The Search for a New Place to live in (2)

It has been and is continuing to be quite an experience searching for a new place. The parameters for the decision are as under. Many of these are additions during the course of the search.

1.       Physical Characteristics of the land / region

Availability of state electricity, an identified source of water for farm use and dug well for drinking & cooking, reasonable road access, good soil fertility, equable climate, 700-2000mm annual rainfall, between half a km to 2km distance from the nearest habitation are some critical requirements.

2.       Local Community

Our priorities, our thinking, our socio-economic background is different from a typical rural community as well as a typical urban or metro community. The gap is so much that we belong to neither. There are however quite a few areas of common interest with both communities. What is needed is that we respect their diversity and earn the respect for ours. This requires that we talk their language and also listen to them. We’ll need to judge this aspect subjectively and assess our comfort level with the local community.

3.       Suitability for Learning and upbringing of children

Our children need the company of other children at least till 10 years of age. The place should have an opportunity for them to learn some art / skill in a dedicated manner (music, dance, martial arts and the like).

4.       Proximity to a ‘good’ city

The nearest city should be within an hour or two. The requirement has been added recently. The option to receive and to provide professional service and the need for urban company are the reasons for this requirement.

5.       Financial Considerations

We’ve yet not tampered with any of our capital assets and I don’t yet see the reason to do so. Purchase of land is an expense (not an investment) for me. Lower the better.

We’ve so far explored rural areas near Palakkad, Wayanad, Mysore, Hubli, Satara and Amravati. We have identified land options only at Mysore and Amravati. We don’t have any connections in the other areas to search for land. Also, they don’t score high on the parameters for selection. As of now, Mysore scores reasonably high on all parameters, though there are some disadvantages. I realized that in decision making, one can take decisions only after taking it for granted that the best option is unavailable and one has to choose the second best. The big flip side in searching for the best option is that time keeps running.