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The average college graduate holds $39,400 in student loans, according to Student Loan Hero. Americans owe a staggering $1.48 trillion in student debt, which is $620 billion more than Americans owe in credit card debt. Pursuing higher education in simultaneously getting more expensive and more necessary. Unfortunately, most jobs require a Bachelors and to receive higher paying jobs, a Masters degree is required. In an effort to escape massive student loans, one student came up with the most absurd plan.
Moving To India
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Chad Haag, University of Northern Colorado graduate, relocated to a small village in India after struggling to make ends meet. He graduated in 2011 with $20,000 in student loans. His first post-graduate job was unreliable hours at a factory before going back to school to pursue a master’s degree in comparative literature. Haag tried his hand as teaching as an adjunct professor but he was only assigned one class a semester.
After failing to sustain a certain quality of life Haag worked as a medical courier in Denver, but it only brought in $1,700 per month. He was forced to move in with his mother and rarely go out.
The 29-year-old then relocated to the village of Uchakkada where he lives in a simple concrete house and lives off of $50 per month. Living might be cheap, but adjustments had to be made. Many toilets are holes in the ground and there’s a risk of spoiled goat meat landing you in the ER, which happened to Haag.
What Happens To The Loans?
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Haag’s student loans haven’t gone away even though he has left the country. He has defaulted on his student loans, which means he hasn’t made a payment in over nine months. This might not be a pressing issue in India but if he ever has to return to America the loans will be waiting for him.
In an interview with CNBC, Haag said, “I’ve put America behind me. If you’re not making a living wage, $20,000 in debt is devastating. I couldn’t make the math work in America.”
In 2018 he married an Indian citizen and now has a five-year spousal visa. He plans to renew it when the time comes.
