A candid LinkedIn post by co-founder, CBO of Blink Digital- Rikki Agarwal struck a chord online after he revealed why he moved out of Mumbai – not for tax breaks or a dramatic career shift, but simply to “live better”.
Agarwal, who co-founded several startups and spent his entire adult life in Mumbai, wrote that he reached a turning point in his 40s. The city that once built his career, he says, no longer supports the quality of life he wanted.
“Grow up in Sikkim. Small town. Moved to Mumbai for engineering. City gave me everything – career, company, my adult life,” he wrote. But despite the professional ecosystem India offers, he conceded, “India has everything I need to build a business. Nothing I need to live well.”
He has now moved to Bangkok – a decision he says was five years in the making.
What has changed for him?
Although his routine remains the same – “Gym. Office. Home.” — the quality of everyday life varies significantly.
It lays out the basics:
- Air I can breathe without an AQI check
- Food that is truly fresh
- Sleep that isn’t interrupted by 2am traffic
- Infrastructure that simply works
- Money that improves my life instead of compensating for broken systems
Agarwal said the decision was not about leaving India, but about choosing a city that “doesn’t punish me for wanting a healthy and simple life”.
His final question: “If you had the chance to leave Mumbai for a better lifestyle, would you?” — sparked a heated discussion on the platform, where many young professionals agree that deteriorating air quality, urban stress and a lack of basic infrastructure are forcing them to rethink life in big cities.
As conversations about work-life balance and the environment gain urgency, Agarwal’s post reflects a growing sentiment among India’s urban workforce: success may be easier to build in a metro, but a fulfilling life may lie elsewhere.
