[codegeek]

I see some people arguing that 18K in India is the same as elsewhere. Don't pay attention to that. 18K per month in India is HUGE and yes something things are equally expensive as other developed countries (e.g. buying an apartment in crazy expensive cities like Mumbai or Bangalore) but overall, the cost of living is much lower than western countries on average.

Source: An Indian-American (I don't like hyphens but in this case relevant for context) who frequently visits India and has business there as well.

[akudha]

18K USD is a LOT of money in India. Real estate in bigger Indian cities is super expensive. Everything else is much, much cheaper than western countries. You can get fantastic food (tasty and healthy) compared to the U.S, very cheap. Things can get much, much cheaper if you step out of the bigger cities.

[raincom]

More importantly, one can hire maids for everything: cooking, driving, babysitter, concierge doctor on-call, etc.