After living in Delhi for more than a decade, Sonali Verma (29) - who works on climate change, pollution and policy - started scouting locations in Goa in 2024
In 2023, Gurjot Singh and his wife Poonam Chowdhury, moved to Delhi's Vasant Kunj - a relatively greener neighbourhood - paying higher rent in the hope to get some respite from the city's rising air pollution. But persistent migraines, skin allergies, sinus infections -- and worsening dust pollution from a nearby upcoming metro project -- soon drove them to relocate to Goa.
The couple, consultants in their 30s, moved to Goa in February this year to escape Delhi's toxic air. "Poor air quality is the sole reason we moved," says Singh, a public policy consultant, who has spent the better part of the last decade in Delhi.
"We did not move to escape the urban life. We wanted to escape from pollution. You can make the house liveable by using air purifiers or wearing masks...but you can't go out. And at some point, you forget that you are supposed to go out," he says.
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They aren't the only ones. With air pollution levels rising in Delhi and NCR, leaving residents gasping for air, and as respiratory complaints pile up at hospitals, many - especially those with remote jobs and chronic health conditions - are choosing to move to Goa in search of better air - and better quality of life.
"Our illnesses have receded. We go out more - whether to the beach or for walks," Singh says. "In the first three months here, we have spent more time outdoors, than we spent in two years in Delhi. The environment here is friendly, unlike in Delhi. It is not actively trying to kill you."
Delhi's air was heavily polluted days after Diwali in October, with the city recording an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 223 - the second-worst October AQI in the past five years. According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, Delhi's AQI on October 20 [Diwali day] was at 345, worse than last year's 328 recorded on the same day. The city saw its worst air on Thursday, when the AQI touched 373, the highest for any October day in three years.
After living in Delhi for more than a decade, Sonali Verma (29) - who works on climate change, pollution and policy - started scouting locations in Goa in 2024. She moved to the coastal state with her senior citizen mother, in April this year.
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"My mother is a cancer survivor. I had breathing issues and would fall sick every other week," she says.
"Pollution does not seem to show any signs of abating in Delhi. At some point, you want to ask yourself...if this is the life you want? Reading about AQI daily and worrying? If people can afford to move to less polluted places, then why not?" she asks.
Verma adds, "The environment around us affects our mental health and how we feel about everything else. Seeing the evidence pile up on how much impact air pollution can have on mortality and when you realise the issue is not being approached from a solution-oriented lens, it made sense to move immediately". Her 65-year-old mother Hardeep Kaur's health has improved since moving. "The air is much cleaner here. I keep comparing the AQI with Delhi," she says. "I can go out for walks and don't have to worry about keeping the windows shut."
Smriti Iyer, 36, an economist, has not lived in Delhi for a sustained period since 2015, after having spent the majority of her life in the capital. She moved to the US in 2018 to pursue a master's degree. When she returned to Delhi in early 2022, she found the city's air "unliveable", and relocated to Goa for a brief stint, before moving permanently in 2023.
Though she visits Delhi to meet her parents, she consciously has avoided going home for Diwali or winters for the past two years. "Delhi, especially in winters, is like a gas chamber," says Iyer. "I would wake up coughing daily. It felt as if I smoked a pack of cigarettes the night before."
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Others, who don't have remote jobs, have purchased a 'second-home' in Goa and shuttle between the two states.
Kriti Awasthi and her husband have been visiting Goa for years. Since they had a child almost three years ago, they now make multiple trips in a year. In June, the couple purchased a house in Siolim.
Awasthi, a lawyer and chartered accountant from Delhi, says she decided to come to Goa just before Diwali this year to avoid the pollution. "We now have one foot in Goa. For work, I still have to go to Delhi, but in the long run, I would want to shift here," she says.
She says, "When we decided to purchase a house here, pollution was a major factor. A lot of people are now moving to the hills or to less polluted places. In Delhi, my son would keep falling sick...We cannot go outside for a run when there is smog. Children have a much better life here. They can be outdoors and connect more with nature".
Singh says he brought along two air purifiers from Delhi when he moved. "One is packed and one we have kept in our living room. We keep looking at the reading [001, 002] and feel validated that this is why we moved," he says.