Comment: The Truth about Phoren

Part 1: The truth about Phoren

Verma posted a nice comment about living in Phoren (See my post 'The truth about Phoren'). I would like to qoute him:

"IMO, those of us who come to work in "phoren" see it as an investment... at least the first couple of years.
Think of this: you earn more and so even if you save the same %, your networth (savings -> investments etc) grows faster out here than in India. If you're of that bent, you can create a sizeable asset-portfolio much faster than an upper income individual in India would be able to.

I think the best of both worlds is the Middle East. There, you can earn like you do in a western economy (in terms of absolute buying power) and afford all that you're used to in india: dhobi, mali, and kaam-wali."

I agree, there are things that can be said for living abroad, and one of them is the amount of money that you can save. Even if it is the same percentage as in India, it is more. But in the end, you would have to go back to India and spend your savings there, for them to count as more.
Its all relative I think.
But one thing's for sure, I couldn't really think of buying on impulse my DELL Inspiron 9400 without earning in Francs.

I stopped for some time in Dubai, and I was amazed. Its India...without all the garbage. But you have to give almost half of your salary to the Sheikhs, and I agree that there is always the "constant dagger" of insecurity.
One interesting incident I came to know about: Once an Indian along with his wife went for dinner at a Sheikh's residence. I took this with a pinch of salt, but what transpired is that the Sheikh liked the guys's wife and he kept her! Imagine that, one minute you happy that you have a wife, the next minute you are simply without her.