The “Happiness Trap”: Pre-Departure Optimism vs. Post-Arrival Dissonance in Indian Overseas Students

Publication Details

Publication Date

10/11/2026

Volume / Issue

Vol 1, Issue 6 (2026)

Article No.

039

Journal

British Journal of Contemporary Research

DOI

https://doi.org/10.67693/BJCR-R8TQFK4H

Received

20 Oct 2026

Views

22

Downloads

9

Abstract

The rapid expansion of international student mobility from India has transformed overseas education from a predominantly academic decision into a complex project involving career mobility, migration aspirations, family investment, social status and expectations of a better life. For many prospective Indian students, the period before departure is characterised by optimism concerning employment, income, independence, international exposure and long-term settlement. These expectations are shaped not only by students themselves but also by families, peers, social media, education agents and broader cultural narratives surrounding life abroad. However, the realities encountered after arrival may differ considerably from these imagined futures. This qualitative study examines the “Happiness Trap” as a framework for understanding the discrepancy between pre-departure optimism and post-arrival lived experience among Indian international students. Building particularly on Udayanga’s (2024) work on Indian student immigrants in the United Kingdom, the study investigates how migration aspirations are constructed, how expectation–reality discrepancies emerge after migration, and how financial pressure, employment mismatch, cultural adjustment, immigration bureaucracy, social isolation and family expectations influence subjective well-being. The study is grounded in an interpretivist paradigm and draws theoretically on Durayappah’s 3P Model of Subjective Well-Being, the aspirations–capabilities approach to migration, Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital, and research on affective forecasting and expectation–experience discrepancies. Purposive maximum-variation sampling is proposed for recruiting Indian international students with substantial post-arrival experience. Focus group discussions followed by semi-structured in-depth interviews will explore participants’ reconstructed pre-departure expectations and compare them with their post-arrival experiences. Data will be analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The study aims to contribute to international student migration research by examining overseas education not simply as geographical or educational mobility, but as a temporal psychological process in which imagined future happiness is compared continuously with present sacrifice and past alternatives. Particular attention is given to whether students remain committed to migration because future happiness is repeatedly deferred despite dissatisfaction in the present—a process conceptualised here as the “Happiness Trap.”

License

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . Free to read, share, and adapt with attribution.