When I was in college, I had all these romanticized, starry eyed dreams about living in big Indian cities, esp Bangalore. Studied in Bombay, moved to Bangalore to chase my founder dreams.
Four and a half years later (1.5 in Bombay, 3 in Bangalore), I'm genuinely asking: what's the point?
Everything is a hassle. Everything.
Finding walking space on roads. Breathing clean air. Escaping noise pollution. Getting drinkable water. Meeting friends who live an hour away in traffic.
The only way to live a "semi-decent" life is to lock yourself in a private gated society with its own gym, walking paths, supermarkets, so you never have to step outside into the actual city.
And I'm sitting here thinking: I worked my ass off for this? I'm supposedly in the top 1% by income in India, and this is what I get? It feels like India is only designed for the 0.001% who can afford their own bungalows with private gyms, water filtration systems, the whole nine yards. Everyone else is just... optimizing for the least shitty version of urban existence.
Is this what I dreamt about when I was planning my future?
Or is it just wiser to leave?