NEW DELHI � For years, highly skilled graduates of India's universities have taken jobs in Texas, helping fuel the state's high-tech boom. Now, young Texans are discovering India as a land of employment opportunity.
India's fast-growing high-tech and banking companies need skilled employees. And English is widely spoken here, even in offices where most employees are native Hindi speakers.
Statistics are hard to come by, but employers have noticed a small but growing number of young Americans landing jobs in India.
Laura Neuhaus, originally from Austin, took a job with software giant Infosys at its headquarters in Bangalore. Right out of college, the 23-year-old said she was looking to gain "familiarity with another culture that went deeper than tourism."
India provided a chance to "add another perspective from an emerging economy," she said.
And former Dallas resident Vania Brumley, 33, who lives in Chennai (formerly Madras) in southern India, said simply, "I fell in love with life here."
Ms. Brumley, who teaches elementary school at the International School-Chennai, has been smitten by Indian culture. She hardly watches American TV, although it's available on cable.
"I feel a freedom from constant reminders about anti-aging treatments, having the perfect body [and] keeping up with the latest fashion trends," she said.
Robert Hetzel, director of the American Embassy School in New Delhi, said working in India has become a r�sum� builder for many young Americans.
"You can't pick up a news magazine without [reading] an article about the growth of the economy and the opportunities that are here," he said. Young Americans "see it as a steppingstone for truly a global economy. It says you've been in one of the drivers of that economy, India."
Infosys has grown from 500 to 50,000 workers in 12 years. Chief financial officer Mohandas Pai said he sees a trend of young Americans taking jobs in India.
Americans used to say, "Go west, young man," said Mr. Pai. "Now, it's 'Go east.' With the rise of India and China as economic powers, we're seeing life-changing opportunities here."
Americans are going east, but sometimes the cultures clash along the way.
Erik Simonsen, 28, earns a six-figure salary working with the investment banking research firm Copal Partners in New Delhi. He pays $400 a month for an upscale, three-bedroom apartment with cable TV and paid utilities. But he can't get a date.
"It's not a place where you just approach somebody and introduce yourself," he said. "There are expectations from the family. [Indian women] usually date people from their own communities."
With a smile, he admitted, "I've spent a lot of nights on the couch by myself."
Mr. Hetzel, the school director, said social life constitutes his "biggest worry" for the teaching staff at the American Embassy School.
When American staffers decide to leave India, he said, "that's probably the No. 1 reason. They have not been able to create a social life for themselves. Culturally, that's challenging here."
Single women face the same problem as men.
People tend to marry much younger in India than in the U.S. By the time a woman hits her late 20s, Indians "think something's wrong if you're not married," said Mr. Hetzel. Nightclubs rarely attract single people in their late 20s or 30s. "All the eligible men are married."
India has other downsides for young Americans, who immediately notice the country's poverty and crowded conditions.
Mr. Simonsen said the first time he emerged from the New Delhi airport, it seemed as if people were "stacked on top of each other."
"At 1 a.m., the highway is packed with trucks, honking, and you're weaving in and out of them. It's a pretty crazy first couple of hours when you get here."
Former Dallas resident Ms. Brumley quickly got used to the crowds but remembers standing out as an American and being stared at all the time.
Her school provided nice living quarters, a maid and a driver. "One can get spoiled very quickly," she said. "I've slowly recaptured my independence as I became more aware of how the system works here."
Exerting her newfound independence, she fired her driver and now enjoys "the thrill and frustration of driving through town" on her own.
All the Americans interviewed said that despite the difficulties, they wouldn't give up the experience of living in India.
They praise the opportunity to work at interesting jobs and immerse themselves in another culture. India's economy is projected to double from its current $800 billion gross domestic product to more than $1.6 trillion in the next 10 years. Mr. Simonsen said he expects more Americans to go east.
"A lot of Indians now in Silicon Valley are coming home, and they're taking some of their Western co-workers back with them," he said.
"There's an excitement here that we haven't seen since the dot-com boom," he added. "I would recommend it for everyone."
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