Dubai to Dehradun: Techie wants to quit job and return to India, netizens warn of risks

Techie considers leaving Dubai job to start life in Dehradun. (AI-generated Image)

A 32-year-old Indian software engineer based in Dubai is considering leaving their job after nearly ten years in the tech industry. In a recent Reddit post, the techie shared the reasons behind their decision and asked for advice from people who may have faced similar situations.

“Software Engineer in Dubai considering quitting job, moving back to India, and starting a business. Seeking brutally honest opinions?” the post’s caption reads.

The Redditor explained, “I’ve been working as a software engineer for ~10 years, currently based in Dubai for past couple of years. Lately I’ve been seriously considering quitting corporate life, moving back to Dehradun (India), and starting something of my own.” They added that this is not an impulsive decision but a plan that has been developing over the past few months.

The techie cited several reasons for wanting to leave Dubai. “Corporate fatigue after a decade in tech. Increasing job instability and layoffs in the region (and the world, thanks to AI). Desire for autonomy and ownership of my time. Want to be closer to family long-term, spend more time with them. I’m not chasing ‘get rich quick.’ I’m aiming for a stable, sustainable life with agency, even if it’s less glamorous,” they wrote.

They also mentioned the challenges of daily life in Dubai, “Why not stay in Dubai and save more? I could, but: Job security feels very shaky. People are being laid off very frequently. And not just in my organisation. Cost of living is high. I don’t want to wake up at 40 still waiting for the ‘right time’. Mental fatigue is real. I am busy with work most of the time and am unable to spend much time with my growing toddler or my wife.”

The Redditor is married with one child and has a family of three. They own a house in Dehradun without a housing loan and have savings and assets of around Rs 50–60 lakh. They are still employed and have no prior business experience in their family.

The techie is considering several options for starting a business in India. These include a small local business such as a boutique run by their spouse, an EV charging station on the Delhi-Dehradun corridor, a hostel or rental property near educational hubs, a service-based business, or a software/SaaS venture on the side. They said they are also exploring “boring but reliable” businesses that could generate steady cash flow, with the goal of replacing their current salary with a dependable income.

The Redditor also shared their biggest fears about leaving their job. These include the possibility of business failure and quickly burning through their savings, underestimating how hard it is to generate consistent income, being unable to return to a corporate role at the same level later, and making a decision that could negatively affect their family.

Posts from the developersindia community on Reddit

Reddit users offered a range of advice. One user suggested a middle path, “To be true their is no right answer. My suggestion is find a remote tech job and move to India and then try starting a business while working. Since you already have 10+ years of experience getting a remote job is not going to be hard if you are asking for reasonable salary and not Dubai like salary.”

Another user recommended, “Always work full time and do a side hustle that nets you atleast 20-30% of your income before considering going full time on it.”

Some users cautioned about finances, “50-60 lakh is nothing with family expenses, Sorry to disappoint you, expenses pile up, 50 lakh looks big amount but in reality once you spend 30-40% of the amount , All negative thoughts creep in, you will have to downgrade lifestyle if you actually want to succeed in initial days for business, no sleep, no time for yourself, no time for family, If you think as a business owner you will have leisure time, you are in delulu, Best thing you can do is find stable remote job and travel and work.”

Another user added, “In my opinion, 50-60 lakh is not sufficient to sustain a family of 3, even in Dehradun. You have to consider the cost of education for your child which is a considerable one and going to get even costlier in the coming days. Then there's inflation. Considering all these, I would suggest you save aggressively for the next 8-10 years, preferably in high potential return instruments (AIF, PMS, SIP etc. that can generate 14-15% y-o-y) and generate a corpus of 3 Cr+ and then think of moving back to India and start a business. Any business can take at least 2-5 years of very hard work and adaptive planning to generate a stable income that can support your household expenses. You need to provision a 5-year runway which very easily can be around 1-1.25 cr.”

Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content shared on social media. Moneycontrol has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them