Spent the day unpacking and then went out to have lunch at a ‘mess’ close by. Didn’t like the food very much so decided to try other places next time. Still being ripped off by auto-rickshaws- they take advantage of the fact that I really don’t know distances in the city yet.

I also went and arranged for water – bisleri 20 ltr packs are so hard to find here! None of the vendors of the smaller bottles were willing to give me the distributors nos. Finally, I decided to go online- call Mumbai,- get area sales manager’s no. in Pune, call Pune and get Nagpur sales manager’s no. and then called the sales manager in Nagpur. I finally seem to be getting somewhere!

Looking at my experiences in setting up in this city I decided to put together a sort of checklist of essentials for someone moving to a new city…..let me know if anything else needs to be added.

1. Arrange for a flat- look up brokers in your city online- Sulekha etc- do this before you land up in the city with your luggage. A little research can save you hotel bills! Arrange the brokers in such a way that one drops you off where the other picks you up and so save on autorickshaws! 🙂 Paying the broker’s fee of 1 month’s rent is definitely worth it- it saves you the trouble of having to hunt for houses in a new and strange city.
2. Get a local cell no. STD calls will suck you dry- you will need your rent agreement for this.
3. Arrange for water. If you want Bisleri- go to their website and get the local dealers no.
4. Arange for food- a mess, restaurant which will deliver or a tiffin system will do well for the initial period.
5. Buycleaning equipment like a mop, floor cleaner, buckets etc….and a pair of headphones (essential if you hate cleaning!) Find a local retailer and grocer who will deliver and sell on credit. Build relationships.
6. CLEAN!
7. Internet- TATA Photon is your best bet. BSNL is hardly ever available and even if it is the make you jump through so many hoops to get a connection it’s just not worth the effort.
8. Arrange for someone to clean and wash clothes for you…..maybe even cook! Very essential as it frees up time to focus on what matters most to you.

Will add more stuff to this post if anything else comes to mind.

Have FUN!