.....by the way, I dont consider myself to be in the frying pan right now, I am quite comfortable; and I do not consider Canada to be a Fire! Do you really think it is a fire, and why?? I feel I am making a move to improve my living, the right of all human beings, dont you think? If it does not work out, well then, Desi-land is always there to go back to.

Hello Gautam,

First I confirm your findings about the migrants from your area and the situations that they are in. I do see that you are not in such a dilemma, either you got out of it or your situation is different.

Under those conditions, moving to any location is your choice. Reading through your second comment, the taxation is brought up as a secondary item to consider. Now if taxation becomes a concern if you move in, then, when you are getting out of a country that is void of taxes, to a certain extent, and your next move is going to be an entry into Canada, where the taxation are the highest, might pose hardships when it enters the picture. Hence,

Jumping from the frying pan into the fire is an analogy, that I used as a vehement statement to tell you that "If you think that life is rosy here, you are mistaken". Besides, these are two extremities and would you have preferred if I had said "A Leap of Blind Faith"?

Every walk of life has its good points and you should appreciate them. If you are looking for Utopia, then, you may have moved out of one location, India, and seeking a lot better place under the sun. You are currently feeling that you are half way between, in UAE and your goal. Now, if you think that Canada is the ultimate location that you want to be at, then, you are free to come down here and get the first hand feeling and experience.

Don't forget, there is seniority for people who have been here ahead of you. You start at the bottom of the totem pole. In short you ought to know that the good items are getting taken every day and what you might be picking could be from the bottom of the pork barrel.

Lots need to be analyzed and on a few occasions we do compromise if we do not do it properly. I see you are doing it here. Having said that, I don't want you to take the low road. I want you to aim high and look to a very nice and high paying job. Get a good standing in your profession and also in our society.

Canadian Desi, is a very good web site. It provides directions and simple solutions to one and all seeking help. It is like finding a miracle solution for very small problems, the very next moment, right out of nowhere!! There are very highly skilled people here and we even had Professional Immigration Lawyers, who creep in from time to time, waiting on the side lines for others to provide the simple and most easy solutions. How far they are involved into this website has not been explored. For us it gives immense pleasure providing directions and exchanging information between ourselves and a few who come here to get their daily inspiration, just visiting this web site.

Don't misunderstand when I say that nothing concrete has come out of our discussions on financial matters. There have been excellent discussions and some of us have utilized them to our advantage. A few that have moved out, I see, are faring better in the field of finance and the rest are dormant, due to the nature of their occupation and the demand on their time. It is just my observations for what it is worth. You are free to treat it any way you want.

You are enjoying exploring the Canadian Desi website and getting the needed information and I am sure there are enough directives there, only if you look at the right threads and you might find some even in this one if you look deep enough. They are elusive and hence escape our wandering eyes.

Good luck with your search and hope you find what you are seeking.

Freddie.

I am confused about the gentleman's paradigm about India's corruption and so forth. How does this corruption interrupt you from having a good life? Others from India keep telling me that if one could have two crores in deposits/secure investments in India, they could afford luxurious lifestyle. What does it matter if the place has corrupt officials? Are they going to collect a fees from the neighborhood wealthy folks? With that much money you are effectively retiring so your need to deal with the system on daily basis would be expected to be minimal. Am I right? However, your two crores (rupees equivalent) is not much in Canada and certainly not enough to retire by any means, unless you only expect to live a few years into the future. If two crores is great wealth, anything in excess of one million $ will put you even further ahead of the crowd in India. Now if you can only maintain humbleness in daily life and not make great ripples about how you are sitting on a mountain of cash, you should be able to not attract violent element into your life. Can somebody with real knowledge about India say anything about these matters? specifically, if one is ready to retire to India with a million US$ or thereabout, is it not possible to find a nice location to live in peace and enjoy great cuisine, culture and some "quite time in India"?

Alas! There we go again - Canada vs. India.

Hello global indian;

How do you plan to buy hygeinic conditions with 2 crore rupees? The minute you land in Desiland, you are literally engulfed by filth. How do you deal with corrupt officials if you have property and other disputes? How would you feel if you were dragged through the offices through no fault of your own? Erroneous and infalted utility bills? Filthy unhygeinic food? You plan to correct all that with your 2 crores? Then, you want to hide somewhere with your 2 crore because otherwise it would be ostentatious living, right? To top all that, I can assure you, 2 croes is nothing even in desiland, and with the rampant inflation and poverty, your 2 crores will soon be gone with the wind.

At any rate, to each his own. This topic was really not about how to retire to India with 2crore rupees; my question really was how much cash does one require to lead a retired/semi-retired life in Canada; aiming for an income, after tax, of about CAD50000/ yearly. The only relevant replies I have had so far are from Iceberg, who thinks one requires CAD2 to 2.5 million, and suba who feels one can get along with a lot less like 1 million, and he even suggested investing in houses in Alberta, and both these gentlemen's replies are greatly appreciated. I do apologize if I have ruffled somebody's feathers, but the question really was to satisfy my own curiosity. It seems that not many in Canadiandesi have any further views on this subject. It maybe that the people who have really made it there are to busy to frequent this site. As ol' blue eyes said, "......I wanna be a part of it..." Canada!

My knowledge of India is nearly nill... So I was curious to hear from folks who have real knowledge of that society as it stands today. I am beside myself with this OVERWHELMING FILTH in India. But I am not going to argue since I have no real knowledge. Next year I am planning on taking a month's vacation to India to check out the surface of Indian culture and reality for myself. As far as Canada is concerned, with conservative investments, mostly GICs and some direct investment through TD waterhouse (I use them), one could make about 60 grand a year from 1.5-2 million CAN$. I am making right now 4.1% APY from GICs purchased a few months ago, but the recent rate cuts brought the GIC rates (if purchased now) to about 3%. If you wait for opportune times and lock away large sums in perennial GICs, you could earn between 5 and 7% APY. During last three years, I came away with slightly over 7% APY in the US by investing through float-CDs. However, the best rates now in the US are at 4.1%. So you have 4100 US$ per 100 grand, at least 15% goes toward US taxes and more toward Canadian taxes. On a million, you will have about 25 grand left after taxes. If you invest in Canada, the rates are not as good for the US$ but are ok on CAN$. Since these rates keep fluctuating, you can't have clear prediction year after year. Till the end of this month, SBI in Toronto is offering 4% on CAN$ GICs. You can route money into mutual funds and wherever else. The best yield from TD waterhouse that I enjoyed was 6.5%. When my agent brags about doing well, I show him my float-CD yields from the US to shut him up. However, many float-rate CDs have changed conditions in recent times (no bank likes paying out high rates, afterall). The search for rates from fully secure investments is an ongoing saga for me. Recognize that float-CD type investments, or for that matter TD waterhouse types, won't touch funds less than 100 grand. I doubt that anyone can give you surefire answer to your query since the investment atmosphere is fluidy and depends on your wisdom when selecting the types and lengths of time ( I wish I elected 7-year term instead of 3 for my float-deposits, which would have kept me above 7% yield even now... albeit at the expense of banks performance).

I am still interested to hear about India... If anybody has real-life experience, it would be nice. It is true inflation is running there between 7-8%. However, the yields also appear to be far higher than here (circa 12-15%). I am seriously thinking about moving one crore to India and experiment... but it will have to wait till I visit the country and see things for myself.

if I may add my 2 cents to it
$50000/year after taxes is indeed enough to lead a moderately comfortable life, a bit challaneging in Toronto but do-able.
However the keyword here is moderately comfortable. If you have any teenaged kids or dependents, it may become a tight fit.
You also need to factor in some initial heavy expenses such as buying a car, house, home furnishing etc.
One odd thing that has happened for first time in a decade is a sudden rise in grocery prices here, something that was unthinkable a few months ago.
India has very high inflation, more like 10-11% and pricing are still rising fast because of enormous wealth that has descended rapidly.
However they are entering a very uncertain period and I expect things to become much worse before they improve in 2-3 years.