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15 Reasons to Why Pune is the Best Place to Live In

by: Meenakshi

I have been to various places and cities in India and have stayed there for quite some time. None of the places I lived in was as comfortable as Pune is. Not that I didn’t like other cities, but its like Pune is better than all the other. I’m a girl, an staying alone in a city is a daring thing to do. I’ve been living alone after my 12th standard and for me Pune is the safest place for a girl. It’s almost seven years now that I’ve been in Pune and am settled here (married). A north Indian by birth actually I can’t say what place I belong to and reason behind this is… I’ve not stayed for long at any of the place that I can refer as I belong to xyz place.

I had come to Pune in 2005 for my post graduation. Our college schedule was a little strict, but still we (me and friends) managed to explore the city as and when we had time, after all we were the future managers. With each passing day I was falling in love with Pune and same was the case with rest of my friends. We all were in complete awe of whatever Pune has to offer us. I was budding management student and I was praying everyday to get a job in Pune itself because I didn’t want to shift to any other place. Thankfully, I managed to get through a Pune based company in our campus placement season.

In these six years, I realized that there are 15 good reasons for me to say that Pune is the Best Place to Live In and they are as follows :

1. Oxford of East : Pune has various renowned educational institutes like schools, colleges, engineering colleges, Medical Colleges, Universities etc. Some these institutions are also listed amongst the best schools and colleges of India. That is the reason why Pune is referred as ‘Oxford of East’.

2. Queen of Deccan : Pune has a very pleasant climate all year round. It is also referred as Deccan Odyssey. The daytime may be a little high in summers but evenings and nights are always breezy and cool. Talking about Monsoon, that’s the best time to explore nearby places. The whole city is covered in green, roads are clean, there is a magical aroma in the air, and the climate is cool, cooler than you can imagine.

3. A booming IT hub : Pune is growing as a metropolitan city and this status is attracting various IT companies to set up their base and corporate offices here. It will soon gain the status of the 2nd Silicon Valley of India only after Bangalore. As IT industry is growing, the job opportunities are also increasing, which is good for any city. Unemployment is a hindrance for growth.

4. Small Size : As we compare Pune to other metropolitan cities of India, it is very small in size. Most of the places are easily accessible and transportation is not a problem here. The public transport facilities are competitively better in Pune. You can reach one corner of the city from another in just 1 – 1.5 hr, which is not possible in other cities.

5. Something for Everyone : No one in Pune is disappointed when it comes to shopping. One one hand it has posh areas like Koregaon Park, MG road for the rich and elite class people, FC road and JM road for middle class, and at the other hand it has Peth areas for Marathi centric shoppers. Peth areas were once the traditional market areas where you still get a glimpse of Old Pune and old Puneri culture.

6. Clean and Green : Pune is the second greenest capital in India after New Delhi. The lush green trees by roadside beautify the whole look and fell of the city. Pune Municipal Corporation Employees keep the city very clean, roads maintained.

7. Educated Crowd : As it is an educational center of India and a booming IT hub, the crowd is educated and well-behaved on public places. The cases of eve-teasing and other mischievous situations are lower that that of reported in other bigger cities. Pune has a very cosmopolitan, young and urbane crowd but less hip and happening like that of Bombay or Bangalore.

8. Peaceful : My favorite reason to live in Pune and prefer living here all life long is the peaceful environment. May be that’s the reason it is referred as Pensioner’s Paradise or a perfect place for retired people. On one hand it is a hip ‘n’ happening city and on the other hand is peaceful and calm. Perfect for elderly people, such surroundings keep them healthy and young.

9. In close proximity to Beaches : I confess, I’m a travel buff and the most important reason for me not to leave Pune is its close proximity to the nearby beaches which are just about 2 hrs away. It’s that enough a reason??? There is cluster of beaches near Pune which can be listed as perfect picnic spots, weekend getaways, monsoon getaways, honeymoon destinations etc.

10. In close proximity to Hill-stations : Just like in case of beaches, there are a number of popular hill stations located near Pune. They are so close that if you are rich and have loads of money, you can plan a trip to these fabulous places every weekend and have a gala time with friends and family.

11. In close proximity to Forts : Forts attract me a lot. To me they appear as the proof of rich and royal historic past we had centuries ago. The stories associated with and the battles fought make them even more interesting. Close to Pune there are various popular forts of India, some of them are popular for their battles, some are popular for their constructions and some are popular as trekking destination near Pune.

12. Vada Pav and Misal Pav : Ok, here I’m being a little biased. Vada Pav and Misal are my favorite snacks. I can eat them at any given point of time. They just lip smacking and so very delicious. However, you can try out various other lip-smacking dishes. I personally love Maharashtrian cuisine.

13. Less Traffic as compared to other Metro cities : Less population of the city leads to less on road traffic. I know many of the daily commuters will disagree with me on this point, but the fact is that if you compare Pune with other metro cities of India, the traffic here is comparatively less.

14. Safe : As I said in the introduction that Pune was the safest city I’ve ever stayed in. Here I care to be out alone at 12:00 midnight but that’s not the case in other metro cities, specially Delhi. The crime rate in Delhi during night has increased drastically. Thank God Pune is way too behind.

15. Cheaper than other metro cities of India : Few days back there was an article in Times of India stating that Pune is at number seven in the list of most expensive cities of India. It is better to be in Pune than any other city in India.