[jomson13]

Getting a two-wheeler in Pune is highly recommended. I have had once since my college days and cannot imagine moving around the city without one.
The weather does not warrant a car and the existing traffic situation makes a very good case for two wheels.

I see a lot of good advice on the areas to stay - nothing to add there.
Aundh is quite close to PCMC (areas like Pimple nilakh, Vishal nagar etc. are in PCMC) I do find the roads and infrastructure to be better planned in PCMC compared to Pune.
My advice is to hire a good agent and get him to show you some flats - it will be money well spent.

[na_agrawal]

Originally Posted by jimmyjagga

can be provided, Do's & Don'ts would be hugely appreciated.
What does a nice furnished 1 or 2 BHK in Pune, located in an upscale society cost to.How is the traffic and commute in Pune, what are the mode of transport available, if I do not drive my car down to Pune from NCR.

Hi there..

I have been living in Pune for the last 3.5 years. (I originally hail from Noida and Agra).

Below are the 2 areas to absolutely avoid for now - (no offence to locals, my personal views)

1. Hadapsar, KP - Absolute jam packed roads and no possibility of road expansions. Huge POONAWALA FINCORP office and a new upcoming ADANI realty building has made things worse. Highly overpriced! my overpaid friend bought a 900 sqft house for 1.08Cr.

2. Hinjewadi - Isolated from the main areas and the ongoing metro work is a nightmare. Road have been narrowed and there's barely any place to drive now. You wont get Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo at odd hours.


Secondly, its best if you can bring your own car. It rained for straight 5 months in Pune this year, I was always helpless as I have only a 2 wheeler in Pune. I have come to Guwahati for Diwali and will go back to Pune in Dec and have made sure that I will drive down in my car this time.

Ola and Uber are not reliable at odd hours and during rains. Bus service is pathetic as it takes more than double the time. For instance, my office is 8.5 kms from my rented apartment in Hadapsar. It takes 25 mins on my bike (and I don't ride on footpaths like many people do there), 35 mins in a Ola/Uber but 1 hr 30 mins in the city bus.

I missed an important exam once due to unavailability of a cab/auto once during the very early hours of day. (around 5-530am). Since then I rely on Goibibo cabs for anything very important such as Airport runs.

Bringing your own car is very important to this city.

Try nobroker dot com, buy their premium service, costs barely 1700 INR for one month. Its worth it. Hope you find a good apartment. Best of luck.

~NA

[jimmyjagga]

Originally Posted by na_agrawal

Hi there..

I have been living in Pune for the last 3.5 years. (I originally hail from Noida and Agra).

Bringing your own car is very important to this city.

Try nobroker dot com, buy their premium service, costs barely 1700 INR for one month. Its worth it. Hope you find a good apartment. Best of luck.

~NA

Thanks the idea is to bring my own car, however for first few months i will have to rely on other means. I am not averse to buying a two wheeler and driving again, especially since it was mentioned here, that there are great roads to go for a bike drive in Pune and vicinity

Originally Posted by jomson13

Getting a two-wheeler in Pune is highly recommended. I have had once since my college days and cannot imagine moving around the city without one.
The weather does not warrant a car and the existing traffic situation makes a very good case for two wheels.

My advice is to hire a good agent and get him to show you some flats - it will be money well spent.

You are right, however i hear that rains last for few months here so one may require a car also.
Would you be kind enough to share contact of good agent you could refer please, I have no connects so far in the city.

Originally Posted by alpha1

Do a simple exercise first, check the live traffic on google every morning and evening from your office to your 5-6 desired localities.

If Aundh is your office area, then you should stay in/around Aundh only since there are a lot of residential complexes there.

1 BHK would be 10-15K, 2 BHK 15-30K - as you would be aware the rental prices are not just dependent on the carpet area but also the locality, facilities/amenities in the vicinity as well as the "poshness" of the society complex.

Although the span of Pune is not too much, small distances can take long time due to ongoing Metro constructions everywhere and generally narrow roads (compared to NCR).

Western part of the city (like Aundh) is blessed with spectacular 1-hour getaways in the hills and lakes and fortresses.


Remember, life will feel easy and convenient: don't get used to it if you are going to move out of Pune!

I look forward to the easy and convenient life
Like i mentioned i am looking forward to start my findings from Aundh, first. Would you have any relevant reference that you could kindly share with me, like i mentioned earlier I have zero connects in the city and really want to find a very good 1 or 2 BHK furnished apartment for first 6 to 10 months.

Regards

[Axe77]

Pune is biking paradise (certainly compared to Mumbai). You can head it out in multiple directions on any given Sunday and have a great ride at your disposal. It has options for great tarmac as well as super off roading depending on what floats your boat. If you’re fond of motorcycling, then this is great city to spend some time in. It also has a vibrant biking community if you fancy this as a group activity - a great way to make some new friends in a new city.

Given that your work is in Aundh, the broader Balewadi / Baner area offer a very fast range of housing options across the price and luxury range. These parts make the most sense for you I guess. It has a reasonably buzzing nightlife and restaurant scene as well and a wonderful facility in Balewadi Stadium to pursue almost any sport that you might have an interest in (including a great 50 mtr pool).

Weather is quite nice for many months of the year too - overall a wonderful city to spend time in. We have actively considered Pune (and within Pune, Baner / Balewadi specifically) for a second home / holiday home and actively for that home to be our ultimate retirement pad as well.

Enjoy the stint and feel free to keep the questions flowing.

[jimmyjagga]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Pune is biking paradise (certainly compared to Mumbai). You can head it out in multiple directions on any given Sunday and have a great ride at your disposal. It has options for great tarmac as well as super off roading depending on what floats your boat. If you’re fond of motorcycling, then this is great city to spend some time in. It also has a vibrant biking community if you fancy this as a group activity - a great way to make some new friends in a new city.

Given that your work is in Aundh, the broader Balewadi / Baner area offer a very fast range of housing options across the price and luxury range. These parts make the most sense for you I guess. It has a reasonably buzzing nightlife and restaurant scene as well and a wonderful facility in Balewadi Stadium to pursue almost any sport that you might have an interest in (including a great 50 mtr pool).

Weather is quite nice for many months of the year too - overall a wonderful city to spend time in. We have actively considered Pune (and within Pune, Baner / Balewadi specifically) for a second home / holiday home and actively for that home to be our ultimate retirement pad as well.

Enjoy the stint and feel free to keep the questions flowing.

Thanks mate, this gives me the reassurance to make my career and living move to Pune. Similar to your feedback others too have mentioned staying in Baner area.
I am looking forward to rejoining the biking community, I use to own Machismo 500 cc a decade back ( thread might still be here in the forum), a good excuse to start again, slight OT, may start with lighter bikes this time and then take it up, plus whole motor biking industry has evolved over last decade, loads of options, like I said, slight OT.
First i have to finalise a living place in a super nice locality and check that box off my list.

Thanks again, appreciate your feedback and encouragement to ask more.

Regards

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by jimmyjagga

Will not stretch the post into a long one, anything anyone wishes to share please do so.

I lived in Viman Nagar, Pune between 2007-2008. At the time, this area was coming up. I am guessing that by now, the same suburb should be self sufficient. I rented an apartment at Oakwood. At the time it cost about 12,000/month. I am guessing its about 50,000 INR now. I won't say its upmarket. Its good. No power or water issues and everyone minds their own business. The uptick of living in this suburb is the young adult & student crowd as you have Symbiosis.

My work place was at Dhole Patil Road. A commute of no more than 7km one way. I'd not attempt any commute in Pune that is longer than this. Traffic is chaotic and atleast at the time, infrastructure was poor. I also found Pune quite dusty. The saving grace being that Winters are nice and as someone who lived most of their career life in Bangalore, it felt almost the same, except for the language being different. Pune has a similar pub/live music crowd that I quite liked.

As someone coming from abroad, I would give Kalyani Nagar a visit before narrowing down on a place to live. Its got an old school, respectful crowd of people living there. Likely to cost more than Viman Nagar for sure.

[Jaisalmeriya]

Welcome to Pune jimmyjagga.

Having made Pune my home since last 12 years and living in Baner for 10 of those 12 years, I'd say the city still has a lot of charm left , unlike other large metros having their own pros and cons. As others have surmised, Pune is not without its problems, but the advantages outweigh the cons. Intercity connectivity still leaves a lot to be desired though.

One key aspect you may want to also consider before deciding if the kids are of school-going age is to also check the distances from your office and planned place of residence as it may take a toll on kids' commutes as well.

Cheers.

[kartikh]

Welcome to Pune City.

I see you are inclined towards living in the Baner area. Do note, at this point of time, Metro Construction is in progress in Baner area, due to which roads have become narrow - expect traffic jams, especially since many IT offices have now started and are calling employees to work. So I would suggest avoid Baner area - for now.

As others have suggested, Nagras Road, Pimple Nilakh, Vishal Nagar areas would be a better place to live.

If cost of rent is not an issue, you can also try searching for an apartment near Anand Park, Chaitraban, Sanewadi Area. These are a bit more upscale places to live in Aundh. Living in these areas you will have better access to Grocery Stores, Malls, Doctors/Dentists, And Public Transport. Also you will find easy access to Rickshaws and Ola/Uber.

[ArijitGupte]

Welcome to Pune
Pune तिथे काय उणे . The literal meaning is "Is there anything deficient in Pune ? "
The perfect weather, the perfect people. Punekars may be sarcastic but are warm hearted.

Traffic will be bad and is bad across Pune. But still one can travel from one end of Pune to other in say 1.5 hours in normal traffic.
Just, you need a vehicle in Pune, be it a two wheeler or a car, own vehicle is necessary
Depending on your work location and also on how social you are, look for residential area.
Eg. Hinjewadi, Kharadi are where many IT companies are located at, but these areas are not the best for social gathering.

Do visit Mandai (Vegetable market), Tushibag (Shopping), Nana Peth (Vehicle spare parts market).
FC road, JM road for a walk. Singhad Fort, Torna Fort for some historic moments.
Visit MG Road, East Street for some British Cantonment areas with good shopping and food.
Koregaon park and Viman nagar for some lipsmacking restaurant and pubs.

Follow traffic rules, respect others and you will be all right.

[fhdowntheline]

Saying this as a Punekar since college , thats ~30 years. It is a rapidly declining city in terms of quality of life. Yes it has job opportunities aplenty, but the way it has spread in a haphazard fashion doesnt give it any chance for improvement.

It may be a strange statement but it is a fact. There is no scope for planned development in Pune. By Pune I am referring to the Pune Metropolitan Region or PMR, comprising of Pune city, suburbs, PCMC and surrounding villages. They are all contiguous to each other and this hydra is spreading rapidly, gobbling villages, farms, mountains and whatnot all around. Those of us who may have made it a home perhaps dont have much of a choice, but for those who are exploring it as a new opportunity, there might be other choices in tier-2 towns. Pune is stuck in a phase where it is neither a Bengaluru/Chennai kind of a city nor a Nagpur/Ahmedabad kind of city. Its public infrastructure, be it roads, transport, and especially airport is probably the worst of the top 10 urban regions of India, and there is no improvement unfortunately. Its metro line development is going at a pretty slow pace. In general, Pune doesn't seem to be a priority for governments, apart from exploiting commercial land.
Yes it has some advantages of being close to nature, but these are being rapidly eroded with unbridled development and destruction of natural forest habitat with farmhouses, bungalow plots etc in the countryside. You have to travel as far as Wai area (80km away) to see any semblance of pure country side now, and even Wai town has multistoried buildings (!). On the Pune-Mumbai corridor, it is an urban mess with the picturesque Lonavala area just about breaking the monotony. I would urge anyone to think really hard before selecting Pune to settle down.

[Tanmay007]

Pune has gotten progressively worse in terms of traffic and road infra in the past decade. The metro work has only made things even more worse. As someone who is used to the horrible Mumbai traffic, even I dread going to Pune. I have no idea why a majority of 2 way streets have been converted to 1-way. It just adds more to the traffic. Pune is also a big city, getting from point a to point b will cost you a bomb.

So to sum up the above a few points which are also mentioned by other members:

1. Rent a place within 5km of your workplace.
3. 1-bhk in an up-scale area should cost about ~25k. Even if you have to pay a bit more, do not skimp on pt.1.
3. 2-wheeler is a must. Preferably get both so you can use the car for weekends/nights.
4. Pune has got some really nice gardens, great food and tons of small shopping stores. It's the best thing I love about the city.
5. Weather is nice and AQI is substantially better than Delhi, if anything moving to Pune will at least save your lungs.
6. Lastly and slightly off-topic, consider moving to Mumbai. It's the best.

[superbad]

Originally Posted by jimmyjagga

Hi Everyone,
I am relocating to Pune for joining a new job. Living in North India (NCR) and US my whole life, I need to understand how is the city, which places to live and enjoy. Most importantly which places to avoid.
Initially I will be there by myself for six months to year. Any insights that can be provided, Do's & Don'ts would be hugely appreciated.
What does a nice furnished 1 or 2 BHK in Pune, located in an upscale society cost to.How is the traffic and commute in Pune, what are the mode of transport available, if I do not drive my car down to Pune from NCR.

I feel the thread may be helpful for anyone in the community planning to shift to Pune.

Will not stretch the post into a long one, anything anyone wishes to share please do so.

thank you

Kind Regards

1) Compared to North India, you'll find Pune a paradise, weather & people wise. People will remind you less about their fathers & will be less prone to escalate conflicts.
2) You may find some difficulty getting a house. Not that options aren't there, but typical Punekars still harbour a bias against North Indians (Shiv Sena & Raj Thackeray hangover). People will rather rent out their house to a Maharashtrian family rather than a North Indian bachelor/ bachelorette. Ofcourse nobody will say this to your face but if you find someone deliberately avoiding negotiations/ being indecisive, you'll have to take the hint. It's not that grave an issue but something to be kept in mind.
Having said this, considering your work place is in Aundh, you may like to search in Aundh-Baner-Pashan-Balewadi (all of which are fairly upscale). Just make sure you don't cross the Pune-Mumbai highway. You'll find many options on Nobroker, Magic bricks. As has been already mentioned, do make sure the water supply is of PMC (Pune municipal corporation). One more thing to note is that there is a trend of flooding in Pune during monsoons. Do make sure that the apartment/society you're selecting is not in a low lying area compared to its surroundings. You'll find 1 bhk for 20-22k & 2bhk in 25-30k per month.
3) Transport - Own two wheeler is your best friend. Get a pre-owned scooter for convenience. Or a bike if you're a biking aficianado. Car can be added later on if you feel the need. Public transport in Pune is hopeless compared to say Delhi or Mumbai. But Ola, Uber etc is plenty.
4) Things to do, see & eat - Too long to type in a post, so I'll just say do try - Pav bhaji, Vada pav, kacchi dabeli, bhel, pani puri (or gol gappa in north speak), misal, jhunka bhaakar, mangoes in summer, kolhapuri non veg, puran poli, pedha, bakarwadi, chiwda etc. Google will tell you the best spots for all the above options. Nightlife in Pune is extremely good, safe & fun.
Places to visit - Shaniwar wada, Kelkar museum, Aga Khan palace, Pune University (now savitri bai phule Pune University), sarasbaug, parvati, Camp area, sinhagad, old Peth areas, religious places etc. Additionally, there are dozens of places worth visiting 50-100 km from Pune - Forts, dams, Caves, waterfalls etc.
Do roam around during Ganesh Chaturthi (10 day Ganpati festival), Pune probably has the best festivities in the whole world.

All in all, a very good experience for you. You may even consider settling here permanently.

[vikrantj]

Also one advantage of Pune. It is the 9th cleanest city in India with population over 1 million and probably 2nd cleanest city with population over 6million.

[the_skyliner]

A lot of information has already been posted by fellow members so that should help you decide on the location. Aundh is probably one of the best locations to stay and work.

One universal truth: no matter how much one badmouths Pune, once you live here for a couple of years you would not want to live anywhere else in India.

Welcome to Pune!

[silverado]

Originally Posted by jimmyjagga

Do's & Don'ts would be hugely appreciated.
what are the mode of transport available,

Welcome to Pune, as a Mumbaikar who has been staying in Pune since last 7-8 years, i can say i love this city for what it is.

Except for core areas, Pune is now a cosmopolitan city hence settling down here for anyone is easy.

Do's : Learn Basic Marathi if possible, buy a Scooter ( Absolutely must ), Buy a cycle ( Pune has a healthy cycling culture ), Enjoy the mutiple places to visit all around Pune.

Dont's: Rely solely on public transport ( Although its improving of late with AC electric buses ).

Traffic : Which city today doesnt have it?
Climate : Its no more a pensioners paradise , Summers are really hot.
People : You should visit Peth areas to experience hard core Punekars, also visit Kothrud to get a taste.
Places to chill : Plenty, city has a sizeable Student and migrant population and hence caters to everyone's taste.