Almost every Goan I knew in my years in the USA, did well for himself and his family. As immigrants, we worked hard and despite being foreigners and having to compete with the locals, worked our way up the ladder and our children did well in school and did well in their careers. I am sure there are exceptions to the rule.
I remember meeting a Goan waiter at at Indian restaurant in Maryland, USA. He told me that he worked long hours, slept in shifts with others in a dingy apartment room. From his story, even though he did not reveal this to me, I guessed that he must have been an illegal immigrant. He even showed me his Identity card as a Panch from Bambolim. I left the Maryland area soon after our encounter, or else I would have checked on him. I believe that Indian restaurants in the USA take advantage and exploit such "illegals" paying them "under the table" below legal hourly rates. This is another twist to the sweat shops of yore. Very sad. Some youth work on Cruise ships as cabin boys, others work as chefs and food and beverage workers or bartenders. I am sure that those with the appropriate training as chefs, and other catering trades must do quite well. But cabin boys who are at the low end, work at back breaking jobs with barely any time off or rest. If one is injured or gets sick, they are fired promptly. Some hide their injury out of fear and continue to work. I met one such youngster on a cruise, and all he dreamt of doing was jumping ship in the USA and remaining there. I felt sorry for him. Seeing people returning to Goa from abroad, flaunting their wealth, it is no wonder that every Goan youth dreams about going abroad. I have counselled many who have come to me for advice. Some had only a 7th or 8th Standard education. Their only question to me was, what is the air fare to get there. Their expectation probably was that somehow there are riches out there for the plucking. I have encouraged those with the education or skills to get ahead and had to discourage those dreamers who had nothing to offer. India has progressed a great deal over the last decade. I feel certain that our youngsters have a lot more opportunities here in India than our parents did in the old days. To emigrate or not ? It depends on what you have to offer to a prospective employer. With the Industrialized West currently in such an economic comundrum, I would think deeply before taking the plunge.