r2i forum

There is no dilemma whether I should R2I. I know I want to and my family needs me. The dilemma is which of the 2 cities I should choose from - Chandigarh or Pune.

I am looking for any kind of cost-of-living information to compare between Chandigarh/tricity area and Pune. 2 things on top of my list are -

- Apartment/house Rent - typical 3BHK accomodation
- Full-time maid

You can get a good 3BHK non-furnished accommodation in Pune anywhere from 15K to 50K per month. It will vary by area. Domestic help won't be that expensive either. Too little info to provide any meaningful help.

The problem is I don't have too many details and have not lived in India the last 8years. Let me try this for a start -

Pune - we'd want to be midpoint between Shivajinagar and good CBSE schools
Chandigargh - closer to Mohali. But since distances seem to be shorter, I am willing to compromise. Ofcourse, proximity to school is a top criteria.

I lived in Pune and love that city. I would choose Pune over Chandigarh. No logical reason though, both are good cities, just my bias.

I think it has to be Chandigarh esp. as you are R2Ing. It is one of the most planned cities in India. It is always advisable to return to your home town but all things being equal Chandigarh has much higher quality of life than any other city in India not just Pune. This is from experience of living in multiple cities including both Pune and Chandigarh. The only drawback is the real estate cost in Chandigarh. Being one of the most sought after places to live has increased real estate costs beyond affordable levels. But the good thing is that if you are not buying and only interested in renting then the costs are very reasonable.

You say 'Hyderabadi'...so are we :)

I have visited Pune (with family) during official travel for a week and we liked it. Never visited Chandigarh, though we were frequent travellers upto Delhi during our school days.

Let's see how this goes....nothing pucca as yet.

Have heard the same Chandigarh before and we were thinking on the same lines...it will probably be a good transition point between now and 5-6yrs into the future.

We'll see how it goes...thanks for your input.

What would be the avg rent for a 3bhk aprt/home?? How much deposit? I hope it is not like Blore where they take 10months minimum and sometimes an arbitrary inflated amount!!!