Thinking to leave Bangalore and go back to my hometown - Tier 3 city
Shall earn half money, work from home, be near family, see my parents getting old and take care of them. And not subscribe to this Bangalore hustle anymore. I am done with this!
BubblyPotato
Done with Tier1 cities, moving to tier 2 town with family - A rant
Been in Bangalore for 6+ years and love everything the city has given me. This city ( more like people here) taught me what software engineering and product sense is, how to entrepreneurs function, whats a 100X coder like. Made many memories, weekend trips to nearby places were so nice. Dated, moved in and then married my girlfriend, adopted a dog. So Bangalore has given me a lot. But in hindsight it takes a way a lot also -
- Everybody is in constant work mode, even in parties its just about who is doing what
- Everybody is in loot mode here - i have seen locals pay less for veggies/fruits in front of me, then the veggies apparently have lead in them
- Rents/builders/brokers/roads - we all know whats up with them
Though it was nice initially, now i feel like even after earning so much ( ctc > 1cr) if i just spend it all here ( monthly expenses ~2lacs same is with all my married friends), what is the point even.
Hence making a move to slow life now, where you get a house with garden for 25k and fresh veggies and you can actually develop some relationship with community.
This urge to always outperform in career is not really needed, we all eventually work towards savings and hence if i earn less but spend even lesser, its more or less the same thing for me.
But i dont want to live in a matchbox, travel 1 hour to meet a friend, eat a roti for 150bucks and be in constant anxiety about climbing the ladder.
All i want is to focus on health, and sit in a garden in some sunshine with my wife and my dog and enjoy a cup of tea.
So yes, I AM DONE. Moving to a tier 2 ( more like tier 2.5 town )
Happy to answer any questions if anybody has any.
10mo ago
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ZoomyMuffin
Stealth10mo
So are you fed up with Bangalore or just the career rat race?
Both are different.
Also, costs can be low in Bangalore, spending 2L/mo in married life isn't a feature of the city, it's the feature of your circle.
Not all high earners have to be HENRYs
ZoomyMuffin
Stealth10mo
Why do high earners like yourself feel that they are forced to rent and spend at 2L?
BubblyPotato
Stealth10mo
Both are actually connected, let me explain how-
To climb the career ladder or be in rat race, i need to be in Bangalore ( or Hyderabad/chennai/Mumbai)
I am optimising for quality time with my family First let me list two top things i want -
- space where my family can live peacefully, a garden, big rooms , atleast a 3bhk where my parents can come and live anytime) costs > 60k easily in Bangalore, garden to bhool hi jao
- fresh food, good veggies, some social connections.
On the spendings - let me break it down
Rent - 60k ( need atleast a 3bhk in good society for wellbeing of my family, we go for long walks to be healthy, parents/relatives need a place if they come to visit us )
Maid/cook - 15-20k
Emi on car - 25k ( one more year)
Random bills - 10k ( internet etc)
So thats fixed expenditure of >1lac each month
Now factor in groceries etc and it reaches 1.5 lacs
Need to travel to north every other month ( 40k for tickets/cabs etc)
It might seem like we are spending too much but this is not even including vacation/gadgets/random expenses.
One might argue for a 3bhk or maid/cook but thats the lifestyle i need to save my time and give comfort to family. And there is really not a lot of scope to bring this down as you can see. Nowhere we are spending on branded clothes/expensive food. We are simple dal chawal and walk in evening kind of folks. But this city ( or any for that matter) has just become too expensive. I have run these numbers by few of my friends and everybody is in same boat.
Regarding career race, one needs to be in Bangalore ( even in remote companies) if you are higher up in some organisation( eg senior/head of product) Since what i am prioritising in life is not aligning with what i am getting, need to step out of both.
Cost comparison in tier 1 and small city
3bhk house with garden (75k - 25k)
Full time maid( 20k - 10k )
Veggies/fruits etc proportionally get cheaper
Travel to north india ( 5-6lacs to 1 lac per year)
ZestyDonut
Stealth10mo
Lucky you.
BubblyPotato
Stealth10mo
Taking the plunge is more like it.
Havent figured out work completely but have figured out what i definitely dont want.
In worst case ( recession, no jobs etc etc)
I can always teach maths/physics/coding to kids in tier 2-3 towns and still generate decent income and respect in society.
I stopped thinking about life in terms of career ladder and more like lifestyle choices a while back.
At core, i am working towards savings. No need to be head of product or something if i can do that as a normal sde2 working remotely in small town.
So lucky that wifey aligns with this and we are moving to life we always wanted.
Dog is really happy , just doesn't know why yet. :)
ZestyDonut
Stealth10mo
I am happy for the dog. Mine waits every 6 months to chill with me for 7 days. I miss him.
Say hi and give him/her a good pat to him from my side 👋
WobblyBiscuit
Student10mo
It would be great if you could tell me your alma Mater @GolDRoger , just curious to know
BubblyPotato
Stealth10mo
Iiit Hyderabad
7-8 years in tech and product now.
Have sufficient social capital now.
I think i have learnt whatever i needed to learn from Bangalore (how to work, how to execute, entrepreneurship). Its time to execute now and hence lowering my costs without lowering my lifestyle. This extends my runway, gives my family even more luxury ( full time servant for 10k in small town ) and helps us work on our dreams ( wife is bootstrapping her business also , so am i )
WobblyBiscuit
Student10mo
I think you got the good partner man! , I am sure most of the times you didn't have to worry for certain areas of life which most of the married man usually
PrancingBoba
Stealth10mo
Bold move, let more and more of us be empowered to make this rad steps in life.
As people like us empty out and move to more and local places, our local communities will also thrive and consequently develop some employment.
More power to your bold move 🙏
BubblyPotato
Stealth10mo
One thing i immediately want to start doing there is helping young graduates get remote tech jobs.
All these youtube bhaiyya didis have made a fuss of really simple things.
This will just be guidance sessions and not a coaching/course of any kind.
I can help anyone draft a roadmap to get a job in 3 months.
There are more ideas on how can we help the local community there ( in terms of guidance/tech/marketing). Lets hope some good comes out of it
PrancingBoba
Stealth10mo
Great... good vibes to you 🙏😊
SillyDonut
TCS10mo
What's your age and will u work 💯 remote?
BubblyPotato
Stealth10mo
Age 31
Quit my job 3 months back.
Currently working on some products, will try to generate some income out of then ( 1 year timelimit) else work remote.
Havent figured out that yet, taking the plunge to move first and then figure out.
Monthly expenses will be half there hence runway extends to more than 2 years.
Have sufficient confidence in myself to make it work in those two years
We have a car, all the stuff required for 3bhk house, and good health insurance policies so no worries around basic things for now
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