Indian techie says quitting $250K Microsoft US job improved his quality of life: ‘I have a cook and driver now’

An Indian techie has revealed how quitting his high-paying Microsoft job in the US and moving back to India massively improved his quality of life. Ujjwal Chadha said in an X post that he was earning $250,000 in the US as a developer at Microsoft. He gave up that paycheque for a remote work opportunity in India, and got a massive lifestyle upgrade in the process.A former Microsoft employee says his life changed for the better after he left the US for India (Representational image/Unsplash)“Changed life for the better”“I left my job as a Developer at Microsoft in US, and moved to India for a remote job opportunity. It changed my life for better,” wrote Chadha, who worked with Microsoft in the US for a little over three years.(Also read: ‘Oh, you work at Microsoft, so lucky’: Indian techie reveals hard work behind her dream job)Chadha explained his lifestyle upgrade in three points, with the first point being Purchasing Power Parity or PPP. He said that while a quarter-of-a-million may seem like a huge salary, in a city like Seattle, it could be called “comfortable” at best.In India, on the other hand, the same amount converted to INR becomes the kind of money that builds generational wealth. Chadha explained that since he lives in his family home, he doesn’t have to worry about rent either.“In Delhi, it is “Dynasty Wealth” (Family House). My rent dropped 80%. My savings rate hit 90%. I stopped looking at menu prices,” he said.House help and more timeLiving in India also comes with other advantages, said Chadha. In the US, his lifestyle was lonelier. He did not have family around. Today, in India, he has chai with his parents every evening.“No more lonely winters. No more frozen dinners. No more 2-hour commutes on the 101,” he wrote in his X post.He also has access to house help, and this has given him more time on his hands to focus on personal hobbies. “I have a cook. I have a driver,” said Chadha, adding that he “pays them well”.No visa anxietyIn his last point, he explained why quitting a lucrative Microsoft job does not feel like a step-down on the career ladder. Living in the US, he was beset with visa anxiety. Moving back to India has stripped away that anxiety too, besides giving him major lifestyle upgrades.“I didn’t ‘step down.’ I stepped up. Remote work strips away the ‘visa anxiety.’ I focus purely on the building good products. And on my own ideas,” he wrote.“I didn’t leave the US to retire. I left to actually live,” the techie concluded.(Also read: ‘They are living life, we are surviving it’: Indian man voices frustration after visiting Paris, Zurich)