[ntomer]

"Riding on its high quality of life, transporatation infrastructure and overall labour force contributing to its economic growth, Delhi has emerged on top among 48 Indian cities, including Mumbai, as the best place to reside, according to a report by Ernst & Young."

Source: Rediff - Best city to live in? Delhi beats Mumbai

[phamilyman]

blarhg

that is why i took 1 hour 40 mins for 20kms today morning in car - everyone else is thinking the same

No seriously, I cant wait for Delhi 2012. Metro everywhere, no need to self-commute, just hop on. *sigh*

[vkochar]

Well It actually really is . If you count NCR area as well ( Noida / Gurgaon / Fbad / GBad ).

I think delhi is wonderful to stay in. There are the widest and best roads in India. the best shopping places , Biggest Malls.

Great Food !!

Good Houses / developers. Now only if the traffic problem is imprved a little bit - I feel there is a huge difference in traffic a year back and now. Its further going to improve with more metro tracks functioning.

[vasudeva]

Having stayed in Delhi for close to 40 years and presently working in a consultancy/rating company, these reports/studies are usually sponsored/used as headlines to increase visibility. But Delhi as the best city. That means Chandigarh is not a city. Also that means that the other cities are even worse off than Delhi in:
1. law and order (non existent in Delhi)
2. traffic (corruption pervades all aspects of administration).
3. people (most are rude, lecherous, unconcerned about others).

Of course, Delhi is good if you have the money, stay in Lutyens area (politicos and Bharti Mittal types)/South Delhi, do not have to commute far, and have lots of servants. For anyone below that, the only good thing in Delhi is the Delhi Metro. Who made that a reality: a person who practices the Bhagvad Gita in his actions.

[MADMAX111]

Fully agree Vasudev on all three points. The facilities might of there, The QUALITY OF LIFE is missing big time. I feel the best quality of life is offered by Bangalore(despite the traffic) and Hyderabad. ( I belong to North India BTW). So this is a well weighted and experienced decision having lived in all three cities.

[V-16]

Its all Humbug. What use is a city's infrastructure and money if it cant guarantee the safety of its inhabitants? I'm sure there will be a lot of people who will disagree (mostly from Delhi ) but just answer me one question. Which lady can think of taking a cab in the late hours of the night, feeling safe (or for that matter even in the day)? Regards the infrastructure,its good only because the VIPs live there and they cannot be inconvenienced. Its for them, not for you. Get over the wrong notion that the Delhi Govt is doing it for its people. Even in Bombay, when there is a VIP visit slated, the roads which one has been desperately trying to appeal the govt to make usable are done overnight and to add salt to the wound, only that part is corrected through which the VIP will travel.
So IMHO Delhi being the best city is hogwash. Bangalore or Bombay gets my vote and Ernst & Young can go fly a kite for a rubbish claim!! They're not fooling anyone

[BlackPearl]

Bangalore and Hyderabad are anyday better than Delhi for the common man.

[akroy]

I simply disagree to that statement from E&Y, Infact it is the worst city I have seen so far (nothing personal to the residents BHPians, just my feeling)...
Although went there twice, weather is pathetic in any month plus the people are aggressive / abusive in nature...even at railway station / auto stand, things start with mothers-sisters slangs and end with that...so much in open, if you give a single line in Kolkata that they do in Delhi, the general public will kick him black-blue (GOno-DHolai)...

Overall Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad are far better place that capital...
People in Delhi has more cash but we in Bangalore pay the most taxes...it is slowly turning to a Corruption capital...

Abhi

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Bangalore and Hyderabad are anyday better than Delhi for the common man.

Dunno about hyderabad but bangalore is no way near Delhi.

If, I for a moment think that this valuation is true, its sad that Delhi is the best that India can offer. Very sad state of affairs.

[akroy]

Originally Posted by MADMAX111

Fully agree Vasudev on all three points. The facilities might of there, The QUALITY OF LIFE is missing big time. I feel the best quality of life is offered by Bangalore(despite the traffic) and Hyderabad. ( I belong to North India BTW). So this is a well weighted and experienced decision having lived in all three cities.

For me, it is Kolkata which provides the best VFM life...I am saying this not because my native is Kolkata but from feedback from my friends who stayed there and none of them were from KOl except me...
A group of batchmates/campus batch from all the IITs joined TCG Software in Kolkata few years back still remembers those days with nostalgia. No one is in Kol anymore but everybody has a common concensus - we saved the most in Kolkata and enjoyed the most there/ most economical and value for money place...

Whenever i go to Kol, I too get the same feeling!! wahan 10 rupiah mein bhi dum hai...

Abhi

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Dunno about hyderabad but bangalore is no way near Delhi.

If, I for a moment think that this valuation is true, its sad that Delhi is the best that India can offer. Very sad state of affairs.

@extreme_torque - no offences meant. the valuation may be correct taking all the aspects of life into account, but from a common man's point of view I liked Bangalore and Hyderabad more than Delhi (apart from the road conditions in Delhi which are way better than any city I have visited). What I particularly disliked about Delhi was the lack of security for the ladies on which point the cities of south score very high. Even Bombay is very safe in that respect.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Dunno about hyderabad but bangalore is no way near Delhi.

If, I for a moment think that this valuation is true, its sad that Delhi is the best that India can offer. Very sad state of affairs.

Originally Posted by akroy

For me, it is Kolkata which provides the best VFM life...I am saying this not because my native is Kolkata but from feedback from my friends who stayed there and none of them were from KOl except me...
A group of batchmates/campus batch from all the IITs joined TCG Software in Kolkata few years back still remembers those days with nostalgia. No one is in Kol anymore but everybody has a common concensus - we saved the most in Kolkata and enjoyed the most there/ most economical and value for money place...

Whenever i go to Kol, I too get the same feeling!! wahan 10 rupiah mein bhi dum hai...

Abhi

I have been living in Kolkata for 26 years but I think it gets extreme reactions from the people - either they hate it or they love it. The same cannot be said about Bangalore or Hyderabad as most of the people who visit thses places more or less like them. Kolkata is VFM city, no doubt and it is getting better after some IT companys came here but the most irritating factor is the presence of unions everywhere. you cannot even do a proper business because of them. Thats why all the manufacturing industries left Kolkata for good. Same will happen to IT compannies if they allow unions.

[revved_up]

I dont think, it is wise to compare Delhi with smaller cities like Bangalore or Hyderabad. Each of them have their pros and cons and Delhi being the capital city will always be quicker to get some things(e.g - flyovers, metro rail etc etc.) whereas the others end up being the poor cousins.

[Ram]

Thanks to job-related travel, I got a chance to compare commutes in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Nagpur and Bangalore.

Mumbai is the most disciplined.
BEST Buses don't try to rush across an intersection, when the light goes amber enroute to red.
And vehicles don't peel off when there's still 5 seconds for the light to go green.
Most importantly, bikes don't ride on the wrong side of the divider and cars don't turn right from the left most lane.
Motorcycles don't overtake you within the 18-inch gap between you and the centre divider (they do that in Pune).
You get to use 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears, and very occasionally in the early morning, 5th gear in Pune.
On the Eastern Express Highway from Amar Mahal to Thane, and on the Western Express Highway from Airport to Kandivli, in the morning you can actually shift up to fifth gear.

In Pune, traffic drives when the light is green, amber and the first second or two, even when it is red. Autorickshaws and bikers and certainly bicyclists don't heed the traffic signals at all. When traffic starts to bunch up, one smart biker, then another and eventually all of them get onto the wrong side of the divider.

In Bangalore, the nuisance users are the contract buses and the call-centre station wagons. They stop only in the centre of the road to drop off and pick up passengers. Motorcyclists and scooterists don't hesitate to even ride on the pavements and green verges. And traffic is so heavy, as soon as you've reached 4th gear, it's often time to push the brake pedal and come down to second, or even first gear again.

In Kolkata on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, as you head with headlamps blazing in the foggy darkness from Ultadanga towards Park Street, a nonchalant cycle-rickshaw comes at you, on the wrong side of the road, without lights. You heart starts to pound. Your companion yells in Bengali at the rickshaw puller, "Do you want to die?" The near skin and bones rickshaw puller retorts with, "It's better to die once and for all, than die of hunger each day".

Never driven in Delhi though. Friends, what's Delhi like?

Ram

[tsk1979]

If the best city to live in requires people to wait in queues for drinking water, and sweat it out with 6 hours cuts a day, I would be very very scared