After 8 Years In India, Canadian Man Shares Why He Never Went Back
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Caleb Friesen shared a video of himself riding a bike and opened up on his reason for moving to India.
Caleb Friesen, the Canadian man who once went viral for slamming his own country's immigration system as a 'scam," is making headlines again — this time for opening up about his life in Bengaluru, India.
In a new video shared on Instagram, Caleb answered a question he says he's asked often: 'Why would a Canadian choose to live in India when so many Indians want to move abroad?"
His answer? 'Passive growth."
Caleb, who has now called India home for eight years, said that the personal and professional growth he's experienced here is what keeps him rooted.
'After calling India home for 8 years, many people still can't wrap their heads around why I emigrated from Canada. Hopefully, this video sheds some light on one of the many reasons I chose to live here," he wrote in the caption.
In the video, Caleb can be seen riding a bike on the Indian roads and capturing the surroundings as he goes on to explain his perspective on moving to a different country. Mentioning that 'growth is unavoidable" in India, Caleb said, 'It's not the kind of growth that you chase with effort or strategy. I call this passive growth. It's a growth that happens just by changing your environment." Caleb shared that he wanted to become tougher, more capable, and more resilient in his early 20s and wanted to be in a place where growth would be unavoidable.
'So for me, that place was India," he continued. Further in the video, Caleb spoke about the meaning of passive growth for him, meaning not to stay dependent or to have everything taken care of. He also revealed how becoming a parent came as a passive growth for him with a 19-month-old son and another on the way.
'Find yourself an environment that can shape you and help in your growing journey. And that's why I moved to India. I knew if I moved to India, the growth would accelerate," he concluded. Many internet users resonated with Caleb's views, with praises dropping in his comment section. One wrote, 'That's a new dimension to define passive growth," while another added, 'This is a beautiful insight for early 20-somethings across the globe."
'Now that's a rare mindset there, and somewhat even if a lot of people can think of it, actually doing it is another level of courage," another comment read.
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A post shared by Caleb Friesen (@caleb_friesen)
Earlier in May, Caleb Friesen shared another video to slam Canada's immigration system, urging Indians to stop moving to the country. What he believes is an exploitative immigration system, Caleb said that life in Canada will drain one's life savings and offer very little in return.
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June 17, 2025, 18:20 IST
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