The money makes up for being far away from family as well as homesickness.

Living in the EU means you are far away from family as well with the added negative that unless you're Vietnamese in CEE and Paris, Fujianese in Central Italy, or Mirpuri in Scandinavia, there isn't a large Asian community in most EU states.

If I want Sikkimese, Pahari, Marathi, Chettinad, Maithili, or some other ethnic group's cultural services, cuisine, and/or goods I can always find that represented in American tech hubs. On the other hand it's nonexistent in Europe.

I think you're of European heritage, so for you your cultural heritage's goods, services, and cuisine are well represented across Europe. That isn't true for Indians, Chinese (China is not a monoculture), and Koreans.

For Indian, Chinese, and Korean nationals on a work visa in the US, you can earn a European salary in the old country while being close to family. This is why Europe is not enticing, because immigration is hard and if the only incentive is to have a lower take home, then there's no reason to go to Europe.

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mcntsh 3 hours ago | parent [-]

I’m also living a 15h flight away from my country/culture/people and I never felt the need for money to make up for it. Sounds like you just value money?

Also Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam et all are large, diverse metropolises. Not sure where the idea comes from that you wouldn’t be able to find your tribe or your cuisine in these cities.

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yorwba 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Yeah, in June 2024, there were 37 120 Indian citizens in Berlin, https://download.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/60c6e60ee05... and in June 2025 already 45 189, https://download.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/ec900887845... about 1.2% of the total population. Clearly they found it enticing enough.

	▲	alephnerd 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Most Indians in Germany are primarily from Maharashtra or Punjab. And those numbers are minuscule compared to the diaspora in the UK, let alone Australia, New Zealand, and Canada which are all much more friendly to Asians than Europe.

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alephnerd 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> Also Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam et all are large, diverse metropolises. Not sure where the idea comes from that you wouldn’t be able to find your tribe or your cuisine in these cities.

Because they do not. The only European country with a large Indian diaspora is the UK, and that disaspora is overwhelmingly just Gujarati and Punjabi. Same for overseas Chinese and the Korean diaspora as well.

What worked for you is good for you, but the culture shift for someone from much of Asia to the EU is severe compared to the US where Asian immigration has been the norm for over a century.

> Sounds like you just value money?

Why leave India or China to earn a €70k salary when you can demand the same in Hyderabad or Hangzhou? Why move from Palo Alto to Paris, when you can move back to Pune or Pudong and earn the exact same, while also not facing culture shock and being close to family.

Also, having to become fluent in a French or German or Dutch or some other European language that isn't English is a severe blocker in much of Asia - where English is prioritized.

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mcntsh 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Because Europe offers clean safe cities and good WLB? Again you’re just looking at it from the angle of money…

If all you want is to be in a big Indian diaspora and make a lot of money then I guess California is a good fit for you. Glad you like it!

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alephnerd 2 hours ago | parent [-]

> Because Europe offers clean safe cities and good WLB

So does Australia and New Zealand.

And you are much closer to family as a result and in a countries where Asians are well represented and with the added bonus that they are Anglophone countries so no need to learn German, French, or some other European language that isn't English.

Look, Germany is a good country, but it legitimately isn't enticing for the kind of Indian or Chinese national who came to the US on a work visa.

> If all you want is to be in a big Indian diaspora and make a lot of money then I guess California is a good fit for you. Glad you like it

That's what most diasporas want. Look at the statistics of where the Indian, Chinese, and Korean diaspora are clustered. Amongst western countries it's overwhelmingly North America, Australia, and the UK

> then I guess California is a good fit for you

It is. I've been here since I was 1 years old when my parents were part of the initial work visa expansion in the 90s which brought tens of thousands of us Indian, Chinese, and Korean Americans to the US.

If I were to leave, I'd probably go to Singapore because I can take advantage of Asian dealflow while remaining in an Anglophone country where we are overrepresented.

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mcntsh an hour ago | parent | next [-]

I think if someone forfeits stability for money then that's their choice. I personally think that's an extremely strange one to make, but I'm one of those people who left the US for more stability, safety, so maybe I'm biased.

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alephnerd an hour ago | parent [-]

I really don't know why are you are getting so worked up about this.

At a macro level, the majority of Asian diasporas in the Western world are in North America, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand.

All I'm saying is for the majority of Asians, mainland Europe just doesn't have the same pull factor that the Anglophone has because we have never had a significant population in Europe.

It's the same way a management consultant with roots in Turkiye or Morocco will be biased to work in Frankfurt instead of NY simply because there's a massive pre-existing community no matter where you go in Germany and they will be close to family in Turkiye.

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