Recently a tweet by two eminent personalities got me thinking. Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath opines that we need to decongest our metros.
Another inspirational wise man Sridhar Vembu the founder of ZOHO had this to say to the above tweet.
A lot of employees in the major companies come from tier 2 and 3 cities. They live in a dinghy and cheap accommodation in the metros and spend a lot of time traveling to their work destinations.
This affects productivity and also creates stress for the employees. The bigger companies are located in the heart of the city and the accommodation nearby is out of the budget for most employees.
A health emergency such as Covid has laid bare the inefficiencies of our Metro cities. The civic infrastructure in our metros or any city in the world is not equipped to handle a pandemic such as Covid but even otherwise on normal occasions, the government hospitals in the metros are not an easy place to go to.
I have penned some thoughts on the topic.
My Story
I come from a small village with a population of approximately 60 people. I have lived in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, and Noida during various professional stints working for different companies. I have also lived and worked in New Zealand and Australia for some time.
A few years ago, I decided that the bigger cities with all their pollution and related issues are really not a good place for me and my family to live. I decided to move to Chandigarh and start my life afresh.
It was a difficult decision because unlike the IT guys I do not get to work from home. I had to settle for a salary that was 1/3rd of my previous salary.
The money was a substantial deterrent but I took the plunge anyway. My parents were in Kasauli and Chandigarh is pretty close by, which was also a factor in me moving back to Chandigarh.
I finally found the courage to move to Chandigarh when during monsoons I got stuck in a massive waterlogged street in Gurgaon and had to literally swim through neck-deep water to reach my one-room kitchen apartment ( for which I was paying 14.5k at the time). I don’t know how to swim, I can float but now swimming. Maybe that’s what saved me that day.
It’s been more than 7 years now since I moved to Chandigarh and trust me I often thank my stars that I made the decision to relocate.
If you are thinking about moving to a tier 2 city, you may find this post interesting.
For those of you who are looking to move from Delhi to Chandigarh, just like I did, I have written a blog post that will help you: Are you thinking of moving from Delhi to Chandigarh?
Be ready to make small sacrifices (big in some cases)
As I have mentioned earlier in the blog, moving to a smaller town will come with a financial loss in terms of a lower salary.
Unless you work for a company that allows you to work from home in which case you don’t need to think about the biggest drawback of moving to a smaller city.
You may have to get used to the fact that the job opportunities in a smaller town may not be as high paying as in a bigger city.
Fortunately, Chandigarh serves as a regional headquarter for major companies in all sectors and job opportunities are pretty decent here. I hope this is the case with other tier 2 and 3 cities in the country as well.
Lastly, one may have to have to give up on the big city lifestyle. Instead of 10 shopping options, you may have to settle on one or two. The scale of things is smaller as compared to the metros and the pace of life is slower.
Having said that, when was the last time your every wish came true?
Benefits of moving to a smaller town
The benefits of moving to a smaller town outweigh the opposite by a fair margin. If you can and want to, DO IT!
Your quality of life will improve by a factor of 10 easily. You will be less stressed about the transportation, about traffic jams, about parking, about everything in general.
You will find that smaller cities and towns often have very good avenues for family gatherings and outings. you will have more time for your family and yourself. You can also start thinking of starting your own side hustle.
Most smaller towns or cities that I have been to allow you to leave the city and go into the rural areas or hills if you are lucky.
In Chandigarh’s case, hill stations such as Shimla and Kasauli are close by and one can easily visit these places during the weekends.
The work pressure in smaller towns and the pace of life is slower. I have found that the job here carries a lot less stress than the one in the bigger cities. I don’t know the reason why and I don’t guarantee that this is the case with everyone but this has been my experience at least.
I don’t need to mention that you will be doing yourself a great favor by moving to a smaller city even if you consider the only pollution as a deciding factor.
One doubt that many people have while moving to a smaller city is that they are not sure how good the education facilities in the smaller towns would be.
I have found that education facilities in Chandigarh are very good. I am sure that other Tier 2 or 3 cities have the same educational facilities as bigger cities. Schools don’t need to be in bigger cities for them to be good.
Shimla is an example, Dehradoon is an example. Many of the best schools in the country are located in smaller towns.
After all, the majority workforce of the companies come from these smaller towns and cities. Yes, one thing that I do concede is that awareness about career growth and exposure to new opportunities may not be as good as a metro but these things can be easily countered with proper counseling by the parents and the teachers.
Conclusion
I hope this post has provided you with some inspiration to move to a smaller town. I speak from experience but I do not want my experience to cloud your judgment. You are the master of your own destiny and know your situation better than anyone else.
In case you need to speak to someone I am available and will be happy to share my experience with you.
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