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-   -   Getting plum job offers from Bangalore, but worried about moving there because of traffic. Now what? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/203089-getting-plum-job-offers-bangalore-but-worried-about-moving-there-because-traffic-now-what.html)

I'd earlier mentioned on this thread how I had torpedoed a promising and plum job opportunity just because it was in Bangalore.

This morning, yet another recruiter called me with a Bangalore-only opportunity. I keep shooting down all these job offers from Bangalore. Why God why? Why did all these job offers only have to crop up in the city of traffic jams? I'd indicated in job portals that I'm open for any location, to be fair. But I was hoping that I'd get calls from other places...

I'm in a quandary now and have asked the latest recruiter to please give me a few hours to respond; I'd straight up told her that I have my doubts about Bangalore.

Don't be so hard on yourself. Ask for the location within Bangalore, not all locations are traffic nightmares. Check if they have flexi timings, WFH options. This will help in your decision process.

I would suggest don't reject the offers just because it's in Bangalore, find an apartment or house near to office (within 2 - 3 kms) and if your better half is also employed you can find a mid point between both the offices.

Might be a hyberbole , but Bangalore is no longer livable.The few pockets that folks are mentioning are far and few, but Bangalore is just no longer livable.

Weigh your gains from the job against what you'll lose w.r.t. quality of life by moving to Bangalore, because lose you will, and traffic is a given unless you literally live next door to your workplace. Bangalore commutes are famous for being measured in time, not distance.

It's a matter of degrees, and how much of your peace of mind you're willing to sacrifice to gain professionally. Do what suits you best.

If it is a good opportunity, no harm trying in my opinion. As others have mentioned, most IT Park Clusters also have a lot of accommodation around it. So it may not be too difficult to find a place even walkable from office. Once you get the job and the location is nailed down, you can see how the stay and commute options work out. If it looks suitable you can accept.

Outright rejecting just because of traffic may not be the right approach.

Just rent a place next to office even if it costs a bit more and you are all set. Yes traffic is bad but you can certainly avoid it if that's a priority to the extent that everything is in walkable distance.

Rent near tech parks are quite high. 3BHK near Manyata Tech park rents at 60-65 k /month. Furnished apartments go at about 1 L/month. Of course you can get PG accommodations for 15-20 k /month. Plus factor in the Cost of Living in Bangalore is very high. My monthly expenses doubled when I shifted from Chennai to Bangalore. And there are no cheap good schools, most charge 1 L plus /year. Plus there's the traffic to contend with.

Bangalore has two worlds. One world where the IT people live and the other world where the rest of the populations lives. I don't want to start a debate but if you are ok not to stay in the same apartment as other IT friends and ok not to send kids to the same schools where your friend's kids go, it can be a reasonable cost of living. Especially Manyata tech park is very much an affordable area as there isn't so much IT crowd in that part of Bangalore. Just research about where non-IT people live and send their kids to school and you will have your answers :)

I agree. This is unfortunately the problem. In other cities, there are various grades. You can live according to your preference. In Bangalore, either your kid has to go to an average school or to a corporation school. I do know that rent in Sultanpalya which is across the road from Manyata is just 1.5 - 2 k /month. There are schools there where fees is nil/ few thousands /year. What I mean is that there is no middle ground in any given area. Of course you can stay in middle class localities and travel, but that brings the traffic issue again. There are plenty of middle class areas within 3kms of Manyata which are very affordable. But those 3 kms will add 1 hr of commute everyday.

I disagree. You have to do more research. There is a really broad range of rentals and schools and not just high-class and low-class. One advantage of being a non-local is that you don't have to stay close to your parents/relatives. For Manyata Tech Park, look for areas outside the ring road (not inside). I don't know personally how many back gates are there into MTP but there are many decent residential options in Jakkur/Thanisandra main road with wide range of rents. What I noticed is that everyone prefers large gated projects by reputed builders which are very few and hence the rents are very high - avoid them if you want VFM options. When it comes to schools, don't fall for infrastructure = learning trap. Look for schools that are not highly RoI driven. I found the hard way that "great parent + poor school" is much better than "poor parent + great school". If you want your kid to learn music, sports, or arts the only way to do it is to put them in good coaching places outside school and be personally involved. Even the most expensive schools with all the infrastructure do a terrible job at extra curricular stuff. Sorry, this has gone way to off topic. I firmly believe Bangalore still offers decent living standard if you keep that as a priority and look beyond 'follow the crowd' mentality.

@ All

Thank you so much for putting me on the right track. I'm going ahead with my interview process with the recruiter. Even if things work out, the pursuant discussion here with tips and tricks will help me. I know i'll come back here, maybe even PM few members who've provided the tips...

Speaking of VFM options when it comes to accommodation and schooling, that's the exact approach I've taken here in Chennai.

And - I owe an explanation as to why I am so Bangalore-phobic, or actually traffic-phobic. It is something inborn in me maybe. I just detest traffic. I feel it is a waste of one's lifetime and energy. And it brings out the worst in humanity.
Even way back in 2011, when the Traffic feature on Google maps was in Beta stage, I was among the early adopters of it. Even today in chennai, I use unknown backroads and non-existent roads to commute to work, rather than fight it out in traffic...

Traffic and wasting time and money sitting in traffic (whatever may be the mode of transport) was the primary reason i relocated back to Chennai from Bangalore. Also my office is not in the OMR belt here, so i feel thats a boon.

With more and more companies consolidating its operations in and around ORR, its bound to become more chaotic. Unless metro starts in this stretch. I used to work in Ecospace and there can be a dedicated thread for chaos inside it. I too refused many opportunities from companies in ORR.

Hopefully my stress levels would be less, fingers crossed.

Granted that traffic woes are too much of a pain and unnecessary hassle that we at times have to deal with. Still, I am not sure it could be a reason to not take up opportunities.

As other have already pointed out, quite a few solutions to the problem -

1) Living close to the workplace - Could be expensive but not unmanageable.

2) Flexible timings that allows you to commute back and forth at off-peak hours - Many companies are now offering this on their own without even having to bargain for it!

3a) Work from home options - About 2/3 days a week. Again, many are offering this without a need to bargain.

3b) Daycare/Creche facility of the office premises: All points above will be much more enticing if you do need a creche/daycare facility located on the office premises.

4) Commute in two wheeler - Allows you to explore new paths, new places and routes! I once discovered a very good Gujarati snacks place just because of this - I possibly would not have known the joy of a good rotla and khakhra without this.

5) Use the office transportation (bus/cab) - Allows enough space and elbow room to work as you move!

Quite a quandary, Locusjag! Moving your post to an independent thread as I'm sure many others have this question running in their minds too.

Let this thread focus only on your query. All other traffic rants can continue in the main thread.