SINGAPORE: The basis of an Indian national’s decision to relocate his family back to India has sparked a debate online, after he called Singapore “too perfect” in a candid post published this week on X.
Aakash Dharmadhikari, co-founder of the AI platform Realfast and a long-time resident of Singapore, shared that his decision to move back to Bengaluru, India stemmed from concerns about his daughter’s upbringing in Singapore’s highly structured environment.
He noted that, “Singapore is just way too perfect” and he and his wife thought it’s making their daughter “soft.” Mr Dharmadhikari expressed a desire to expose his daughter to life’s uncertainties, which he felt were missing in Singapore’s “perfect” setting.
He humorously noted that after seven years in Singapore, he and his family had grown accustomed to the country’s orderliness, jokingly adding that they had also become “soft” and forgotten what the “Indian chaos” feels like.
Having begun his career at Infosys in 2005, Mr Dharmadhikari’s professional journey eventually led him to Singapore in 2017.
His decision to relocate back to India has sparked a diverse range of opinions online. While some support his intention to provide his daughter with a broader experience, others view it as “a little extreme.”
A permanent resident from India who’s been in Singapore for around 20 years said he understands Mr Dharmadhikari’s approach in “trying to give his kids more exposure.” However, he pointed out that “India isn’t that much harder than Singapore,” noting the flock of global investments from the US and Europe. While there are many jobs, they often pay less, so life is “poorer” not harder.
“For kids coming out of college, there is intense competition and few slots so arguably the best survive,” he said. According to him, “the thing about India that builds resilience isn’t the poor or hard life, but the unpredictability,” in contrast to Singapore’s predictability.
He also noted that what makes living in Singapore challenging is “keeping up with inflation and getting priced out by affluent immigrants or younger generations,” which, he suggested, Mr Dharmadhikari may not have experienced given his demographic and age group.
Another who’s currently working in Perth said living in “Singapore is kind of living in a bubble,” noting Singaporeans are “insulated from a lot of global issues.”
He said, “A lot of what we take for granted, like the low crime rate, safety and lack of drugs are just things people get used to over here. Not to mention rampant cults, crazy people, homeless… lots of things really. On the flip side, it is really odd how easy it is to get used to it.”
The netizen added: “I have been here about a year and frankly the difference in crime rates and safety are just things you learn some common sense about and avoid…Living overseas for a while is definitely a good experience, I would recommend.”
Conversely, others challenged Mr Dharmadhikari’s perspective, questioning whether uprooting his family was necessary for his daughter’s development.
“I’ve lived in many cities. Some tier 2 cities as well. Problems in Singapore are definitely more first world problems than in other places. But uprooting my whole family somewhere else so we can experience insecurity and uncertainty? That’s a little extreme,” remarked one user.
“There must surely be a better way to ensure your kids grow up well adjusted,” he added.
“I’m quite skeptical that the life experiences that his daughter will learn in India will be helpful for her future,” another pointed out.
Featured image by Depositphotos
/TISG