Corporate employee lives in Manali on ₹21,000 a month: Is it cheaper?

A corporate employee swapped his Delhi apartment for a rented 1BHK in Manali. His monthly spending: ₹21,000. The video he posted on Instagram went viral. The real question: does mountain living actually save money, or is it a different kind of budget?

Ajay Sharma broke down the numbers in his video. Rent: ₹14,000 – that includes Wi-Fi and electricity. Groceries: ₹3,500. He cooks most meals, following a high-protein gym diet. Eating out: about ₹2,000 a month, ₹500 a week when he doesn't feel like cooking. Gym membership: ₹1,500 (he bargained down from ₹1,800). Commuting: “almost zero,” he says, because he walks everywhere.

Total: ₹21,000 a month. That is roughly the cost of a studio apartment in a Delhi suburb like Gurgaon – without the commute savings. One commenter wrote, “That's relatively cheap though!” Another said, “Cheaper than Gurgaon life.” A third called the rent “too costly” for a mountain town.

Manali sits in the Kullu district, a gateway to Lahaul and Spiti. Rentals there have crept up as remote workers discover the Himalayas. A 1BHK that went for ₹8,000 three years ago now commands ₹12,000–₹15,000, according to local property listings. Sharma’s deal at ₹14,000 is at the upper end.