Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
– Neale Donald Walsch
I heard this song after ages because of some instagram video with a new rendition of this song which I didn’t like. But thanks to that video, it took me back to this song I hadn’t heard in a very long time. This song : Girl Put Your Records On by Corrine Bailey Rae just makes me feel soo good and confident for anything new I am about to leap into so this one was perfect for this post.
I know I am PRETTY late with this blog but that’s because setting up a new place, settling into a new place, and moving into a new phase of life has been busier than I thought and I wanted to make sure I was giving my 100% to it and enjoying that process. But nevertheless, here I am finally writing it down…
Now that my quarantine time was over, here I was beginning a crazy new phase in my life. I am not just talking about moving to Pune, it’s also starting my life with Pratik post marriage after YEARS of long distance!
Something no one talks about in long distance is every time you meet after months as much as you think it’s going to be completely normal that we see each other everyday on FaceTime or video, it is a weird good but strange feeling to meet in person atleast for the first few moments till you get back to normalcy especially because there is atleast one change in the person from the last time you saw him/her, there have been decisions taken without being together in person, there have been changes in either one’s life. With Pratik, I remember feeling this and we looked at each other ( I am sure even he was nervous), held each other’s hands , hugged each other and that’s when we knew how far we’ve come that we are FINALLY at the same place.
We were staying in Thane post quarantine, at my parents and had planned to travel to Pune by a one way zoom car. Let me make your life easier by telling you that zoom cars do not have one way rentals from Mumbai (I did miss Avis at this point of time, why Avis, because I always used my consulting earned points during leisure travels) we decided to travel by an Uber intercity. We were obviously wearing masks and had carried sanitizers, and am sure you all know the new normal which isn’t the most comfortable way to travel but necessary for your safety. We had quite some bags probably 6?! (excluding my boxes and another suitcase being shipped in from New Jersey) so we were all crammed in the car. Thankfully it was a SUV so we managed to get everything and us in.
As it was late August, and monsoon had not yet ended it was a beautiful road trip from Mumbai to Pune. The journey was pretty enjoyable , there was hardly any traffic, everything was lush green, saw quite some waterfalls, and before we knew there we were! At our new home in Pune!
A little more about where we are staying and in which locality: Balewadi High Street.
Wide roads, lots of buzzing restaurants, usually a great place for post work dining for people who work in Baner (that’s where I’d be working) .Something you should know about me, I love experimenting with cuisines, love exploring new restaurants and Pratik is exactly like me. So we were definitely looking forward to staying within a 5 min walking distance from this stretch of restaurants. But who could’ve predicted that in barely 6 months, instead of a buzzing corner of Pune it’ll start looking like a ghost-town.
Well, either way due to the current circumstances no one can really enjoy dining outside, so I guess I have nothing to complain about Balewadi High Street at this point of time and I’ll just hold back on my comments about it up until everything becomes normal.
Some thoughts on how life in Pune has been up until now pretty different from the life I experienced back in the States:
1. Let me tell you one thing about Pune which I learnt in the initial days of us moving into our new home: It is probably THE most laid back city I’ve stayed in. Maintenance, Technicians, grocery delivery, the majority of everyone I experienced in my initial days is pretty relaxed about time. If someone from maintenance tells you they’re coming in half an hour, consider probably 1-2 hours.
I had promised myself of not doing this, but there I was comparing customer service in the USA vs India. I missed prompt customer service, I missed being helped as a customer and not as a person who relies on the company for service. I think one of the most frustrating times I had was opening my bank account, although we were lucky to have been seated in a well air-conditioned cabin as I already had a NRE bank account with them, I was waiting to help get 3 forms filled up for about 2 hours! The only plus point being, we were introduced to another manager who was helping us gauge the financial scenario at hand and what might or might not be good decisions (not just from his bank scheme services). I have also been frustrated with FedEx India who I’ve followed up with atleast 10 times over call and emails(I am not exaggerting) on my bag shipped from the US which has been stuck in customs for a month now. For anyone moving back, get used to slower customer service and working on your patience.
2. Rented houses in India if unfurnished literally means unfurnished right from installed electronics like a fridge and a washing machine. For me, that was a new thing as I always stayed in rentals where these were basics installed in the house. We were lucky that we already had fans, and ACs fit into our home, because some unfurnished houses don’t even have those fitted in. We took quite sometime to finalize on the fridge, washing machine, our microwave and a few more electrical cooking appliances we wanted because remember these will stay with us forever, so needed to think wisely.
This was our sleeping arrangement for the first 2 weeks when we didn’t have a bed frame. For those of you who find sleeping on a matress on the floor weird, for all my previous houses in the US, I preferred having it this way and never bought a bed frame. You could always have a tatami mat beneath your mattress, and voila you’ve saved up on a bed frame! Buying a bed in India made more sense for us, as we don’t have enough closet space in the house so we wanted a bed with storage space.
3. Furniture shopping in India seemed a bit more tedious than back in the USA, but that’s also because there were a lot of choices in every range which is a great thing! Of course, we couldn’t explore a lot of options (we are still buying furniture and our house isn’t yet setup), but right from local highway furniture stores, to brands like Godrej Interio, Home Center, @ Home and many more, you have a lot of options. There are online options like PepperFry and UrbanLadder for furniture, but they didn’t really appeal to us as much. I wish Ikea in Turbhe, Navi Mumbai would’ve opened up by now, so we could shop in person, but nevertheless we did shop online from Ikea.in for some things we just couldn’t give up on.
To all the people staying in Pune, or moving to Pune should definitely visit Creaticity mall, which is focussed on shops only for furniture and home decor. I would be writing another blog on setting up our home, but sometime later when it’s better setup than it is now as we are still in the process of putting it together. 🙂
4. Internet Connection: I must say I was AMAZED by the internet speeds and the plans offered here. This screenshot of my speed test for my internet (remember this is probably the next to basic plan we are using) should be enough to explain how I am way more than satisfied with the fiber optic connection we are using.
I am not joking, but my wi-fi experience at home right now is better than the connection I was using in Jersey City and it wasn’t even a cheap plan.
5. WAY more affordable mobile pre-paid plans than the US and connectivity everywhere I’ve been up until now! Reliance Jio is probably THE best plan I’ve come across when compared to Airtel and Vodafone and honestly I am surprised by the connectivity and the 4G internet speed. I’ve had a few video calls with my brother in the US on my Jio network, and they were crystal clear.
6. Because of the current situation, I know dining out isn’t an option, but we did risk takeouts as an option and came home and dined in our sweet home, and I was surprised at the variety of food (not just Indian) in Pune. I am going to dedicate some blog posts on food finds in Pune once I have more experience because FOOD DESERVES MORE SPACE! Always in life and on my blog! <3 But here’s a glimpse of one of our days when we stumbled upon a Japanese bakery pretty close to where we stay.
7. Lastly, the most important thing staying in Pune , finally being close to home meant spending more time with my family and my loved ones. I could celebrate my mom’s birthday at home with my family after 7 years which has been my highlight since the time I came back to India. I missed family events when I was away and somehow I do feel at ease thinking about how I am just a 3 hour drive away from parents and not a 17 hour flight. I also missed my friends in India who made sure to meet me, treat me with some sweet treats, and make me feel welcome, with masks of course. I can’t wait to plan out more exciting trips and plans with them in the near future.
That’s about it! There is way more I could write but I know how limited my attention span is and if I was a reader I would maybe want to take a break at this point of time, so I thought I should save some of my thoughts for my later. 🙂
My next post would be about my job search and moulding my career in India as a lot of you have mentioned to me that’s something you’d love to hear about. So stay tuned for it!
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