Why Gen Z Is Leaving Metro Cities For Tier-2 Towns
The rise of remote work has enabled young professionals to work from locations offering a lower cost of living without compromising on lifestyle. Tier-2 cities provide affordable housing, reduced traffic congestion, and cleaner environments compared to metropolitan areas. Government initiatives like the Smart Cities Mission and the development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have further enhanced the appeal of these cities by improving infrastructure and creating job opportunities.
A number of significant factors are behind this change, such as:
1. Growing job markets
According to Ernst & Young (EY), Tier-2 cities are witnessing a hiring boom, with virtual-first Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and IT and Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sectors expanding their presence. A Randstad 2025 report reveals job openings in these cities rose nearly 42%, compared to just 19% in metro hubs. Global tech firms like Genpact, HCLTech, Cognisant, and Infosys are opening offices in Melur, Nagpur, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar to access local talent and reduce costs.
2. Lower living costs & better quality of life
Employees in Tier-2 cities earn 25-35% less but enjoy proportional cost savings. Deloitte/Nasscom data shows salaries drop by 25-30%, and real estate rents are about 50% cheaper than metros. Residents cite cleaner air, less congestion, and open spaces all contributing to improved mental and physical well-being.
3. Infrastructure & remote-work readiness
Enhanced internet access (including 5G rollout), coworking spaces, better air connectivity under UDAN, and improved roads in cities like Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, and Coimbatore have enabled a seamless transition to remote or hybrid work.
4. Cultural vibrancy & social engagement
Smaller cities offer a rich cultural life, local festivals, community events, and heritage sites combined with more nurturing environments. Many young migrants appreciate the community feel and find it easier to participate in civic and creative activities.
5. Education & career-focused growth
Improved educational infrastructure, including engineering institutes and vocational centres in Jaipur, Pune, and Vadodara, makes Tier-2 cities attractive for both education and professional development.
Gen Z's move to Tier-2 cities is propelled by growing job opportunities, affordable living, quality of life, and cultural/community appeal. These trends suggest a lasting decentralisation of India's workforce, marking a significant shift in the nation's urban dynamics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
From Gandhi going viral to Cleopatra selling shampoo: The rise of AI influencers and what it means for brands
Mahatma Gandhi holding a salt pack and saying, 'why march?' or an ancient Chola king reacting to modern breakfast to Gen Z slang. Artificial intelligence (AI)-generated historical figures are going viral across social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok . While brands are watching closely, few are ready to jump in, while others dismiss ' deadfluencers ' as nothing more than a viral to Zebracat AI, AI-generated videos are expanding at an annual rate of about 35%, with forecasts suggesting the market could approach $15 billion by from business intelligence platform Statista indicates that companies are allocating roughly 10-15% of marketing budgets to influencer marketing , with a growing share directed toward AI-driven influencer marketing agencies and experts believe that the AI-powered marketing strategy is still in its nascent stages and not yet mature enough to drive substantial Gurwara, cofounder and head of brand alliances at AI-powered influencer marketing platform Qoruz, said, 'As of now, we haven't seen brands actively collaborating with AI-generated pages that use historical figures, at least not in any significant or structured way. The interest is more observational. Everyone's watching the trend, but not many are willing to bet on it yet.'The Bengaluru-based startup Quroz has offered AI-powered recommendations for major brands like Amazon, L'Oréal, Flipkart, Titan, Dabur, Domino's, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, among others.'I think it is still experimental, but as AI is progressing, people will start using it to make good AI-based creators and concepts, and then things might change,' added Piyush Agrawal, cofounder, CREATE, an influencer marketing and talent management AI storytelling explodes in reach and realism, a new frontier is emerging—one where the past is remixed for the algorithm, and influence doesn't end with Instagram, the AI-generated videos on historical events and personalities have reached millions of views within a few days, with an average engagement rate of 3.5%, and the dominant GenZ demography is the trendsetters, Quroz's Gurwara told ET, adding that Gen Z enjoys the playful remix of history and pop from InBeat, a data-driven influencer marketing platform that connects brands with targeted micro- and nano-influencers on TikTok and Instagram, provided by Umer Madhiya, senior account manager at White Rivers Media shows that around 80% of this demographic follow influencers on social media, with a significant majority comfortable with AI-driven analysts believe such brand storytelling can unlock opportunities that weren't possible before.'AI-powered storytelling can potentially bring the cost down if this starts happening. Brands will also be able to execute on faster turnaround times. But I am not sure how long it will take for AI creators to become mainstream,' CREATE's Agarwal told sustainability remains a concern, as pointed out by Gurwara: 'Right now, anyone with access to the right tools can create a viral AI clip featuring a historical figure. But building and sustaining influence (like a human influencer), a loyal audience that engages much more than novelty.'Furthermore, analysts said 'deadfluencers,' or creators, tend to see a spike during a viral moment, but keeping that momentum is AI-generated trends surge on social media, grabbing engagement, experts highlight the possible consequences for the Srinivasan, a communications strategy consultant who was part of companies like Flipkart, Ogilvy, and Edelman, said that while the trend to recreate well-known historical figures has improved storytelling, it can be misused to spread lies.'AI videos can be used to retell actual historical stories in interesting ways (what was being done by comic books, like Amar Chitra Katha in India). But this idea can also be used destructively by making historical figures say things that are not true,' he also mentioned the need to specify a genre for such videos to avoid factual errors and misrepresentation.'In literary fiction, this is a legitimate genre called 'alternate history' or 'historical fiction,' but they are strictly placed under such genres, and people buying such titles clearly know what they are reading. But online, via short Instagram reels or TikTok videos with no disclaimer whatsoever, they could cause a whole lot of damage,' he AI has long been talked about in discussions. ET reported that there has been a 10-fold increase in complaints related to morphed images or deep nudes created through advanced this case, too, experts highlight key ethical concerns.'We still don't have a regulatory framework around the use of historical public figures in AI content. What feels like a harmless joke to some people could be deeply hurtful to others. So, while AI can put your brand on a FIFA World Cup main stage or into a freedom movement scene, it's still unclear whether it should,' Gurwara the legal side, Pratishtha Arora, chief executive at Social & Media Matters, a non-profit under the VAAP Cyber Suraksha Foundation, said, 'We need robust AI laws to address the risks and changing behavioural patterns that come with AI-driven content, but regulation cannot be superficial or limited.''As AI use explodes in popularity, we must take its potential harms seriously, with meaningful consequences for unethical or misleading applications,' she added.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
From Gandhi going viral to Cleopatra selling shampoo: Rise of AI influencers and what it means for brands
Mahatma Gandhi holding a salt pack and saying, 'why march?' or an ancient Chola king reacting to modern breakfast to Gen Z slang. Artificial intelligence (AI)-generated historical figures are going viral across social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok . While brands are watching closely, few are ready to jump in, while others dismiss ' deadfluencers ' as nothing more than a viral to Zebracat AI, AI-generated videos are expanding at an annual rate of about 35%, with forecasts suggesting the market could approach $15 billion by from business intelligence platform Statista indicates that companies are allocating roughly 10-15% of marketing budgets to influencer marketing , with a growing share directed toward AI-driven influencer marketing agencies and experts believe that the AI-powered marketing strategy is still in its nascent stages and not yet mature enough to drive substantial Gurwara, cofounder and head of brand alliances at AI-powered influencer marketing platform Qoruz, said, 'As of now, we haven't seen brands actively collaborating with AI-generated pages that use historical figures, at least not in any significant or structured way. The interest is more observational. Everyone's watching the trend, but not many are willing to bet on it yet.'The Bengaluru-based startup Quroz has offered AI-powered recommendations for major brands like Amazon, L'Oréal, Flipkart, Titan, Dabur, Domino's, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, among others.'I think it is still experimental, but as AI is progressing, people will start using it to make good AI-based creators and concepts, and then things might change,' added Piyush Agrawal, cofounder, CREATE, an influencer marketing and talent management AI storytelling explodes in reach and realism, a new frontier is emerging—one where the past is remixed for the algorithm, and influence doesn't end with Instagram, the AI-generated videos on historical events and personalities have reached millions of views within a few days, with an average engagement rate of 3.5%, and the dominant GenZ demography is the trendsetters, Quroz's Gurwara told ET, adding that Gen Z enjoys the playful remix of history and pop from InBeat, a data-driven influencer marketing platform that connects brands with targeted micro- and nano-influencers on TikTok and Instagram, sourced from Umer Madhiya, senior account manager at White Rivers Media shows that around 80% of this demographic follow influencers on social media, with a significant majority comfortable with AI-driven analysts believe such brand storytelling can unlock opportunities that weren't possible before.'AI-powered storytelling can potentially bring the cost down if this starts happening. Brands will also be able to execute on faster turnaround times. But I am not sure how long it will take for AI creators to become mainstream,' CREATE's Agarwal told sustainability remains a concern, as pointed out by Gurwara: 'Right now, anyone with access to the right tools can create a viral AI clip featuring a historical figure. But building and sustaining influence (like a human influencer), a loyal audience that engages much more than novelty.'Furthermore, analysts said 'deadfluencers,' or creators, tend to see a spike during a viral moment, but keeping that momentum is AI-generated trends surge on social media, grabbing engagement, experts highlight the possible consequences for the Srinivasan, a communications strategy consultant who was part of companies like Flipkart, Ogilvy, and Edelman, said that while the trend to recreate well-known historical figures has improved storytelling, it can be misused to spread lies.'AI videos can be used to retell actual historical stories in interesting ways (what was being done by comic books, like Amar Chitra Katha in India). But this idea can also be used destructively by making historical figures say things that are not true,' he also mentioned the need to specify a genre for such videos to avoid factual errors and misrepresentation.'In literary fiction, this is a legitimate genre called 'alternate history' or 'historical fiction,' but they are strictly placed under such genres, and people buying such titles clearly know what they are reading. But online, via short Instagram reels or TikTok videos with no disclaimer whatsoever, they could cause a whole lot of damage,' he AI has long been talked about in discussions. ET reported that there has been a 10-fold increase in complaints related to morphed images or deep nudes created through advanced this case, too, experts highlight key ethical concerns.'We still don't have a regulatory framework around the use of historical public figures in AI content. What feels like a harmless joke to some people could be deeply hurtful to others. So, while AI can put your brand on a FIFA World Cup main stage or into a freedom movement scene, it's still unclear whether it should,' Gurwara the legal side, Pratishtha Arora, chief executive at Social & Media Matters, a non-profit under the VAAP Cyber Suraksha Foundation, said, 'We need robust AI laws to address the risks and changing behavioural patterns that come with AI-driven content, but regulation cannot be superficial or limited.''As AI use explodes in popularity, we must take its potential harms seriously, with meaningful consequences for unethical or misleading applications,' she added.
NDTV
6 hours ago
- NDTV
"45 Is The New 60": CA Warns India's Middle Class Could Be Broke By Mid-40s
India's middle class could face a retirement crisis by the age of 45 owing to rising lifestyle expenses, limited income, longevity and insufficient long-term savings, Chartered Accountant and wealth advisor Kanan Bahl has said. In a long LinkedIn post, Mr Bahl wrote, '45 is the new 60,' adding, 'Don't make your retirement plans as if you are going to be employed until 60.' According to Mr Bahl, while 'jobs will increase' with advances in technology, many people may struggle to adapt 'for any reason whatsoever.' This could lead to an earlier-than-expected end to their earning years. 'Do enjoy your life. But save aggressively and invest wisely as if you are going to have income only until 45,' he advised. He pointed to what he calls a worrying pattern of 'spending too much' and lifestyle inflation, especially among the younger generation. 'Gen Z is taking debt to attend concerts to look cool on Instagram. People making Rs 25 lakhs p.a. are living paycheck to paycheck,' Bahl said, while cautioning against elevating 'lifestyle expenses to such levels where you can barely save for the future.' He urged salaried employees to use government-supported schemes such as EPF (Employees' Provident Fund) and NPS (National Pension System), which offer long-term tax benefits. 'They do block your money for a significant time (40% of NPS corpus is only withdrawable by your nominees after your death), but that ensures discipline and further that you don't splurge that money. Perfect instruments for spendthrifts,' he wrote. He also referred to a projection by DSP Pension Fund that estimates India's retirement savings gap will balloon to $96 trillion by 2050. 'You will start seeing this problem at scale within 10 years,' he warned, urging people to 'live frugally, save aggressively and invest wisely.' Here's the post: Mr Bahl's post has sparked a discussion on LinkedIn, with many users acknowledging the pressure of rising costs and the need to rethink traditional retirement timelines. One user commented, 'So true! It's so easy to get caught up, but long-term financial peace > short-term flex.' Another remarked, 'Gen Z are so carried away by the consumerist bug, that they lose sight of their retirement goals.' 'With private sector dominant, one should either move on or get packed off by 45, as salary levels are unsustainable,' read another comment. Earlier, a Bengaluru CEO's post on " middle-class salaries" sparked a discussion online. Ashish Singhal, co-founder and Group CEO of PeepalCo, said that with soaring expenses and stagnant salaries, the middle-class was quietly absorbing the economic shock, with no bailouts, no headlines and barely any conversation. "The biggest scam no one talks about? Middle-class salaries," he wrote, explaining the crisis this group faces. In his LinkedIn post, Mr Singhal also spoke about how artificial intelligence (AI) was quietly threatening white-collar jobs, and the ultra-rich had gained seven times in a decade.
