Courtesy of Uday Padyana, mikroman6/Getty, Petar Chernaev/Getty, Tyler Le/BI
- Uday Padyana moved from India to the US in his 20s, landing a few tech jobs in Silicon Valley.
- Despite better growth opportunities in India, Uday prefers the work culture in the US.
- He's faced challenges like maintaining relationships back home and feeling like a foreigner in the US.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Uday Padyana, a mid-30s manager at a Big Tech company in Silicon Valley. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
When I first arrived in Silicon Valley in 2013 after relocating from India in my 20s, I wanted to move back.