Hello friends! It has been more than 10 days that I haven’t updated my blog. It is because I have relocated to Pune and trying to settle down here. I had some really great experiences here. The experience which is worth sharing with all the freshers who come here for a job or in search of a job.
First Sight
If you belong to a small city like Jabalpur and you are moving to Pune for the first time, then the first sight of this city will mesmerize you. It is a den of all the big IT companies with their Gigantic Infrastructures. Accompanying this, you will find tall buildings all around with their beautiful eye capturing structures. My experience was quite the same. I was staying at a beautiful house in a posh society which was allotted to me on behalf of my company. The first impression of the city was absolutely pleasant.
The Climate
Oh, you will fall in love with the climate. Everything is so pleasant here. The temperature is so cool and feels so perfect. I have been here in the month of June-July and the weather is so moderate with light drizzle throughout. I’m really happy with the weather here.
Exploring the City
I got a 3-day accommodation and in this period I had to find a place to live and so thus the search for a rented flat began. As I started exploring the city, the first thing I found out about it is that the transportation of Pune sucks. Though PMT runs a bus service throughout the city, you will have to wait for quite a long time for it. I have a record waiting time of 1 hour. On top of that, these are very costly as compared to public transportation in other cities. Roughly, I have to pay 20 INR to travel approx 10 km. As a result of this poor public transportation, people prefer their own wheels, therefore, results in traffic which causes jams and thus increases the average time required to reach a destination.
On top of that, half the seats are reserved for women. Men are not allowed to sit there. Recently, I had an experience where two girls stepped up on the bus and asked an old man to move from the seat as the seats are reserved for female candidates. I’m not trying to raise a question here, but hey! what kind of equality is this. The concept of reservation for women is of no use and most of the time it is being used in the wrong way.
Finding places in Pune is really easy. Pune has a really simple map and it wouldn’t take you more than a week’s time to understand it completely but then there are other things too. Although, Finding places is easy but reaching there is difficult as I already mentioned about the poor transportation system of Pune. You would need help from local people regarding the bus route. Nobody comes with their own means of transportation for the first time into a new city. Therefore, at some point in time, you will have to face this problem.
So, if you are visiting Pune make up your mind for this because Pune is going to make you upset when it comes to transportation.
Rent a House
I had to find a place to live pretty soon. As I was the new boy in town, I asked to google for the rented flats. I got many results, some were in the budgets and some were not. As I started contacting with each one of those owners, I found out that they were the brokers. Pune is filled with these brokers and the bad thing about them is that they raise the initial investment for a person to rent a flat. If you are looking for a decent place to stay then it will easily cost you between 10000 INR to 30000 INR depending upon the place and locality. Not only the rent is high but also the initial deposit that you must pay before renting the place. It may cost you around 30000 INR to 1 lakh INR. And on top of that, these brokers will charge you 2 months of additional rent. Which will cost approximately 80000 INR initial investment before renting a place? It also depends on the place where you are going to live, but to the minimum, a 2 BHK flat will cost you around 50000 INR initially. Make sure you have your friends around you to share the cost equally. Finally, I had to rent a shared PG and hopefully we all have a great camaraderie.
The Food
I’m a foodie and was expecting a lot of good taste from Pune (Maharashtra).To be really frank, I didn’t enjoy the food that much. On the first day, my father and I went to a side restaurant and ordered their special Paneer Kadhai Masala, rice and tandoori roti. The food was way too spicy and a guy like me who is not used to such spicy food will cry for water and sweet. Somehow, we managed to finish that with the help of rice and a glass of water. If someone would ask me to rate it on the basis of taste, it would be 4/10. The prices were way high for such a quality. Value for money, I would say 6/10. If you are a new to Pune, you are ought to face such a thing.
But don’t worry folks, there are loads of good places where you can fill your tummy. My friend made a list of all the great places where you must visit in Pune if you are a foodie. Download the PDF here.
The People
Another thing that makes a big difference is the people of that city. I have found some really good and helping people in this city so far. You will need their help and they will help you. Just make sure you are polite to them. A very common scenario is when you are waiting for the bus and you need to find the right bus route to reach the destination. They will readily help you with this and you can trust them with that. It will really help you if you know a few of the common Marathi words to interact with them. It makes them feel a little more comfortable. Just try to adapt their culture as quickly as you can. It will really help you in making good connections.
The Language
“malaa tu avadates” this means “I like you”
Okay, the language is a bit of a concern. This is a Marathi state as you already know. There are a few things that I really didn’t like about Pune related to their language. Many signboards and hoarding are written in Marathi. It is very frustrating when you cannot read the message on the sign board. In my views, I really think that people here are very lenient towards Marathi. In fact, they initiate their communication in Marathi knowing that the person they are talking to doesn’t understand it. I really couldn’t understand this type of mentality. I think they should support Hindi over Marathi as Hindi is our national language and everyone knows it.
Learning a few of their common words will really help you in making connections with them quickly. I have made a list of all the common words that you must learn before coming to Pune. Download the PDF here.
The Traffic
Ugly. People do not know how to drive here. They only follow 2 driving rules,
- Stop at the Red Light
- Drive on the left-hand side
That’s it. They have no respect for the pedestrians here. There have been a few incidents with me where I was about to cross the road. Seeing that the vehicle is far enough, I started crossing the road. Watching me cross the road the driver accelerated his vehicle in order to hinder my path and block me from crossing it. I was like “What dafuq”. Trust me, It took me more than 10 minutes just to cross the road.
If somebody ever told you that people drive fast here, just to make it very clear, it is not fast driving- it is rash driving. So, if you are ever walking on foot in a high traffic area. Pre-plan your destination and cross at the red light. This way you will stay safe and avoid waiting for long.
Conclusion
All and all Pune is a great place for IT professionals and visitors but if you are planning to settle down here, then think again. Pune has expanded quickly because of the Boom in IT sector here but the system of the city is yet to evolve in order to compensate the growth. I will keep updating the blog as I continue to live here. You may also like to read this article,
If you have something to share then please do share it here. What is your experience so far?
Be My Aficionado 🙂
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