Rohit C., founder of Chatzy.ai, wrote that while Gurgaon and Bengaluru offer exceptional career opportunities, neither provides the quality of life needed for long-term living. “Lately, I have been trying to find which city to settle down in. But nothing in India is fitting the bill. Not because of a lack of opportunities. But because of the poor quality of life,” he wrote.
According to him, while Guragon offers strong jobs, it comes with “impossible air quality”. Bengaluru, meanwhile, has a great tech ecosystem, but continues to struggle with poor infrastructure and concerns around inclusivity. “From a career standpoint, these two should have been easy choices. But long-term life planning requires more than just jobs,” Rohit wrote.
The founder further said to make a rational decision, he has begun scoring cities across factors like safety, healthcare, education, infrastructure, weather, cost of living and discrimination. “This, I believe, is a critical exercise that needs to be done. Because once you know where you want to be, you can plan and work towards it,” he wrote.
Rohit also attached a Reddit post he found “totally relatable”. In the post, the Redditor, a 27-year-old FAANG engineer, said that he once opposed moving abroad but now feels “basic dignity of life” is lacking in Delhi. The user cited failing infrastructure, poor policing, monsoon flooding, bureaucratic hurdles and fear of frivolous legal harassment as reasons for deciding to leave India. “I never thought a day would come when I would fall out of love with this beautiful country, but I am done,” the post read.
In the comments section of the LinkedIn post, several users agreed with Rohit’s take.
“The irony is that India now produces global-grade opportunities but not yet global-grade livability. If cities want to keep top talent, the next decade has to be about quality of life, not just jobs. Until then, evaluating cities the way we evaluate products is the only rational move,” one user wrote.
“Such an honest and necessary reflection, Rohit C.. We talk a lot about ‘career growth’ in India, but very little about ‘life growth.’ Your point nails the real problem, opportunity is rising, but quality of living hasn’t kept pace. A structured approach like this is actually the only way to make long-term decisions consciously instead of emotionally,” commented another.
“Exceptionally true! While our business was small we didn’t notice much of what was wrong around us. Now, every official wants to get a bribe by leveraging their power and denting facts to fine us. Sad state of economy,” said a third user.