While attending college at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Suras Nayak knew he wanted to leave his hometown of Hyderabad, India, and travel the world.
“When I was growing up, I always had this idea somewhere behind my head that I always wanted to move abroad, but I was a little bit influenced by the Western media. I watch a lot of Hollywood movies … so I was always influenced and liked the idea of moving to a different country, living there, experiencing how things are like there,” he tells CNBC Make It.
Nayak gained his first experience living abroad when he participated in an exchange program that sent him to China for 45 days as a teenager. And almost a decade later, Nayak got a chance to live abroad when he moved to Dublin, Ireland, in March 2025 to work as a software development engineer at Amazon, where his compensation comes to a projected 122,428 euros (US $144,000) a year.
Suras Nayak knew he wanted to move away from his hometown of Hyderabad, India, in college. In 2025, he moved to Dublin, Ireland.
Sam Jones | CNBC Make It
Growing up, Nayak’s dad was also a software engineer. He introduced Nayak to the field and helped him understand coding and programming, Nayak says.
Nayak landed a six-month internship at Amazon during his senior year of college and joined the company full time upon graduating in 2020, where he received compensation of around 6.8 million Indian rupees (US $75,000) a year. He was working out of Amazon’s Bengaluru office, which is about an hour-long flight south from his hometown.
After a year at Amazon, Nayak learned that if he completed at least two years at the company and reached a certain level on his software engineer track, he could interview for opportunities in another country. He immediately started looking for other positions at Amazon, eventually landing in Dublin.
Moving to Dublin
Nayak looked for open positions in Amazon offices in the U.K., Germany and Ireland, but narrowed it down to the latter because he knew the tech sector was growing there, he says. Google, Meta, Apple and Microsoft all have headquarters in Ireland, according to IT Brew.
“I was so happy when I came to know that I got this opportunity,” Nayak says about landing the position in Dublin. “I immediately went to my parents and I told them and it was such a nice moment. They were all so happy for me, especially my dad, because my dad always supports me in all of this stuff.”
Suras Nayak was able to move from India to Ireland in 2025 with help from Amazon, his employer.
Sam Jones | CNBC Make It
It took about six to eight weeks for Nayak to secure a visa to live and work in Ireland, with Amazon covering all costs, he says.
When Nayak arrived in Ireland, Amazon provided him with temporary housing and hired an agency to help him find a house. The company even helped him ship his possessions from India to Ireland.
“I did a lot of exploring during my first month,” he says. “I was very excited and I was very happy. As I was exploring, I realized that I made the right decision to move here.”
‘I feel quite settled here’
The biggest thing Nayak says he had to adjust to after moving was the weather; he was used to India’s sunny days, long summers and short winters. He also had to get used to Dublin’s cost of living. Compared with Hyderabad, Dublin is very expensive, especially for rent and groceries, Nayak says.
“When I was in India, I did not think about budgeting a lot because I always used to spend less there,” he says. Now, he says he has to set a budget for himself.
Nayak splits a three-bedroom house with two fellow Amazon employees. The total rent is 4,000 euros a month (US $4,725) and Nayak pays 1,450 euros (US $1,713), according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. Here’s a look at the rest of his estimated share of monthly expenses. All amounts have been rounded.
- GitHub Copilot: 9 euros (US $11)
- Revolut Premium Plan: 9 euros (US $11)
- Wi-Fi: 15 euros (US $18)
- Phone bill: 15 euros (US $18)
- OpenAI for personal use: 24 euros (US $28)
- Streaming services, including Netflix and Disney+: 25 euros (US $30)
- Transportation via public buses: 30 euros (US $35)
- Electricity and gas: 50 euros (US $59)
- Shopping for clothes and the latest technology: 100 to 150 euros (US $118 to $177)
- Groceries: 150 to 200 euros (US $177 to $236)
- Dining out: 400 to 500 euros (US $472 to $591)
“One thing that I spend more on here is eating out, which I used to not do often back in India,” Nayak says. “I used to either eat at home or eat at the office.”
Suras Nayak says he spends more living in Dublin, Ireland, than he did in his hometown in India. “One thing that I spend more on here is eating out,” he says.
Sam Jones | CNBC Make It
When he first moved to Ireland, Nayak says he found it hard to connect with people, since in India he was so used to having friends everywhere.
“I never had to actively go out and look for people or connections, but I realized that if you can push yourself and if you go out, you can make good friends. It’s just about making the effort,” he says.
Nayak says he used an app called Meetup to attend various events, which helped him meet people from all over the world.
“The people in Dublin are really friendly. I always get good vibes from people here. I feel quite settled here,” he says. “I have made some good friends and I am really liking my stay here, my time here and even working here.”
Looking ahead
In 2023, Nayak bought a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment in Hyderabad as an investment property. The property is worth about 16 million Indian rupees (US $180,000) and he says he plans to eventually rent it out.
“I wanted to make a big investment. Real estate made the most sense to me because in India, real estate is always a booming and growing business,” he says.
However, Nayak doesn’t plan to move back to India for at least another 10 to 15 years, when he feels he has enough money in the bank. He says he would feel comfortable with a net worth of 400,000 to 500,000 euros, but his long-term goal is to reach 1 million euros (US $1.17 million) before moving back.
Suras Nayak plans to stay in Ireland long-term.
Sam Jones | CNBC Make It
For now, he plans to stay in Ireland foreseeable future, he says. He enjoys being able to go to a park and just sit and read a book or enjoy the scenery. He also loves how easy it is to travel around.
“My quality of life has improved. Now that I am in Ireland, I have gotten used to certain ways of life that I am really enjoying, which I would not have been able to get if I were back in India,” he says.
Over the past year, Nayak says he has been able to travel just like he dreamed of in college, including taking road trips around Ireland and visiting the U.K. with his parents last year.
“I have always been a little bit of a travel enthusiast, and being in Ireland, I am just exploring all of it whenever I can,” he says.
Conversions were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 euro to $1.18 USD and 1 Indian rupee to $0.01 USD on March 2, 2026. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
Want to improve your communication, confidence and success at work? Take CNBC’s new online course, Master Your Body Language To Boost Your Influence.
Source: CNBC