About moving back!

2026-03-13

After 4 years of living in Europe, I'm excited to have moved back to Bangalore (Bengaluru), my hometown. Beyond getting a fancy new airport terminal, the city has changed significantly. For one, my current role in research at AMD did not exist when I left. Nor did the amazing new art and photography gallery. In general, I'm very excited about moving back. I list some of the things I like/don't like about Bengaluru, along with some things I miss from Europe.

Bad parts first. I miss the predictability of my daily commute. I miss croissants, pain au chocolat, and Marie Morin's mousse au chocolat. I miss seeing snowy peaks in the distance on a clear day and the easy accessibility of beautiful Swiss scenery. As brutal as it was to live through European winters, I miss snow drifting with the wind and landing on my jacket. And the crushing sound of thick snow moving beneath my heavy boots.

These days, I enjoy eating authentic dosa every other day and speaking my mother tongue, Kannada. Recently, a Tamilian (from a neighboring state) who grew up in Bangalore (and speaks Kannada) got into my car and thanked me in Hindi (a distant language) for offering him a lift to his workplace. I digress. I enjoy driving all around the city, revisiting all my favorite eateries, finding new ones, trying bougie restaurants, and most importantly, spending time with family and old friends.

My new work is meaningful and interesting, and it allows me to make a real impact on products at AMD. I'm excited about switching domains, learning a lot of new things (more to come on this), and gaining expertise in the new field. I moved from a field that is increasingly dependent on AI to make progress (formal methods, testing) to a field that AI companies rely on to make progress (high-performance systems, computer architecture). It is a big shift, and I'm happy to have made some progress in solving hard problems.

After years of low work-life balance, pushing hard, and grinding, I'm excited to move to a life with clear boundaries. I'm back to hitting the gym regularly, catching up on my reading, gaming, writing a blog, and following my passion for history.

Looking forward to what lies ahead!

#personal