Moving to Bangalore? Pointers for you!

We change clothes. We change jobs. We change cities too, these days. So just as we are on the lookout for tips on clothing and advice on career, we would definitely need someone to help us settle into a new city quickly. Isn’t it? But you know what, there is no guide to help you achieve that! So here’s a take away from the experience of helping a bunch of friends set up their new home in Ejipura, near Koramangala, Bengaluru.

1. Accommodation Hunt: Despite all the buzz on real estate portals, it was a local broker who finally helped secure an unfurnished 4BHK for Rs 35,000 monthly inclusive of maintenance. The property is on the 4th floor with stairs inside the apartment that lead to a 5th floor. Sitting with a laptop on the stairs while the two pet cats jump around the house is everybody’s favourite! Broker’s fee was one-month rental and security deposit was negotiated for Rs 1.5 Lacs with post-dated cheques given for 3 months.
2. Logistics: Ride sharing platform BlaBlaCar was immensely helpful in bringing the two pet cats from Mumbai to Bangalore. Rs 4500 only to get Sexy and Softy in their new home! No more worrying about how an airline’s cargo will handle your pet! For other courier needs, Parcelled was pretty awesome. They’ll reach wherever you are to pack your parcel and pick it up for you. Awesomeness!
3. Food: While the kitchen is yet to be set up, food ordering app TinyOwl has been a saviour. For those 2am hunger pangs, Sam’s Night Kitchen has a thumbs up.
4. Groceries: Online grocery shopping using Grofers ensured a hassle free experience. No more running around to get the change when even the ATM gives you only 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes.
5. Drinking water: Flipkart refused to deliver Eureka Forbes Aquaguard in this postal code! Folks at Croma tested the water sample from home and said Kaveri water is hard water, so a basic water purifier will not solve the purpose. Getting an RO would be too much of an initial investment. So, Bisleri jars of 20 litres priced at Rs 80 work best for now. A small dispenser of Rs 150 can be bought to act as a base for the inverted jar.
6. Full time caretaker/ cook: Cleaning utensils, operating the fully auto washing machine to wash the clothes, keeping the entire house in order when there are five bachelors-cum-entrepreneurs staying needs someone full time. And someone trustworthy and efficient enough to leave the entire house to them while you are away at work. With a budget of Rs 10,000 monthly, that looks doable using Aasaanjobs to find blue-collared people. (Ouch! They aren’t in Bangalore as yet, so part-time maid for now)
7. Gas connection: Private gas connections are easily available with bare minimum documentation. A 5kg cylinder costs Rs 350 with equal amount as security deposit. Indane gas connection process has been initiated using a photocopy of ID proof, passport-sized photograph and a copy of local address proof — rent agreement in this case. The waiting period is nearly two months. But once it comes, then a 14.2 kg LPG cylinder would be way easy on pocket!
8. Local vehicle: Getting a vehicle transferred to a new city and abiding by all the laws is time consuming. Given the massive traffic in Bangalore, a two-wheeler is recommended for short distances. Online marketplace for second hand two-wheeler CredR looks good with leads so far. If you don’t want to own a vehicle, go with Uber or Ola Cabs since they are much cheaper than autos on a lot of occasions. With well behaved drivers and cashless rides, Uber has won many a hearts here.
9. Internet: The lifeline in other words! ACT Internet connection took nearly a week to get up and running. They had to set up a new port in this area that led to the delay, said an executive. 250GB plan at 100Mbps worth Rs 3,000 monthly powers everybody’s lives here.
10. Mobile connection: Footing the roaming bills until number portability greets you — that’s the norm with this lot. You don’t want to give up on your old number just like that!
11. Furniture & Electrical Appliances: After going through the nightmare of dealing with a local furniture center guy who’d not even have the courtesy to call back despite multiple calls, Furlenco was such a relief! This home furniture rental service treats your house as theirs and sends a detailed plan for each and every room along with beautiful pictures as attachments in the mail. From the first call with the relationship manager to scheduling the delivery to unpacking and setting up home, it was such a delight to deal with their team! An SMS to thank you with the CEO’s email ID at the end of every call that you make to their helpline. Wow! Rs 10,700 monthly for furniture in all rooms and fully auto washing machine + fridge. Due to an offer that day, the security deposit is only one month rental and one month rental will be waived off on completion of six months. Have a look at the pictures and you’d know how happy the humans and cats are!

Looks like the tips above might help me anytime soon since I am going to relocate to Bangalore soon and looking forward to work in the startup ecosystem here. Namma Bengaluru!