A 30-year-old professional has sparked a discussion on Reddit after asking whether a ₹8.5 lakh salary hike is enough to justify giving up a work-from-home job and relocating to Bengaluru.
In a post titled “35 LPA fixed in Bangalore (Product Company) vs 26.5 LPA fixed Work From Home. What would you choose?”, the Redditor said that he is currently working from home with a fixed annual salary of ₹26.5 lakh. He shared that he recently received an offer from a reputed product-based company in Bengaluru with a fixed salary of ₹35 LPA.
“My current employer might match or increase my salary if I put in my resignation, but I already accepted a counteroffer about 1.5 years ago, and I don’t want to stay again just because of another hike,” he wrote.
The user added that he has no dependents but saves only around ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 each month after expenses. He also clarified that this figure excludes his monthly investments of ₹40,000. He also has EMIs of around ₹1.2 lakh per month, besides spending on fuel, vehicle maintenance, travel and other regular expenses.
The OP said that while the Bengaluru role offers better learning opportunities and long-term career growth, he was unsure whether the ₹8.5 lakh increase would offset the higher cost of living.
“Considering Bangalore’s rent, food, commute, and overall cost of living, would you take the product-company offer or stay in the current WFH job if the salary difference remains around this range?” he asked, adding that he wanted to hear from people had made similar switch.
(Also Read: Man shares why he quit his corporate job after 18 years: ‘Best decision I have made’)
What did social media say?
The post sparked mixed reactions from social media users.
One user wrote, “Let your manager know about this offer. Best case you get pushed to 35lpa with wfh, worst case you get pushed to 35lpa working from banglore office.”
“Wfh. Save money at home. No need to get stuck in Bangalore traffic,” suggested another.
“If you account for tax, then the difference is only ~5.8L. If you live frugally, you can break even, else financially you’re better off with the WFH job. Idk about you, but I would personally prefer WFH to be with family. But then it’s also true that you wouldn’t get to network and grow as much,” wrote a third user.
“Financially you won’t gain much to be clear. But I would choose WFO over WFH any day. WFH is for folks who have small children or sick parents to look after. Bangalore is an awesome place for software developers. You would learn so much just by being surrounded physically by people smarter than yourself. I would take the opportunity any day,” said another.
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)
