Growing up in India, where you have atleast 1 relative staying in the US, you listen to a lot of hearsay stories about living in the States. For many like me, who come from a middle class family, where you ration everything and go on a vacation only for weddings, my imagination about living outside India were largely based on such stories and Bollywood movies where it looks fancy and only affordable to upper middle class or rich families and their kids.
Two years ago, I moved to US to pursue my MBA. It’s an expensive degree even from Indian universities let alone abroad. And since, I had then just signed off for a student loan of 40 lakh rupees, an amount equivalent to 7 times my annual salary then, I was set up to save every penny I could.
In the initial months, during my first Winter , everyone was shopping for Jackets and Clothes, and I was wondering how on earth can I afford any of it as per my budget. I finally settled on a $34 black bomber jacket from Forever 21 which I still love to wear and until lately was my only winter jacket.
Today when I can afford a $100 Columbia jacket and $34 on Uber, I still like to take the bus which costs me just $2.50. And my recent favorites are Dollar Tree and Walmart. I realized that no-one told me about these stores, even when I was planning my travel. That you could get all your stationery, decor and organizers for $1.25. That if you just visit the Walmart supercenter, you can buy groceries real cheap and yet all good quality stuff you would feel like using.
In India, you can choose either the quality or the price. You can’t get both. And this contrast by far has been the most interesting one for me more than the air quality, more than Peet’s coffee and certainly more than the fancy outlets.
So if next time someone from my home country asks me about what I like about staying in the US, I will make sure to tell them about Dollar Tree!
