Bengaluru man leaves Germany after 6 years for this one reason, you might relate

A Bengaluru software engineer said he returned to India after six years in Germany. His viral post sparked discussion on comfort, belonging and the emotional pull of home.

In Short

• He praised Germany for clean roads, calm living and predictable systems
• Despite those advantages, he said daily life there felt emotionally incomplete
• He missed family, festivals, spontaneity and the sense of life around

After spending six years in Germany enjoying clean roads, structured systems and a calmer pace of life, a Bengaluru-based software engineer said he still chose to return to India, not despite the chaos, but because of something he felt was missing abroad.

Tanuj, a principal software engineer based in Bengaluru, shared a now-viral post on X explaining why he moved back to India after living in Germany for six years. While he acknowledged the advantages of life in Europe, including better work-life balance, peaceful surroundings and predictable systems, he admitted that comfort alone was not enough for him.

In his post, Tanuj listed several reasons people admired life in Germany, from cleaner streets and organised infrastructure to a quieter, more stable lifestyle. Yet, despite having access to all of it, he said he found himself wanting something different.

“I lived in Germany for 6 years,” he wrote, before listing the things he appreciated there: “Clean roads, Better work-life balance, Peaceful life, Predictable systems.”

However, he revealed that he eventually made the decision to move back to India, even though he was fully aware of the everyday struggles waiting for him here.

“India has traffic, pollution, noise, chaos, endless crowds and n number of other problems,” he wrote, adding that there are moments when he still considered going back.

But according to him, India offered something that is difficult to explain and impossible to neatly quantify, an emotional pulse that made daily life feel fuller.

He described missing the “energy, emotions, family, festivals, spontaneity and a feeling that life is happening around you,” saying that while comfort mattered, sometimes people also wanted to feel connected to life around them.

“Sometimes comfort is not enough. You also want to feel alive,” he concluded.

Take a look at the post here:

The post struck a chord online, with several social media users reflecting on their own experiences of living abroad and the emotional pull of home.

Some users who had also lived in Europe said they related to Tanuj’s perspective, explaining that while life abroad often offered stability and higher living standards, it could sometimes feel isolating, especially when it came to raising a family or building a support system.

One person shared that they were also preparing to return to India from Europe, saying they could not imagine starting a family there and preferred being closer to loved ones.

Others said the comparison between India and Europe was not as simple as choosing one over the other, noting that both offered very different experiences depending on what stage of life someone was in. Some described Europe as peaceful and ideal for personal growth, while India felt emotionally richer, more spontaneous and socially vibrant.

At the same time, a few users pointed out that the decision ultimately came down to priorities. Many said factors such as family, career growth, quality of life, children, healthcare and emotional fulfilment shaped whether someone chose to stay abroad or return home.

Some agreed that a “high quality life” could feel incomplete if experienced in isolation, arguing that relationships and a sense of belonging mattered just as much as infrastructure and convenience.

- Ends