My expedition for a dream home :)

I am not spared with the inner calling of any human being, the third most important item in the Khana, Kapda aur Makhan list, a house to live, whether owned or rented. After my long stint in north Chennai, planning to move into the southern part of Chennai, which is of course a difficult decision to make.

I must tell, it is not easy to leave a lifestyle that’s easy, unplanned and everything is just a call away, literally… from balcony. Of course, such lifestyle has got its own trade offs like traffic jam, crowded streets, lack of parking space, electricity supply that makes you believe in fate and luck, etc. For many years, was lucky enough to have work and home nearby even at walkable distance (read: in an environment friendly way). "Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner at Home" types. But one has to move on in life isn't it? (read: hmm.. all good things should come to an end).

There are multifarious challenges including zero in to an area which suits your requirements.

Wisdom earned: A dream home is not a ready made one depends on the locality and ambience but it's made by people "living in it"(read: like me).

This is the wisdom I got after relentless, but vain search for several days for a beautiful house in a centre market place with a beach / green meadow view with temples and malls around but without mosquitoes and pollution with cost effective rates and located in the middle of the city with all the transport facilities, etc, etc. I realised that this is a combination of having Bush and Al Qaeda on the same stage show shaking hands together with a broad smile and without using kalashnikovs!

Finally convinced and satisfied with the proud wisdom I earned above!

Once we convince ourselves and cater to the needs of family members such as accessibility to work of other family members, safety, nearby markets, temples,etc....... did I say cater to the needs? Its actually convincing others in terms of the Availability of the house vs. Urgency of the requirement, yes you are right, convincing others in the same way I have convinced myself, with all that, shortlisted areas.. huhh quite a task ah? And the natural consequences such as looking for local news papers to short list the houses, fix up appointment with the land lord / agents for the house visit (all these come with the exchange of precious week ends dedicated to Mochas, movies and siestas)

Then comes the best part… tête-à-tête with the landlords…. based on my experience in the house hunt, the common genre of questions is as below:

• Where are you working? ( If it’s a loss making company, your possible tenancy slips into red)
• How many of you in your family? (Too many people spoil the house)
• Are you a 100% vegetarian ( even if the house is not owned by a blue cross member)
• If you are a vegetarian, is that by caste or by principle ( a hidden question to assume your caste because asking about one's caste is improper!)
• If you are a vegetarian, is that either by caste or by principle? which caste do you belong to? ( these are the bold ones who do not believe in keeping anything under assumption)
• Do you have frequent guest visits? ( read no.2 above)
• Do or will you have pets? ( Pets may not be a vegetarian)
• This one is a rare one I must accept.. Are you expecting any foreign trip in the near future say in another 6 months to 1 year? ( I do not have any holiday plans abroad)
• Which native do you belong to? (never knew my birth place will be so vital in my house hunt)

Surprisingly, the education qualification is not at all in queries, may be, attempt of house hunt itself proves one's unquestionable wisdom! Jokes apart…. I AM ON THE HOUSE HUNT NOW!

O my prospective land lords..... Please do not read this Blog post!