My New Life in Chennai

I started working when I was 24 years old. My first job was in Pune. I had moved to Pune after spending 13 years in Chennai. My first job in Pune earned me around 10,000 rupees per month. Pune was a cultural change for me after spending so much time in Chennai. But since I knew Hindi adjusting was slightly easier. The initial few years were tough. It was a BPO industry and I took some time to grow in my career. I spent around 7 years in Pune during which time my Salary only grew 2 times.

I was not very thrilled with my career. I decided to come back to Chennai as my father was retiring. I wanted to be close to my parents. I got an offer in Chennai but it was as a Marketing Analyst role. People told me that I was literally stepping down the ladder in my career by moving from an Assistant Manager role to Marketing Analyst. But I wanted to take that risk and move ahead. I wanted to reshape my career. I decided to take that bold step and start a new life. I relocated to Chennai.

And within two years I realized that I had made a good decision. I earned a promotion and my salary almost grew 2 times. I was very happy. We were staying in a rented place. The first two years were fine. Then I thought I had to invest pretty soon in a house. Else it will be too late as prices in Chennai were sky rocketing. After doing all my finances, I narrowed down to a budget which I could afford. I started searching for an old flat as a new flat was outside my budget.

But even getting a decent old flat was becoming difficult. Either the house would not be in a great condition or the price would be high. I kept searching for 6 months. Then finally I saw a house which I and my wife really liked. But it was slightly above my budget. But I did not want to miss that house. It was in close vicinity to hospitals, temples, my relatives and schools. So I decided to take that extra risk and bought the house by over shooting my budget. I had go in for additional housing loan which meant a higher EMI. I bought the house and moved in pretty soon. It has been a year now and we are really happy with the new house.

I always had a fear in my mind whether I will be able to manage my household after paying those high EMI. But I could not have waited for more time as the price would keep increasing. Unless you take a risk you will not get good returns. Thankfully I got one more promotion and decent salary hike. Now I could breathe easier. I know that in few years’ time the prices will go up and rent as well. If I would not have taken the bold step I would have ended up paying more rent in the coming years for the same facilities. I believe that I have made a wise decision by taking that bold step of purchasing the house though it was slightly above my budget.