Choose your neighbours

It helps to get a fix on the profile of residents before deciding on your new home, says Sonal Sachdev

W e don’t live isolated lives. Our state of well being is also determined by the company we keep. We would all like to have like-minded people and friends around us. So, why shouldn’t we?

Urban living today is largely about community living — apartment complexes and gated communities.

And the quality of our life is determined, to a large extent, by the people we have around us as neighbours.

So, to ensure that your new home offers you not just the space and amenities, but also the intangible quality of life, you need to do some research to find out who will be around you.

Here’s a very simple illustration that brings home the point: Imagine that most people residing in / slated to reside in a residential complex are in their 40s. What this could spell is a large number of school-going children. However, if your child is young and just about to start going to preparatory school, she/he may have very little company.

There are other factors too, like nature of occupation, cultural backgrounds, etc., that can determine your level of comfort or discomfort in a community living environment.

It has been seen in most big cities that birds of a feather tend to flock together. Take Mumbai for instance.

There are certain areas predominantly dominated by people from similar cultural backgrounds — a colony of Parsis in Dadar, Gujaratis in Ghatkopar, Tamilians in a section of Matunga, Marathi Manoos in Parel, Punjabis in Chembur, Boras in-and-around Mazgaon, and so on.

While some areas will be fairly cosmopolitan and some strongly rooted in a culture, even within these areas, there will be certain complexes with a different resident-mix. For instance, you could find a Parsi tower, a Gujarati tower (pure vegetarian population) and a high-end cosmopolitan tower all in one small locality in Parel.

Similar trends are seen in other cities. And if you are not a long-time resident of the city aware of these distinctions, it helps to get a fix on the profile of residents before deciding on your new home. After all, you will be there for a lifetime.

So, look beyond the brick and mortar before zeroing in on your dream home. The human factor is as important.

Former Editor, Outlook Business and Executive Editor, NDTV Profit, the writer is a personal finance expert. Mail him at propertyplus

@thehindu.co.in