and cleanliness - India 3, USA 8
Infrastructure is just abysmal in India, even to this date. The lack of facilities is
only magnified by the over population. Cleanliness is non-existent. People lack
basic civic sense. USA has very good infrastructure, as expected of a developed
nation. Having said that, cleanliness in major cities is even worse than India.
Homeless are seen everywhere. In such areas, it doesn’t look like a first world
nation by any stretch.
8. Healthcare - India 4, USA 7
Even though major metros in India have started to offer top notch facilities,
doctors, treatment etc., world-class healthcare is still available to a select few.
USA makes the best of the best available throughout the country. New York is
not far ahead of North Carolina.

For minor problems and injuries, in USA there are unnecessary processes that
require waiting long times for appointments, unnecessary paperwork, tests etc.
They literally check for everything that could go wrong. Visiting the doctor for a
headache may mean taking a test for brain tumor as well. Local doctors in India
can generally treat such issues in a day, and drugs can easily be bought over
the counter.

But what happens when it’s a matter of life and death? 911. Within a few
minutes, a barrage of medical personnel is at your door as if there is a border
invasion. If you make it to the hospital alive, they will not let you die. India is
still light years behind in this regard, as the problem is only compounded by
traffic and lack of etiquette.

Neither country has universal healthcare. USA healthcare is very expensive,

even after accounting for insurance. Many Americans are unsatisfied with it,
and seek treatment in other countries, including India.
9. Public transport - India 10, USA 1
This one is well known too. Strong railway network, buses, autos, rickshaws are
all a central part of the Indian transportation system. USA: What is public
transport again?
10. General social life - India 8, USA 1
People, people, people everywhere, and most are easy to talk to in India.
Neighbors, relatives are all constantly in touch. This can lead to lack of privacy.
USA has an extremely individualistic culture. Neighbors don’t know each other
for 20 years. Breakdown of family structure. One person, one car. Loneliness
and depression are high because of this.
11. Reservation - India 5, USA 5
India has an explicit reservation system based on Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule
Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). USA has an implicit reservation
system based on race and gender. Blacks, Hispanics and women get
preferential treatment when it comes to educational and economic
opportunities. People from these groups don’t have to be as good as say Asian
or White men, to get the same opportunities. They call it ‘diversity’ for race, and
‘equal rights’ for gender.

Explicit reservation caps the maximum amount of reserved seats, whereas

implicit reservation does not have an upper limit. In theory, everything can go
to prioritized groups with the implicit method. Merit is heavily discarded in
both cases.
12. Weather - India 9, USA 10
Both countries are humongous, and incredibly diverse geographically. One can
find the type of climate they are looking for in each. India has the Himalayan
mountain range for snow, the deserts of Rajasthan for killer dry heat, East and
North-East for rain, parts of South India for that temperate climate, and the rest
consisting of extreme climates (wet and dry).

USA has extreme weather including snow in the North-East (think NY), hot and
dry deserts in the South-West (think Las Vegas), 300 out of 365 days rain in
North-West (think Seattle), hot and humid weather in South-East (think Miami).
However, California has near perfect weather year round. I mean it doesn’t even
rain. USA edges it because of that.

In terms of a pure city living experience, USA has more diversity in this
category. This is because USA has more major cities, that are well spread out.
13. Corruption, law and order - India 1, USA 6
India is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Heavy, heavy systemic
corruption is present at all levels from the bottom all the way to the top. Be it
the government, politicians, corporations, police or regular everyday people
there is a scam waiting for you at every corner. Law and order is practically
non-existent in India. Court cases take multiple decades for a judgment, if they
reach one at all. Lawyers are the biggest criminals, will charge you exorbitant an
 fee, not provide any satisfactory service and later threaten if you ask for a
refund.

At the very basic level, corruption is non-existent in USA. Day to day tasks,
government work, employment, housing, and everything related to regular life
go by smoothly. Police does its job honestly, and is in general helpful than
intimidating (even though it carries guns, guns are a systemic problem in USA).
Law and order is really strong. However, what if you enter a legal dispute?
Almost without exception, it is not you or your opponent who is going to win.
It would be the lawyers. American lawyers charge astronomical fees and could
be as corrupt and misleading as anywhere. Most parties end up settling outside
court, as a matter of practicality. The law, even though fairly written, is
implemented favoring certain privileged groups such as women. Forget
winning a legal battle with your wife. American women have garnered a
reputation of gold diggers, as divorce is the easiest way for them to become
rich. And then there is the whole top layer, which includes a network of the
ultra capitalistic big corporations, the government and other rich families, who
work together to keep the 99% enslaved, and prioritize profits over improving
the lives of the masses. America is run by big corporations, who in many cases
have created monopoly markets, greatly preventing the common man from
setting up shop.
14. History and geopolitics - India 10, USA 1
The present day geographical region that constitutes the modern nation state
of India, is part of the oldest civilization known to humanity. Ancient
civilizations rose, and eventually fell. In the case of India, archaeological
evidence suggests significant cultural continuity dating back over 8-10000
years, making a strong case for it to be the only surviving ancient peoples. For
much of the past 3–5 millennia all the way up to the reign of Aurangzeb in
1707, it has been by far the wealthiest region on earth. A target of foreign envy.

Today, India follows a non-aligned, no interference policy, no first strike and

peace prevailing policy derived from its rich history and traditions. It maintains
neutral or positive relations with all nations except a couple of its neighbors.
Even for those exceptions, the hostility is initiated from outside than within.

10000 years ago, there were ancient peoples that inhabited the present day
geographical region that is the modern nation state of United States of
America. They were isolated from the continental plates and the peoples of
Eurasia and Africa. Much of their history and population have been wiped out
following the arrival of the Europeans. A select few settlements remain, where
they practice their own laws and traditions. Their economic and living
conditions are significantly inferior to the average American. The European
history of USA starts in the 16th century, is extensively studied and glorified.
USA has funding to explore ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt, but not its own
land. There have been talks to remove Native American history completely
 from the school curriculum.

Americans, especially the Caucasians, are very defensive about such topics.
Usually, they cite other examples of genocide and atrocities from history in
order to deflect, or just avoid the conversation altogether. Germans have
accepted and apologized for World War 2 (they were forced to), but the
Americans remain in denial and project superiority. Hermann Goring, head of
the German Luftwaffe, during the Nuremberg trials says, “I am only here
because we lost”. If the story was reverse, Netflix documentaries would focus
on Native Americans than Jews.

USA is the biggest geopolitical bully around the block. Starts wars, overthrows
governments, funds extremism and anything that serves its interests in the
pretense promoting democracy and freedom. Most governments and
especially their citizens hold a very negative opinion of USA and its citizens.
Quite strikingly, it is not the Chinese, Russians, Indians or Iranians that hate
them the most. It is the Europeans, their own brothers and sisters. One may
even hear the Europeans saying, “Thank God there is no American in the
group”.
The overall score for each country should be computed using a weighted average of the
ratings. The weights are dependent on one’s personal life situation and desires, and
therefore unique to each individual.

Majority of the people leave India because of 3 and 7, immigrate to and stay in USA
because of 3. Stepping outside the bounds of the question, there are other countries
that optimize for the above factors more optimally.

These are opinions based on my personal life experiences, your mileage may vary!

UPDATE: Based on the comments, some common and important arguments have
emerged. Let’s dive a little deeper point wise,

 Family and Friends: Many have interpreted the rating of 1 for USA as
‘Americans have “zero” family values’, and then gone on to completely disagree
based on their own experience with American friends/family.

To make it crystal clear, the answer never implied this. The delineation of the
rating scale spans the 190+ countries across the globe. Nearly every non-
western nation, be it in Asia, Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, ranks above
USA in this category. USA is the most ‘individualistic’ (a mere euphemism for
selfish) country in the world where people put themselves first before family
and friends.

In summary, if you were to rank all the countries in this category, USA would be
in the bottom 10th percentile, but that does not imply zero family values.
 Ranking low in something, doesn’t mean absence of it. If you are short, it
doesn’t mean your height is 0 feet 0 inches.
 Educational Opportunities: The critique here is that USA has the best
universities, and is in general the #1 destination for international students. An
average rating of 5 is unfathomable.

Let’s first be clear, for a vast majority of international students a US university

education is an indirect route to the American job market. Would there be as
high of an international enrollment if US jobs could be availed directly?

Secondly, the American education system really only starts to shine at the
graduate school level, which is where most of the international students tend
to congregate and there are hardly any Americans. At the K-12 level it is
mediocre at best, and for undergraduate if you are to attend a reputable
university be prepared to be in debt for decades or even life. In addition,
students loans in USA are not bankruptable. The average American speaks one
language, has low general knowledge, doesn’t attend a respectable university,
and most of the STEM jobs in Silicon Valley are being done by foreigners.
Maybe the American education system when viewed holistically has something
to do with it?
 Food: As many have commented, USA has immigrants and hence cuisines from
all over the globe. How dare you rate it a 4?

Well, when comparing countries, groups of people or ethnic cultures, the focus
is on what is local and original to them respectively. Not on what is imported.
Shall we consider Diwali to be an American festival now since it is celebrated in
pretty much every American city?

But lets take foreign cuisines into factor, since it’s such an important point for
many. The variety of foreign cuisines available in USA are without exception
tailored to Americans. The ethnic groups who have had the original taste back
at home, don’t frequent such places. Chipotle is not Mexican food and Panda
Express is not Chinese food. And even if we include a local restaurant run by an
ethnic owner they still try to Americanize the taste to increase sales. Chhole
Bhature like Delhi, are impossible to find anywhere in USA.

More importantly, the same argument holds for Indian metros who too have a
variety of foreign cuisines. McDonald’s and Domino’s are more popular in India,
than USA. If anything, it is not uncommon to hear Indian Domino’s tastes
better than the American counterpart. Including foreign cuisines may drop USA
below a 4.
 Public Transport: “I live in <insert American city>, and use only public
transport. Such a biased and misleading answer.”

What percentage of Americans live in major metro cities? And of those who live
 outside them, what percent absolutely need a vehicle just to function in their
daily lives? We are talking survival, not luxury. If we combine the two numbers,
how do they stack up against India and most other nations?

If something applies to “you”, it does not mean it is the norm. “You” could be
7ft tall, “you” could have a net worth of 10 million or “you” could live in middle
of Manhattan with the best public transport in the entire nation.
 Reservation: The point of contention here is, the privileged groups in USA are
still majorly under represented in important fields such tech, finance etc., and it
does not practically impact the general population to an extent as it does in
India.

This is true. However, this does not imply the USA system is fairer than India.
The reason for the lesser impact, disregarding cultural differences, is simply
that USA has way more opportunities on a per capita basis as compared to
India (point 3).

In many cases in USA, the privileged person has to be half as qualified to a

regular to get the same opportunity. Corporate managers search LinkedIn
specifically for Black/Hispanic/women candidates, hire them and then enlist a
fake job posting saying “equal” opportunity to comply by the law.
Notably, the senior NRIs seem to very much resonate with the writing. The young Indian
immigrants and some simply frustrated with India, seem to respond emotionally,
arbitrarily disagree and assign labels omitting logical reasoning or data driven analysis.
The former shall be assigned the highest weight, just based on the sheer amount of they
may have seen in both countries. The latter could be the typical mentally colonized, with
the “white is always right” syndrome. Even if they weren’t, just the fear of being deported
from USA may have them pretend so.

IMPORTANT: Quora, a company founded and headquartered in USA, tried to block this
answer and I had to file an appeal to get it back up. Based on such, the reader shall use
their own discrete judgment on how much “freedom” USA really has. If you found the
answer valuable, do share, as USA wants to hide such content.