This spoken essay is based on a conversation with Sarvesh Rajagopal, who lived in the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Germany before returning to India. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified his employment history.
I joined McKinsey right after I graduated from my Masters in India.
I spent the next three years with the company in India, then moved to the company’s office in Dubai for two years and then to Amsterdam. Having a chance to live and work overseas was a dream come true.
Shortly after moving to Amsterdam, I decided I had had enough of consulting. Even the continuous journey was becoming tiring. I left McKinsey and worked for the Dutch bank ING as a corporate strategist for over a year before moving to the logistics company Wayfair in 2019. I was one of the first employees in the Berlin office, in charge of building the international business of the company, which I still consider to be the most challenging but fulfilling period of my career.
Life in Europe
Things were going well from a lifestyle point of view as well.
I liked to finish work by 5 or 6 pm and have the rest of the day to myself. Public transport was a huge plus – I loved not having or needing a car to get around to meet colleagues or friends for dinner or a beer.
One of the best parts of Europe was that if we had a long weekend, I could go somewhere nearby by train for a few hours.
One of the only drawbacks is that it is not the best place to earn and build wealth due to high taxes.
Slow growth in Europe
The itch to return to India started about three years ago.
I had seen the growth of India since I left and felt like I missed the boom by leaving in 2014. Many of my friends back home have built startups or venture capital careers. I wanted to be a part of India’s growth story.
I also felt like there was no career growth for me in Europe. In India, I had a great network from India’s best technology and management schools and because of my time at McKinsey.
I also wanted to be close to my family, especially since my parents are getting older.
My inflection point was realizing in mid-2023 that my career had stagnated because I was at a high level and finding it difficult to grow. The war in Ukraine and other macroeconomic factors such as inflation also influenced my decision.
I worked with a professional trainer before making a firm decision. I traveled through Latin America and being in a new environment really sealed the deal for me.
I quit my job and finally came back to India in May.
Adjusting back
After a decade of living away, there are things I have to get used to again.
I’m still adjusting to the pollution, traffic and crowds. The number of cars and two-wheelers on the road has exploded, making driving and parking much more stressful.
But some things have also become much more convenient since I left 10 years ago.
I remember having to call a restaurant if I ever wanted to eat, but India now has food and grocery delivery services that promise to deliver any food or household item in less than 10 minutes.
It’s much easier to find and afford domestic support, and I have a chef. For my friends with newborns, live-in nannies are available. These feel like huge luxuries compared to Europe, where my expat friends struggled with childcare – their parents were happy to help but could only stay in Germany for 90 days at a time.
I am also able to afford an all-inclusive apartment complex where I have easy access to a pool, a gym and a supermarket.
I volunteer as a mentor for startups in an incubator at my university, and I’ve noticed a huge mindset shift among people in their early 20s. When I graduated with my engineering degree, my classmates and I thought our only career options were to join a company, study abroad for a Masters or pursue an MBA at the Indian Institute of Management.
But students are now much more willing to take risks and dive into entrepreneurship.
I am currently on a career break. I want to reacquaint myself with India and then hope to build my own venture in the next few years.