An Indian software engineer earning ₹45 lakh per annum posed a question to the developers community in India about a job offer in a Berlin startup, which has triggered heated opinions online. In a Reddit post titled “India or Germany? FinTech Startup offer in Berlin,” the senior software engineer wrote that he was recently laid off but received a job offer in Germany paying 80,000 euros a year.
"I am a senior software engineer with 8 years of experience, drawing a 45+ LPA salary(in hand, perks are also provided separately). I was laidoff recently and started giving interviews, even to companies hiring outside India. Got a chance to give interviews for a Fintech startup in Berlin, but I am in doubt whether it is a good decision to relocate to Germany. It is proper startup and also they are providing 80,000 EUR per annum. How should I compare and make this decision?" he wrote.
Techies joined the conversation, with an overwhelming majority asking him to stay in India, citing lifestyle changes.
India vs Germany
"80,000 euros per annum. Living costs are high in Germany, especially when you have a family. Other than that, you get good perks. And even taxes are around 35-50%," said one of them.
Others offered a detailed breakdown of real take-home income and monthly expenses in Germany: "Assuming you are single, after taxes, you will make approximately 3,800 per month. Rent will take away 1200-1500. Food, groceries, utilities, transportation, internet etc will easily set you back by another 1200-1500 EUR. At the end you can save 500-1000 EUR per month depending on your lifestyle," wrote one of them.
{{/usCountry}}Others offered a detailed breakdown of real take-home income and monthly expenses in Germany: "Assuming you are single, after taxes, you will make approximately 3,800 per month. Rent will take away 1200-1500. Food, groceries, utilities, transportation, internet etc will easily set you back by another 1200-1500 EUR. At the end you can save 500-1000 EUR per month depending on your lifestyle," wrote one of them.
{{/usCountry}}Some advised shifting focus from salary to lifestyle: "More than salary, if you're interested in work-life balance and standard of living, then go for Germany."
"Close to 50% taxes and a yearly increment of 1-2%. 80k yearly is not that much, honestly and not worth it. Racism is on the rise and Germany today is comparatively unsafe compared to pre-2016," said another user