A Reddit user who recently returned to India on vacation has sparked an intense discussion over rising costs and civic apathy, saying they were shocked by how expensive and indifferent the country has become. The post, titled “Never expected India became this much expensive and negligent”, was shared in the r/returnToIndia forum.

“I came to India for vacation. I was excited about my visit. However, the reality is hitting hard,” the user wrote. “My parents are living in a small municipality town… Even my small town became 3x expensive compared to my last year visit.”

The Redditor also criticised the perceived public apathy, writing: “No one care about anything. Too much negligence. No common sense.”

Others agree: prices up, wages flat

Several commenters echoed the sentiment, with one user writing, “Cost of living has climbed up significantly in India, over the last 5–6 years. I see the same thing here in the US.”

Another pointed to the IT sector and outsourcing trends as a factor: “Blame the software industry and so much outsourcing to India like pay 80% of US salary… My worry is will this trend stop or control the inflation like US around 2ish… never know.”

One journalist’s comment highlighted the widening pay disparity across professions. “The salary I am getting after 13 years of experience is equivalent to the entry-level salary of someone working in the Big 4 or IT… Meanwhile, I can’t even afford a 1BHK flat in Delhi after working for so many years.”

They added, “Silent layoffs are happening everywhere, and the reality is that people aren’t willing to pay for quality journalism.”

Another user compared India’s metro prices with the US: “I just came back from Mumbai Bandra… the cheapest birthday cake is like ₹1,000, almost the same as the USA or maybe more expensive.”

From daily essentials to housing, many on the thread agreed that the inflationary pressure feels sharper, especially when measured against stagnant or non-tech salaries.