Life style
in Chandigarh
Answers
Chandigarh is a great place to be for people who seek a peaceful, slow and easy life. It is a great place for your children to grow up, for a family to live, and grow old together :). There are multiple reasons for this -
1. Cost of living: Chandigarh is not an expensive city w.r.t to other Indian metros - Delhi, Mumbai, etc. It forms a tri-city with Mohali and Panchkula. Rents are very average, for example, a 3 BHK in your case would cost anywhere from 20-30,000 INR per month within Chandigarh. In Mohali and Panchkula, the rents for a 3BHK would be within the 15-25000 INR range. By the way, these cities are 15 mins away from Chandigarh, and driving in Chandigarh is a delight. For consumption at home, cost of food and alcohol is very nominal. Rates at dining at a good restaurant, pub or diner (and there are plenty) would cost the same as it would in any metro. If you're expecting a night-life, please note, there is no night life in Chandigarh (seriously... I think 12 would be the maximum a place would be open)
2. Cleanliness: There are no doubts here - Chandigarh is consistently ranked as the cleanest and the most well planned city in India. The roads are well maintained, street lights are properly lit at odd hours, no open garbage dumps, multiple parks in every sector (and they are well maintained too), and no Air pollution. Chandigarh administration does a good job in keeping the city clean. It would be wise to assess the city according to Indian standards, and not Western (or Eastern) ;)
3. Education: Chandigarh has the finest schools and universities in the country with a strong emphasis on grooming. Schools for boys (such as St. John's, St. Kabir's, etc), girls (Sacred Heart, Carmel Convent, etc.), co-educational (Vivek High, YPS, etc) among others are consistently ranked top in the region, and in the country. Punjab University (PU) and Punjab Engineering College (PEC) are top tier universities located within Chandigarh. Education fees are standard, though it would be best to check with the respective schools/universities for admission and fee structure.
4. Location: Resting at the foothills of the Shivalik, travelling to hill stations such as Kasauli/Shimla takes around 2, 3 hours respectively. Therefore a leisure trip can be planned almost every fortnight (Many people often travel to Kasauli for a break). Amritsar is 4 hours from Chandigarh and Delhi is 4.5 hours. Roads and highways are well maintained (but recently the Delhi highway was under repairs, so I cannot guarantee about its current status)
5. People: Though mostly full of Punjabi's, you will definitely find people from different regions of India settled here, and to sum it up, almost all of them are - Full of life, friendly, loving, and a whole lot of fun! Many retired soldiers from the Armed forces and other services are also settled here, and you would also find them living life to the fullest. Once you spend a few years in Chandigarh, you cannot help but feel the vibe, hence, the reference to Chandigarh in most Punjabi songs ;)
6. Rules: Though it is still India, therefore rules are not taken very seriously. However, Chandigarh and its Police are comparatively more strict about traffic rules and safety. Two wheeler driver and pillion both must wear helmets, CCTV road cameras (and yes, they operate and cops send you a ticket home!), Police Interceptor jeeps at almost every roundabout even at late hours, and the police is helpful and friendly (at least most of the times!). People drive well in Chandigarh and adhere to traffic rules & discipline (mostly!).
I guess that about covers it. I could write a lot more, but summing it up, with 1.60L p.m. you could live very comfortably in Chandigarh. I assumed you have a family of 3 (It should even be comfortable for a family of 4). Ultimately, it is also a matter of your own frugality. A certain amount of money might not be enough for 1 person whilst on the other hand it might be more than sufficient for 4. Hope I was able to help
Chandigarh is a great palace people are very happy in chandigarh , there are very strict rule according to cleanness or traffic rules