Pune - An Expat Survival Guide to India

Pune: An Expat Survival Guide ISBN 978-81-904055-7-7 Updated June 2009 140 pages, US$16.99

The guide is written specifically with the expat and NRI reader in perspective. See a preview.

Are you relocating to Pune?

A quaint town, popular with the defense and scientific research organizations, has transformed into one of the fastest growing cities in India.

Pune is known by a plethora of sobriquets – Queen of the Deccan; Cultural Capital of Maharashtra; Pensioner’s Paradise; Oxford of the East and Detroit of the East, to name a few.

Located near Mumbai, Pune is India’s automobile hub. It is well known for its young and cosmopolitan crowd. It is an educational destination for Indian and foreign students and happens to be a culturally vibrant and active city.

Pune has its urban infrastructure woes like every other city in India. Traffic chaos, inadequate infrastructure and pollution are apparent. A lot of expats and NRIs have relocated to Pune. There is a view that ‘NRIs who have worked abroad find it easier to use their professional experience here and can climb the corporate ladder here more easily than anywhere else in the world’.

Living in Pune should be comparatively easy compared to Delhi or Mumbai. The city has a manageable scale, enjoys a pleasant climate and has always been welcoming to foreigners. Residents recommend ‘Koregaon Park, Boat Club Road, Bund Garden and Kondhwa’ as great options for expats to live in.

Immigrants to the city have diverse views. Some find the city to be ‘quiet and very exciting at the same time’, whereas others feel that Pune has changed from what it was a decade ago. They find that ‘Pune people today are rude and unfriendly’. This is a predominant feeling among city bred, returning NRIs.

Bangalore: An Expat & NRI Survival Guide 120+ pages, US$16.99

This Expat Food Guide is meant to help you manage everyday situations and includes details on traditional eating etiquette, tips on what to eat, what not to eat, how to manage eating at social gatherings and best places to eat authentic south Indian cuisine across different cities.

Urban life in India has changed from what it was a decade or two ago. Anyone moving to Pune or for that matter any urban destination in India should appreciate that finding reliable domestic help will be a challenge. As a well traveled NRI who relocated to Pune says “Most people come to India with the wrong notion about relaxing with domestic help around.  But they are the most unreliable.  So keep your gadgets in place and don’t say goodbye to the washing machine and grinder and say hello to domestic help”.

This ebook answers all basic questions about Pune, utilities and services, schools and medical facilities, information resources, shopping hot spots, recreational and cultural centres, doing business and more. ‘Chilli Tips’ are meant to guide you to tackle everyday problems. Interviews with some NRIs and foreign students give you insights on life in Pune- the good and the bad.

If you are considering a move to Pune, buy this handy guide. The first edition of Pune city survival guide was published in 2008. This is an updated version. We have taken care to update contact information, addresses, URLs and add information based on feedback from our readers.

If you wish to share your experiences about life in Pune, do contact us with your suggestions, corrections and experiences.

See all our expat eBooks...