“You live like a King": Google techie claims Rs 45 LPA Bengaluru salary feels richer than Rs 1.3 crore in London

An engineer, Vaibhav Agarwal, working at Google, has shared that a huge pay raise on paper might translate into a very different reality in London once you factor in the cost of living, lifestyle and day-to-day comforts. 

In a LinkedIn post, Agarwal compared a Rs 45 LPA salary in Bengaluru with a £108,000 salary in London.

At first glance, a London salary of £108,000 seems irresistible as it converts to roughly Rs 1.15 crore, more than double the Bengaluru pay.

“It sounds like you are earning 2.5x more than the Bengaluru engineer. But let’s look at the lifestyle," Agarwal said.

Next, the techie compared the lifestyle costs in the two cities.

Lifestyle In Bengaluru

A Rs 45 LPA salary in Bengaluru translates to roughly Rs 2.7 lakh per month after taxes. Here’s what the lifestyle would look like, according to the Google engineer:

Housing: A luxury 2BHK in a gated community costs around Rs 50,000/month.

Lifestyle: With a cook (Rs 5k), maid (Rs 3k), Uber rides for commuting, and groceries via Blinkit, most day-to-day chores are outsourced.

Status: Top 1 per cent of earners in India. You live like a king, outsourcing every chore for comfort.

In Bengaluru, even an engineer at this level enjoys luxury and ease, with domestic help and modern conveniences making life smoother and less time-consuming.

London Lifestyle

When you compare this to a £108,000 salary in London, it nets about £6,100 (Rs 7.41 lakh) per month after income tax and National Insurance.

The lifestyle trade-offs, the Google techie says, are noticeable:

Housing: A decent 1BHK outside central London (Zone 2) costs roughly £2,200/month (about Rs 2.4 lakh).

Lifestyle: Public transport is the norm, cooking your own meals, cleaning your own toilet and doing your own dishes is expected. 

Domestic help is rare and only affordable for the ultra-rich.

Status: You live comfortably but without the luxury that Rs 45 LPA affords in India.

While London offers global exposure, cleaner air, and a stronger currency, the day-to-day living feels far less luxurious than in Bengaluru.

Agarwal said, “If you want luxury and comfort, choose Bengaluru. If you want global exposure, clean air, and stronger currency, choose London."

“Don’t convert pounds to rupees. Convert lifestyle to lifestyle," he ended the post.

Netizens respond

The post went viral, receiving a mixed response.

A user commented, “Thanks for this bro. The current generation has overpriced itself into frustration."

Another said, “People more often with high income don’t go just because of salary , they go for multicultural exposure, learning, get confidence, learning, quality of life,good education and health system, clean air, water ,low crime, more human values, cleaning our own room ,cooking our food this is our personal choice."

A third user wrote, “Bhai lives in an alternate reality."

Someone said, “The real comparison isn’t India vs UK salary, its convenience vs independence. India lets you buy time through help, comfort, and social density, while the West makes you earn time by doing everything yourself but gives you stronger systems, fairness, and long-term mobility. One ecosystem optimizes for outsourcing life, the other for self-reliance and structure. Neither is better — they reward different personalities. Stop converting payslips; start converting day-to-day life."

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