You can be moving over from Nasik to Pune, Tirupur to Coimbatore, Vijayawada to Hyderabad, Bangalore to Mumbai, Delhi to San Francisco or anywhere else too. You could even be moving from Bhatinda to New Jersey in one go.
Like the rolling stone saying goes, moving over or relocating especially to a bigger place / city is a learning experience. You have to unlearn and relearn how to walk, talk, dress up, eat, relax, spend and lot more all over again.
For Bhuvana it has been one of the most trying yet exciting phases of her life when she recently moved from Chennai to Mumbai. With bright career prospects and opportunities to earn from various quarters, Bhuvana and her hubby were thrilled and anxious about leaving a known devil.
Being a smart couple and having been trained in personal financial planning, the first thing they did when they knew they had to move was, count the chicks obviously before they were hatched. Okay, new salary – we will spend so much - so we can save so much kind of calculations.
Moving to a new city usually entails one or more of the following.
New opportunities for spending
In a smaller city what would you really do during free time, during weekends, for celebrations? May be go to the temple, visit your relatives, hang out with friends or go to a movie in the local theatre. But in a metropolis, in a bigger city you can do a lot more things – visit malls, pubs, movies in state-of-the-art theatres, eat outs in 5 star hotels. In all probability the earnings have gone up, so give in to consumerism, particularly if that is what everybody else is doing. By the time you get over the awe, the pockets would dry up. But then, there are credit cards.
Not everything is more expensive
House rent, education, grooming etc may be expensive. Some things may be cheaper. House help, transport, comfort clothing may be cheaper. How does that work? More people, more money, more spending capacity means bigger markets. This means markets allow competition. And whenever there is competition in the market place – who wins, who is the king? The customer! It is up to you to work around the system to keep expenses under control. At least, now you are not dependent on the only fish vendor in town. You can check out, you can shop around. You have options.
Living up to meet the standards
More opportunities mean more competition, doesn’t apply only when you are the customer. It applies when you are the vendor too. At the workplace, in your business or profession you are probably working with very efficient and accomplished people. You compete with the best of the brains. There are standards to be met. You have to be well groomed, well dressed, at your best all the time. Slips ups may be expensive. And needless to say, all that costs money. These are investments you have to make to stay ahead to maintain your higher earnings.
Check out with the locals
The locals have been there and done that. So, letting go of your inhibitions and striking that all important conversation with your neighbours will be very helpful in figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Bhuvana had the privilege of her neighbours helping her get a good deal with the house maid, with the milk vendor, with the purchase of a car and a lot more.
Change your consumption patterns
Yes, rice costs 50% more here but wheat costs lesser. Vegetables most suited for south Indian food habits are way too expensive here, but those with which the locals cook are easily available and are much cheaper. Filter coffee is a luxury but tea is cool. Once in the new place, trying to live the life of your hometown would be way too ambitious. If you want to keep expenses under control, live the way the locals do.
Embrace the change; adjust to local trends and tastes, that way living will get easier on the pocket. You will be able to live up to your challenges while enjoying the luxuries of a big city life. Bhuvana and Ram have been able to do that. What about you....?
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