cost of living

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saradkamath35
Generally, if you have lived there or are aware of it, which specific place/s within India do you find as having low cost of living or reasonable cost of living?

I know the question has no fixed interpretation and can be HIGHLY subjective.
But still.
(Those who wear no less than Sketchers, Nike Air may have a different take on things from those who are elated when they get a new Lakhani, Bata, Relaxo.)


I am wondering, given the ever increasing greed/ costs of medical care, educational facilities and unrealistic price escalations in rental/ outright purchase of property

which specific places have reasonably good access to quality fresh produce (fruits, vegetables), emergency medical care (trauma centers), good doctors, daily need clinics
and which you think are budget places to reside?

I am not evaluating the places in terms of ease of living (as in the material comforts).
@panchabhut in Aijal/Aizawl, does not get to visit concerts, plays at NCPA, stroll through Jehangir Art Gallery
nor has N number of 4D screens to choose from, when some kids want to experience the 3D visuals coupled with corresponding motion activated seats.
But in Aizawl he is breathing in far less vehicular pollution, smog.

So, for the purpose of the 'cost of living' evaluation, I am not directly taking into account how easily accessible the place is.. from other main locations in India. (Flights, road travel may cost a bomb, if in a dire situation one has to come or go to another place, at short notice.)

Just the cost of living at a specific place, without evaluating against top material comforts, leisure activities.
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Even jaipur is better, but connectedness in jaipur lost like a metro, jodhpur is happening place with shahi food like kabuli ( twice good as to as any veg. Biryani) but charm of udaipur is better, shilpgram, ghats and food is ok.

Indore food like kiss, ratalu  fusion with any kind of experimant, is set it above any place in MP.

pune would more Crowder than any other city in Maharashtra (non metro), vibes are better in Mumbai. Costwise Mumbai has all options locals, metro and autos are affordable, only time is short in fast Mumbai. 

Chennai is totally different world, with high income , industry, auto , business, If you see  top 25 centres in per capita GDP in India , you can see 5 are in tamilnadu, so earning in much in south, spending is not from major, only youngsters spends . Otherwise first Target is settling abroad otherwise no need to leave Tn , local food and culture so home sick but ready for foreign .

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Deal Lieutenant Deal Lieutenant
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Villages is best with WFH opportunity:)  for good efficient cost of living management 

Talk-Of-The-Town Talk-Of-The-Town
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I agree ... Away from city life... Healthy option too

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Balanced cost and benefits I rate Udaipur, Indore both better.

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Udaipur😇 sounds like a decent mix of modern and traditional too.

Thank you for both the suggestions.
Indore too seems to be living on steroids.
You seem to have experienced many places💙🤍.1000128897
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indore if you are an elderly - decent enough medical facilities and educational institutes plus good infrastructure in some parts of the city , not as expensive as other metros , house help etc is kinda affordable , rents and property prices have gone up like crazy though
so if cost of living is the only parameter indore is good choice 

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Great :-) so Indore has two votes and a qualifier that rentals, outright are on fire!
Seems @original sent all Kota students to Indore and obviously Pithampur is reviving.

TCS, ICICI and so many call centres too.

I edited my original comment up top. But in it I hinted at how, since finding a Bangali kurta (pure white pure cotton, not thin like a tissue paper) was getting a chore, I looked around for tailoring shops.
It seems, in Indore there is a locality/area called 'Bangali chowk'. Despite it having lots of Bangla community, the (plain collar, instead of raised/stiff collar) Bangali kurta stitching charges was ₹400.
Trying to shift to wearing just kurta pajama jeans.

Yes, average domestic help salaries are around ₹2000.
Strangely rates differ depending on whether an apartment (in a high rise) or a ground floor/ row house.

Sadly, at times.. simplest of things are hard to find. For example, from Siyaganj to C21, getting a hose connector for a 1inch or even bigger tap/नल.. is getting 😥almost impossible.

Otherwise yes, most vegetables are available under ₹100 per kilogram.

After Bhopal, now the BRTS in Indore too will be dismantled and road congestion might hopefully become less, when metros become popular. (Long term plan is to connect even Ujjain.)
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>TCS, ICICI and so many call centres too.

there are many it companies setting up shops in indore now. tcs,infosys,nagarro,cognizant,accenture with the already existing ones like dxc,yash,systango,infobeans etc. The offices are not as huge as the ones in pune / bangalore nor the list is complete to give an idea.

>Strangely rates differ depending on whether an apartment (in a high rise) or a ground floor/ row house.

Come to bangalore sir, and see the price difference for maids / househelps . They have an association and the prices depend on the society even if the societies are adjacent to each other. Prices are fixed and you cannot bargain.😬

>Sadly, at times.. simplest of things are hard to find. For example, from Siyaganj to C21, getting a hose connector for a 1inch or even bigger tap/नल.. is getting 😥almost impossible.

i dont know what this , should be something novelty because most commonly used items can be found out hardware shops that we have close to our homes. i purchase most of the sanitary fittings from here
traffic is still bearable and things are close, you can go to siyganj etc even to get small stuff
in bangalore the siyaganj-equivalent is 35kms far, that along with traffic and would have to take a one day leave if i need to get something from there. You will have to park 1kms far and yet you will pay the retail price only because you are non-localite.





>Otherwise yes, most vegetables are available under ₹100 per kilogram.

you still have mandis with few kms, in most areas you still have thelewalas coming daily


you have travelled and seen the world a lot more than me,  these seemingly simple things are a luxury 


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Nothing beats chandigarh.

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Even jaipur is better, but connectedness in jaipur lost like a metro, jodhpur is happening place with shahi food like kabuli ( twice good as to as any veg. Biryani) but charm of udaipur is better, shilpgram, ghats and food is ok.

Indore food like kiss, ratalu  fusion with any kind of experimant, is set it above any place in MP.

pune would more Crowder than any other city in Maharashtra (non metro), vibes are better in Mumbai. Costwise Mumbai has all options locals, metro and autos are affordable, only time is short in fast Mumbai. 

Chennai is totally different world, with high income , industry, auto , business, If you see  top 25 centres in per capita GDP in India , you can see 5 are in tamilnadu, so earning in much in south, spending is not from major, only youngsters spends . Otherwise first Target is settling abroad otherwise no need to leave Tn , local food and culture so home sick but ready for foreign .

Deal Newbie Deal Newbie
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Such a wholesome capsule of many places!👌🏼

Starting with the last, yes😁 us desi folks (irrespective of the country, region) are all okay if 'foreign' location calls, but generally do crib about honesickness.

Indeed! Food is one of THE MOST basic necessities so in that department.. the more laid back places are so much more enriching.
(So long as someone does not have OCDs, hygiene phobias.)

Yes, like you, @delicious-jatt and others mentioned.. Pune is unfortunately becoming the preferred counter for Bengaluru.. making it burst at the seams.

And yes, honestly, gor the income levels and other things.. sometimes.. New Bombay felt cheaper than Indore (the other place which you mentioned in the first post).. so yes... except time and distances.. many places in Bombay are reasonably okay to live.

The Babulnath, Bhuleshwar belt.. even today.. has value for money street food.

Though I personally tossed ethics out of the window.. re-memorised ॐnavkaar mantr🛐 and two three times.. faked to be a Jain🙇🏻‍♂️.

Navneet publishers or some such people had/have this semi charitable bhojnalay in Dadar or that side.. which takes nominal amount, but is only meant for Jains.
Otherwise Thakkar's thaali is good.
Compared to what @ishandon (delicious) says about Bengaluru rentals, distances.. thanks to the auto, taxi, local, metro, buses.. Bombay/ Mumbai still feels more manageable.
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View of hyderabad. ?

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