Tech professional Pavan Melukote, 36, lived in Bangalore, India, for most of his life before moving to Luxembourg in 2024. He came for work and has been enjoying life in the Grand Duchy for the past two years, working as a Senior Product Manager for one of Luxembourg's major retail giants. But following redundancy, Pavan has had to make some tough choices and will be heading back to India this summer.
Having lived and worked in India for my whole life, I landed a job in Luxembourg. I wasn't looking to move out of India at the time, and I was a bit apprehensive about the language requirements of living in a country like Luxembourg. But you don't often get these opportunities in life, where everything changes. I had the chance to say yes to this new experience and I thought it would be a fun ride!
At first, I wanted to learn Luxembourgish and French. I tried to sign up for a course with the INLL and all the spaces had already been taken. But I soon realised that everyone speaks English – friends, colleagues and so on.
I made my first friends through work. To build up my social life, I joined various groups. I've been vegan since 2016, so I joined the Vegan Society Luxembourg where I became involved on the committee and started helping organise events. I also made friends through a philosophy club.
In my thirties, I know who I am a lot more clearly: my values, my passions. So in Luxembourg, every one of my friends is someone that I have chosen to be friends with, which gives me a great sense of belonging.
That's something I never had in Bangalore – it's difficult when you are a liberal atheist growing up in a religious family, in a conservative country.
It was fairly easy because my company offered a relocation package which included help with visas, accommodation, utilities and so on. When I was looking for an apartment, I was rejected on one occasion because I was a single person with a single income. But it didn't take me too long to find somewhere fully furnished that was walkable to my office – which was perfect as I wasn’t sure how long I would be staying.
In my experience, yes. I have met many people who come from very interesting and different backgrounds and something they all have in common is that they're curious and open minded. People in Luxembourg are welcoming, they embrace anyone and everyone. There is a huge amount of diversity here – not just in visible traits like ethnicity or language but also in people's thoughts and philosophies.
I have learnt to say yes to pretty much everything. I've enjoyed the traditional Luxembourgish festivals such as the Christmas Markets, Buergbrennen, and National Day; the café culture in the city and beyond; trekking and hiking, musical events that are put on across the country. I even travelled to Barcelona with a friend who introduced me to techno!
I've had one or two experiences which were not so positive. Last year, the outside of my ground floor flat was vandalised.
But as it happened, the police were very helpful, they fixed my broken window and it showed me that the justice system works pretty well and the police are trustworthy. Overall the crime rates are really low and it's a safe country to live in.
I wasn't expecting to be made redundant so it came as a surprise to me. I had experienced a period of burnout and in hindsight I don't think the job was the right fit for me. It's just unfortunate that I couldn't find another position elsewhere. I sent off over 100 CVs and had just one offer for an interview. So I realised that I would have to rethink my future.
A friend and I had an idea a while back for a talent management startup company. So we came to the conclusion that now is the right time. The next question was, where does it make sense to base ourselves? My co-founder lives in Bangalore; the government incentives in India for starting a tech company are better than in Luxembourg; we would be able to hire staff more easily. There are many advantages.
Generally, I'm feeling positive about the future. At the same time, I'm sad to leave a place where I've built such a great life. I realised recently that as I process my departure from Luxembourg; deregistering myself at the Bierger-Center; ending my car lease; saying goodbye to friends, that the emotion I've been experiencing is grief. But as one of my friends said to me, grief is the price you pay for losing something you love.
In my mind, I'm not leaving for good. Who knows, maybe one day I'll open an office in Luxembourg and relocate!
Stay curious, try new things. Don't stick to what you are comfortable and familiar with.
My friends call Luxembourg a golden cage – that once you are used to how things work here, nowhere else ever measures up. That’s why so many people move here for a couple of years but end up staying for 20 or 30 years!
Luxembourg is a very welcoming place and has a lot to offer. It is a place where you can build the kind of life that you want, based on your values and your choices, whoever you are.
