Laid off for 9 months. Got an offer in Mumbai. Should I look for opportunities in Bangalore or move to Mumbai?
I’m facing a difficult decision and would really appreciate some outside perspective.
I was laid off on June 25 last year and have been looking for a full-time role ever since. It’s been almost 9 months, and the situation has become very stressful financially and mentally.
For context:
- I’m 38, married, with a 5-year-old son.
- My wife is currently a homemaker and trying to start a small business, but there’s no steady income yet.
- We live in Bangalore, and my son goes to school here.
Since the layoff, I’ve attended 25+ interviews. Many went well, but I’ve often been rejected in the final rounds due to reasons like hiring freezes, companies looking for someone more senior, or wanting stronger managerial experience (my career has mostly been as an individual contributor).
For the last 4 months, I’ve been freelancing, but the income only covers basic expenses like rent and food. Most of my savings are exhausted prior to the 4 months freelancing.
Recently I expanded my search outside Bangalore and received an offer from a startup in Mumbai. The role is a Director level position in a service/design agency. My background has mostly been in product companies, so it’s somewhat new territory. The role would involve managing 6–8 people.
However:
- The salary is about 15% lower than my previous job. (Not my biggest concern)
- It requires relocating to Mumbai from Bangalore (not my home state).
The complication is my family situation. My son’s school year here ends in April, and we’ve already paid ₹75k in admission fees, with another ₹50k term fee due in April.
The real dilemma is that I can’t move alone first and test the job. If I accept the role, I’d have to move to Mumbai with my family fairly quickly and enroll my son in a new school.
So the two choices I’m struggling with are:
Option 1: Stay in Bangalore, continue freelancing, and keep searching for product roles here (where most opportunities in my field exist). Am expecting another freelance work which equals to the same pay in Mumbai offer.
Option 2: Take the Mumbai offer, relocate my family, and step into a new type of company and leadership role — hoping it works out.
My fear is that if things don’t work out with the company, I’ll have moved my family, disrupted my son’s schooling, and made it harder to return quickly since most opportunities are still in Bangalore. At the same time, staying here without a stable job after 9 months is also becoming very difficult.
Any help to process this would be appreciated!
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If you are a south indian. Don't go to Mumbai. It's pathetic. It is just bihar, speaking fancy English. If you are financially stressed, then you dont have a choice. But to the max. Extent avoid.
Begging in south is better than living in Mumbai. Don't for the spirit of Mumbai nonsense.
Get the job, move alone, live in a PG for 2-3 months, if you don’t find another company and like this one, move family.
Otherwise go back.
Keep freelancing alive until all this settles
That's what I was also about to comment. I work in a company that is hybrid, only 2 days office and I have seen a lot of people showing up for only few days then going back to their place. Now given that these people are from nearby places like shivamogga or mysore or even hyderabad. But my point is that living in pg is not unheard of. This can really work out, although some sacrifices need to be made.
I'm so sorry for your situation and I hope things move in your favor fast. I moved from Bangalore to Mumbai, and I'm looking to move back. I'm single so a little easier for me to this. Here is my opinion
- Language is not that much of a concern. I managed with basic cobverational Hindi. People are also mostly nice. Everyone is very busy with their thing.
- Rent will take a significant chunk, for same space and amenities it will cost you 3X of what you are currently paying for.
- Travel will be surprisingly cheaper. We are getting looted in Bangalore. Traffic is better but not great. Roads are equally worse.
- For food and misc my expenses were less compared to Bangalore because there is easy access to everything.
I don't have major complaints as such but none of my close friends and family stay here and the current role is not great. Hence I'm looking to move back.
With family I think it's better not to move. But you can give it a shot if you can move alone and manage.
Director role will bring new exposure and learning for you ..believe me if you have job then you have respect..and it's easy to keep switching as you will gain new experience..so it doesn't matter which city ..better embrace the change ..Learn and when market open then switch back to bangalore
Definitely seems like a good option career wise! Thanks
Adding one more.points ..companies are giving offer these days after various thoughtful process ..so even after clearing interviews also ..offers are not getting rolled out..Also after certain you will feel exhaust and won't be in right mind set to give more interviews ..so better to be in actual learning phase and people+tech role is more powerful in AI era
the nine-month mark is when the financial pressure starts making decisions for you. you're not really asking about bangalore vs. mumbai, you're asking if you can trust yourself after 25 rejections. the question isn't which city is better, it's which risk you can live with: the risk of moving, or the risk of waiting.
Partially yes.
Mumbai without an own house is an expensive place to survive. Also the scope of IT is limited in Mumbai compared to Bangalore. For the same package the standard of life will be better in Bangalore. The only positive seems to be the profile, but as it's a startup company, it comes with its own set of risks. Mumbai will push you to leave the city initially but if you survive 6 months, you would never like to live anywhere else. If you like a challenging role plan for Mumbai, if the startup prospers, so would you. If you seek a better market for IT and a comparatively comfortable life it should be Bangalore. Best would be to keep the family undisturbed in Bangalore and move alone for a year to get first hand experience.
Mumbai is shit bro, I also moved from Bangalore a year back.
For a smaller shitty house than bangalore I pay more than double.
Not worth it.
Sorry about your situation and hope you will get through tough times easily.
Thanks! Hoping for the best.