Coping with the pace of life in a metro city always remains a challenge. But the prospect of better career opportunities often draws the young professionals from small towns of the country to the metropolises. They take up the challenges despite the factors like stress, pollution and rising cost of living that are associated with a metro life. Some youth from Tier-II cities shared their experience with Orissa POST and told how they managed to overcome the hurdles.
Jyoti Prakash from Cuttack works as an HR manager in a multinational company in Chennai. He says, “I moved to Chennai with great expectations after completing a training programme. Being from a Tier-2 city, I was excited when I landed in a metro city like Chennai. But the excitement didn’t last long when I thought about the challenges in a big city and the ways to deal with them.”
“Finding a perfect accommodation that suits my needs was a daunting task for me. I also had to ensure that less time is spent on travelling to office. But the biggest challenge was to overcome my homesickness. I was extremely attached to my family and friends and missing them dearly in a new city. I absorbed in negative thoughts and found it difficult to move on. But gradually, I came to terms and learnt to deal with life as it unfolded. I started appreciating the south culture instead of comparing it with my own. I managed to find out what worked for my self-motivation. I explored the beautiful locations in the city and that helped me to adjust to the situation,” he added.
Manaswini Baral from Puri who works as a company secretary with a multinational firm in Chennai said metro cities offer good job opportunities as well as add to the zing of life. These cities are for those who have independent mindset and want to experience life on their own terms.
“It’s been a year, I got transferred to Chennai. No doubt it is one of the best places but interacting in local language was very difficult for me. Most people here speak in Tamil and it becomes tricky for people like us to manage. Knowing English is an advantage but often it doesn’t work,” adds Baral.
Binod Jena, an IT engineer from Cuttack says, “I have been living in Bangalore for the last five years. Before that, I stayed in Chennai. For me it’s not a problem to shift from one city to another except for those initial days.”
The cost of living in metro cities, if compared to Tier-II cities, often affects a salaried person, observes Jena. Whether it is house rents, advances, cost of fruits, vegetables and other stuff, these matter a lot for small town dwellers.
“Sharing accommodations often help. You can share your room with people from other cities to face the high cost of living in a metro city. It was little difficult for me in the beginning but after a few days, things fell in place,” Binod sharing his experience added.
BRATATI BARAL, OP