An expat living in New Zealand wanted to relocate to India and was convinced ₹10,000 a month was enough to cover his two kids’ education. He also believed his family could live comfortably in Bengaluru on ₹60,000 a month. However, when he ran the actual numbers, he was visibly shocked, a financial advisor shared a real-life case study about one of his clients.
The expert said his client hadn’t visited India in eight years and had lost touch with how much everyday life now costs. By the end of their phone conversation, he admitted he needed to rethink his relocation plans and conveyed, “I really need to reconsider my decision of relocation. I never thought cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai have become this expensive.”
“This is not a one-off story. I have this exact conversation with NRIs almost every month — people who left India many years ago and are now planning to return, holding cost-of-living assumptions that don’t hold true anymore,” the expert shares in a Linkedin post.
What the number says:
Reality for a family of 4 living in a Tier 1 Indian city in 2026:
- Rent (3BHK, decent area): ₹60,000- ₹1,20,000
- School fees (decent private school, per child): ₹25,000- ₹50,000
- Household groceries and utilities: ₹30,000- ₹45,000
- Transportation (one car, fuel, maintenance): ₹15,000- ₹25,000
- Health insurance, medical, household help: ₹20,000- ₹35,000
- Eating out, entertainment, discretionary: ₹15,000- ₹30,000
A comfortable life for a family of 4 in Bengaluru, Mumbai, or Gurgaon today is closer to ₹2.5 to ₹3.5 lakh a month, not ₹40,000.
So, what NRIs should actually check if they planning to move back to India?
If you’re an NRI planning to come back in the next few years, do two things before you finalise anything.
1. Call 3 family members or close friends currently living in your target city.
Ask them what they actually spend every month on rent, school, groceries, and household help. Take the average and add 15% for inflation that will hit by the time you actually return.
2. Rebuild your retirement projection using Indian numbers, not your current cost of living.
Most NRIs assume their ₹2-3 crore corpus will last them comfortably in India. With current inflation in metros, that corpus is closer to a 12-15 year runway, not 30.
For NRIs planning a homecoming, nostalgia alone is not a financial plan. Reassessing living costs, inflation, and retirement needs today can prevent costly surprises and protect long-term financial security.