A Gurugram man’s experience has sparked a conversation about the hidden cost of choosing cheaper rent farther away from the workplace. Ayan Chakravarty shared how his decision to save around Rs 20,000 a month on rent eventually meant spending nearly three hours every day commuting to and from work.
Chakravarty moved to Gurugram in 2023 and initially lived closer to his office. However, he later decided to move farther away after finding the rent near his workplace expensive and the accommodation unsatisfactory.
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The move appeared financially sensible at first. By shifting to a home farther from his office, Chakravarty said he got a larger house while cutting his monthly rent by around Rs 20,000.
But the savings came with a significant trade-off: time.
According to Chakravarty, his daily commute stretched to about 60 km and took nearly three hours. Based on a five-day working week and 52 weeks a year, he calculated that he was spending around 780 hours every year travelling between home and work.
He described this as roughly 32 days of his life spent commuting every year.
The longer commute also affected his daily routine. Chakravarty said he had to wake up and leave home earlier, leaving less time for himself, his family and other activities outside work.
The financial savings were also smaller than they initially appeared. Chakravarty said his daily fuel expense increased from around Rs 200 to Rs 600 after the move. That translated into nearly Rs 9,000 in additional monthly fuel costs.
As a result, his effective monthly saving dropped from the expected Rs 20,000 to around Rs 11,000. This calculation did not include other expenses such as tolls, parking, vehicle maintenance and the potential depreciation caused by increased usage.
His experience highlights a common dilemma for people living in major employment hubs such as Gurugram, where rents closer to business districts can be significantly higher.
Financial experts often advise people to look beyond the headline rent figure when comparing homes. The actual cost of a residence can include transportation, fuel, maintenance, tolls, parking and, importantly, the value of time spent travelling.
A long commute can also have indirect costs. Regularly spending several hours on the road can reduce time available for sleep, exercise, family, social activities and personal interests. For some workers, the additional stress associated with traffic and crowded public transport can further affect their quality of life.
Chakravarty acknowledged that living farther from work can still be a sensible choice for some people, particularly when the rent difference is substantial or remote and hybrid work options are available.
However, he argued that people should calculate the complete cost before deciding.
His experience essentially comes down to a simple trade-off: money can be earned again, but time spent commuting cannot be recovered. For workers considering a cheaper home farther from their office, the real question may not simply be how much rent they can save, but how much of their time they are willing to exchange for those savings.
