Dehradun - Uttaranchal - Here I come!!

basky

After a couple of visits to Dehradun – put down my downpayment for a nice apartment on Sahastradhara Road with excellent views of the mountains.
I currently live in the US but planning to head back home for good. I have spent my childhood in Maharashtra (so Hindi is no problem for me) but parents live in Chennai and for the past few years have been visiting Chennai.
For a number of reasons – I have never liked Chennai – the reasons may run into multiple pages – so I will stop here!)

Dehradun is everything I expected from a city.
Has good weather, airport, excellent scenery and more importantly amazing people.
Uttaranchal is a power surplus state – so no power cuts or water problem here.
I drove along Rajpur Road around 11.00 am and traffic is not a issue at all. (Remember I come from Chennai - so Dehradun traffic pales in comparison)
Even though the temperature was around 40 degrees – I hardly felt it.
Some may lament on the absence of malls or good multiplexes – but that may come up in the future.

There are lots of scenery and national parks around Dehradun. Can’t wait to explore the area!
Everyone knows everybody in Dehradun. Locals here are helpful, courteous and down to earth people. Simply put – I can’t wait to head back to Dehradun!

Can any of Dehradun residents advise me on the following?

1) I have heard great reviews of the Doon club (on Rajpur Road). Is anyone a member there and if so vouch for it?
2) I have searched on the internet but not able to find any top of the line interior designers in Dehradun. Can anyone recommend good ones or suggest any websites? I am planning to modify my interiors so any help here will be appreciated! Thx

jituyadav

Well, Congratulations. Dehradun has been my favourite city and I did my initial schooling there. However, lately it is not what it used to be, I hardly even do a stopover there while travelling... but this is the story of every town....

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I started with nothing and I still have most of it!

hitanshu

Congrats - it'll be a lovely move. City minus the regular city pains - and escape from the madness is a couple of hours away!!

I'm jealous!

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SMASH!!!!

Cool_Sparrow

basky,

I hate to burst your bubble but as a fellow U.S. transplant with Chennai links living in Dehradun, I feel you are in for a shock on Sahasradhara Road.

Power cuts are frequent (we went through a horrible summer in Dehradun) and low voltage situations are plenty, so AC does not work. Dehradun is no longer a power surplus city because of huge number of plants/industry moving into the suburbs over the last few years and hogging up all the power. In fact, I attended a meeting at Hotel Madhuban in Rajpur Road recently where the local industry was complaining to State officials about the horrible power situation.

The upcoming IT park on Sahasradhara Road was hyped up. Come here and see how many companies are coming up here....hardly any. Nevertheless, apartments are priced up and I know of some SD road apartment owners struggling to sell despite reducing the prices some 30% from the peak. One family who used to live in Ganga Apartments in SD Road has moved back to Delhi because of boredom, frequent power cuts (even beyond what an inverter can manage).

If you'd like proper Chennai food, be aware that not every grocery item you are used to Chennai will be available here. Chennai's culinary delights are a world apart from what's available in Dehradun.

While traffic may be light, infrastructure is very poor. Even big, independent homes have open drainage systems running right in front of their homes - breeding ground for mosquitos and boy, did we suffer from them this summer/moonsoon.

Dehradun does have a little naturalistic charm, but don't move in with your eyes closed. You'll be better off considering both advantages and disadvantages compared to cities like Chennai.

Best wishes.

basky

Cool Sparrow,

I have been already aware of some of the issues you mentioned. Power cuts are a common phenomena all over the country. In Chennai we have power cuts regularly. The difference being in Chennai we cannot live without power - even for a hour. All the year around the temperature hovers around and upwards the 30 degree mark. In Dehradun it is a cool and pleasant 23-27 degrees! I have been using split AC in my apt for the past two months and it has worked without any problems. Maybe that's because we have a dedicated transformer installed for our property. Iam not sure if that's the case but atleast we have not faced any problems on account of low voltage.
AC's are still a rare commodity in Dehradun - and the reason I am told is because it gets hot only for 3-4 months in a year- Rest of the year it's very pleasant.
IT Park is a non issue for me. I have no intention of working in Dehradun and (rather selfishly) I would be happier if there was no IT park in the vicinity! Less congestion anyway!!
I do agree living costs are high but is it not the case everywhere? For the same above reasons - I did not buy the luxury apartments at Arborrea - they cost 65 lakhs upwards and I hear even those apartments have all been taken.
I have seen builders jack up prices in the last month which tells me there are still takers for property.
Dehradun is indeed lacking in Chennai cuisine - but I have had enough of it anyway!!! But it could certainly do with more good restaurants - that's for sure.

Cheers!

jituyadav

Wow, Dehradun has really gone from best to good to OK. It is a pity that a city that could have been a marvel has turned up this way. When I used to be there, even a slight rise in temperatures brought rains. Now I do not see rains even when temperatures pass way above normal.

livinhimalayas

Welcome to D.dun Basky, if i ever have to live in a city again (highly unlikely) it probably would be D.dun. So welcome again

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He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees. - Benjamin Franklin

Alohaguy

I lived in Dehradun for 9 years in Sixties and early seventies.
It was a lovely place. I still remember when the town looked so clean after heavy rains because all water would just flow down somewhere. On occassion you could see snow on the hills towards Mussorie. We used to walk to mussorie in October (Bengali season). I am just wondering, on my next visit to India, is it a good idea to visit there and be shocked? Or don't go and keep the memories of the days past

Dilli wallah has a lot of information about Dehradun. May be he will chime in....

livinhimalayas

Well depends upon what you are expecting, some of the areas are still quiet and others have grown beyond imagination, would be nice to see the contrasts between then as you recall and now as you can see.

basky

Well, I would think one thing would not have changed -

Dehradun Girls are still as pretty as ever!!

Ha ha

Cool_Sparrow

That may still be true if you know where to look

It sounds like you are single guy with a positive attitude, so you'll do well. If you have a family (1 or 2 kids) and worry about giving them a taste of global or fast-paced metro life that they may need to deal with one day, then Dehradun is not the 'happening' place in that sense.

Also, since you'll not be working check if you have substantial retirement assets to live on considering the high Indian inflation. I don't know how old you are, but plan on withdrawing no more than 4% of your retirement portfolio at any cost to cover your annual expenses.