What’s the difference between people in Bengaluru and those in Goa? According to Ankit Vengurlekar, the contrast is significant. As the founder of Antar Wellness prepares to move from Bangalore to Goa, he says the polarity has become very clear to him.
In his LinkedIn post, Vengurlekar gives an example from a morning hike to Kaivarabetta. At the summit, while enjoying the cool breeze and scenic views, he overheard two software engineers talking.
They had just met someone from HR and soon started discussing jobs, salaries and career opportunities. According to Ankit, this is common in Bangalore.
People often start conversations with the question, “What do you do?” He feels that many people there are too focused on work, no matter the setting.
“I call it the “Bangalore virus”. Once infected, the person builds a unique and toxic inability to switch off work talk, no matter the setting,” says the entrepreneur who runs a digital wellness company.
According to him, this constant work talk happens everywhere, from sports courts to social gatherings. He believes many people have reduced their identity to just by their profession.
“People could be at a funeral, or at a birthday get-together; Bangalore folks, unfortunately, are obsessed with work talk. I find it extremely sad that human beings have reduced themselves to just ‘workers’,” he adds.
In contrast, while house-hunting in Goa, he spent time with business owners and founders. Over several days, he said not once did conversations revolve around work.
According to Vengurlekar, these people are successful but do not let work dominate their lives. That doesn’t indicate they are ‘unsuccessful’ in their professional lives.
“It does not mean that they are unproductive or unsuccessful; if anything, by every conventional metric, they are extremely successful. This is why I’m moving to Goa,” says Vengurlekar.
Ankit Vengurlekar says that work is only a small part of life. But, in Bengaluru, it often becomes more important than everything else.
According to him, work culture there affects friendships, relationships, marriages, health and family life. He believes this work-obsessed lifestyle comes at a very high personal cost.
“Everyone will go through their own stages of life for the realization to dawn upon them that this unidimensional, work-obsessed way of living is a terribly unhealthy and deeply unsatisfying way of living,” Ankit adds.
It took him nearly 20 years of full-time work to realize that such a one-dimensional focus on career is unhealthy and unsatisfying, he says.
According to him, many people understand this only after going through different life stages. He also praises Gen Z for being more aware of this.
“I deeply admire Gen Z because of how aware they are. Aware of the cost that this obsessive hustle culture extracts from them. I admire them for the courage to set boundaries and the clarity for what they want in life,” Ankit Vengurlekar concludes while asking if anyone else is affected by this “Bangalore Virus”.
Social media reactions
LinkedIn replied.
“Cities amplify what they reward. Bangalore rewards ambition. Goa rewards presence. The real win is choosing which rhythm you want your life to follow,” an entrepreneur replied.
“I’ve noticed this too. Places shape identity. When an ecosystem rewards only output, people begin to measure themselves by it,” replied another entrepreneur.
One user commented, “Success feels very different when life conversations extend beyond titles, salaries, and professional milestones.”
“I know! It leads to loneliness, burn out and mental dissociation from actual life. Only when disaster strikes, they realize, ‘What are we doing!’,” came from another.
