Monday, March 2, 2009

The House Story

I have moved into my 6th house in Bangalore in the span of 4 years. Now those who have moved houses before will know this is no mean feat.
Now before you take me for some nasty tenant who is thrown out by the land lord, I will clarify. Let me start from the beginning:

Soon after I got my first job I landed in Bangalore with 2 suitcases and 1 bag. Oracle was kind to me and provided me with a guest house for the first 15 days. Those days were spent frantically looking for firstly some decent room mates and then some decent and not so expensive accommodation. I was lucky on the second front. Got a beautiful flat not very far from office. Also figured out 2 colleagues who were as desperate to find a house and flat mates. So the three of us moved into this house with all pomp and show. Things started like rock music what with shopping for curtains and mattresses and some stuff to make the kitchen functional. But within a week this rock music became noise. The other 2 women couldn’t stand each other. Arguments led to fights which led to a lot more. Let me not talk too much on the public domain. Conclusion was drawn – those 2 weren’t ready to stay with each other, and I was left with this huge house all to myself. And the otherwise mighty me was shit scared. And mind you all this conspired within a month.
(Duration of stay – 1 month)

That’s when I decided to move into a studio apartment and stay alone. Some more frantic hunting and a lot more money later I found a place. Mom and sis came over to stay for a while to settle me in. All was fine till they were with me but as the day of there departure approached the mighty me was scared again.
(Duration of stay – 1 month)

And that’s how I moved into my third house. This house was already functional. There were 2 girls already there and they were looking for a third flat mate. The setup gave me confidence and I decided to move in with them. This house was perfect in all ways. I enjoyed my stay there. But then Aman moved to Bangalore and we got married.
(Duration of stay – 5 months)

And that’s how I moved into my 4th house. This again was a very beautiful house in one corner of the city. But it wasn’t very far from my office. It was nice and spacious and a lot airy. This house we furnished completely.
Then career took turns and I changed jobs. The new office was 24 km from this house. Bangalore traffic was another pain. It used to take me 2 and half hours to get back home. I was on the verge of breaking down and we had no option but to shift closer to work place.
(Duration of stay – 1 year 9 months)


And that’s how I moved into my 5th house in Bangalore. Much closer to work, smaller compared to the previous one and much more expensive. The house was nice. The area was much better. All was fine in here also till a last couple of months when the lack of storage space started to get on me. The kitchen was small and all my beautiful dinner sets which my mom so lovingly had gifted me were packed and kept in the loft. Even the wardrobes were small and a lot of my clothes were packed into suitcases and kept in attic.
(Duration of stay – 1 year 5 months)


So this lack of space forced us to move into this flat which by the way is my 6th house in Bangalore. It’s beautiful; it’s big, it’s spacious and has a lot of storage space. We shifted this weekend and the process drained me completely. What with professional help I still ended up doing so much work. The house is still not set and I guess it will be a week before it finally takes shape.
The balcony faces west and yesterday after a very tiring day when I sat there and saw the sun set while sipping tea and holding Aman’s hand, all this hard work made sense.

I so hope this to be my last rented accommodation in Bangalore. From here I either want to relocate to north. And if it’s in Bangalore I want to move into my own house.

Pictures will be up soon, once I am done setting up the place.

(That’s a fairly long post by my standards, I am tired so I’ll skip the editing.)

22 comments:

Prabhu said...

seriously too long :(

udtahaathi said...

Well, you are better off than moving 7 houses and 3 cities in 2 years (with a kid and vehicles).
Experience, no short-cuts :)
Cheers!
~uh~

Anonymous said...

Well, you are better off than moving 7 houses and 3 cities in 2 years (with a kid and vehicles).
Experience, no short-cuts :)
Cheers!
~uh~
ps: Comment repeated because of right URL.lease delete the earlier one.

Monika said...

ha i know what u mean... before we moved into our own house I have also lived in some 4-5 house in blore...

hope u enjoy more sunsets and teas (and the other drinks too) this would make it worthwhile

Magical Homes said...

I completely understand. I have moved 4 cities and 6 houses in 8 years of marriage. I am now looking for a house again. This whole travelling is taking a toll and am feeling am going to break down. I'm looking for a house in bandra so halfway between hubby's and my office. Very expensive place and such tiny houses. But what to do. Atleast travelling will reduce.

happy settling in and hope you get what you're wishing for.

Masood said...

Congrats on your new home! And good luck with the furnishing..

mindspace said...

relax n enjoy the bigger better home..
for me too, the current one is the 6th house, but all in a little less than 2yrs of being wed. My Dad is in air force n mom was was happy at the thought of me not marrying someone with a transferable job but these 2 relocations within India n one outside has left her with a stronger believe in destiny :D, it has its own pro n cons so i hv enjoyed them gradually with reduced attachment to material stuff n almost no love for settling at once place.. we are happy the nomadic way.

Iya said...

@ Thinking Hat - did u read till the end?

@ udtahaathi - oh man and i thought i was brave

@ Monika - thats the idea ;)

Iya said...

@ Mumbai Diva - thanks girl.. i so know what u mean... move closer to work, nothing beats saving a few precious hours.. not only u get more time at home but also much more peace of mind..

@ Masood - Thanks ya..

@ Tara - 6th house in 2 yrs, man Amit is totally on a roll..

Anonymous said...

hehe what an explanation!!!

this is our third house in two years ... well third country. hopped from canada to uk to US. i so understand u being tired. and i didnt even have professional help for the move. just for the big stuff really. everythin else, we had to do on our own. 'we' means 'I'. hehe

good luck with ur new place. im sure u'll enjoy it more as days go by. cheers mate!

Preeti said...

I hate to change houses ..coz i break few things and as I stay alone I amvery concerned about people around ... I am living in this expensive and small 1 BHK apartment ...( just enough for me)since last 2 years 4 months ... I guess I have to shift soon ..where I doono ..but like you even I want my own flat now ...donno when will that happen ..

good luck with things ...and those moments of sipiing tea during sunset are priceless ..

Anonymous said...

Peace is important no matter home is small/big, far/close.
Goodluck !
Waiting for grih-pravesh card.
;)

Razigan said...

Iya,
Though, I appreciate your hardwork in shiftings, I wont consider the first four as a shifting of house. When u r single, shifting house is not much different from changing a TV or fridge.

But after marraige and especially after kids, shifting house is a project in itself. I have recently executed three such projects in four different states. From lucknow to Calcutta to Haridwar to mumbai in 2 years.........

Iya said...

@ Roop - thanks lady.. I know what u mean... moving houses might be pain but the excitement of new is worth it.

@ onthewings - ya I know that while living alone u have to be more careful...all the best with finding ur new place..

@ Hobo - sure, keep waiting..

@Razigan - well it’s not just about packing ur stuff and moving.. it’s about settling down as well.. and by saying that I won’t take the credit from u..

Anonymous said...

We have moved couple of times too and though its tiring still secretly I wish to move again.

It is like this. I love new places, new set up but unpacking things is the toughest. Packing is somehow done by movers but settling in a new house is a tedious process. Otherwise I am all for moving again.

Anonymous said...

"No..the post didn't seem long - in fact it read just right. Never realized when I came to the last house part. :-)
Coming here after a long time.. annnnnd, yes, whatever I wrote in my latest post is...true. Why'd u think it'd be otherwise? :-) I write fiction only in my stories...hehehe.
Anyway, thanks for dropping by. I'm too caught up with work these days to be able to post regularly so...
You take care..and all the best for your (hopefully) longer stay in the new house.
-Phatichar

Mama - Mia said...

cool!! :) enjoy the new house and call us over soon! :p

cheers!

Iya said...

@ Solilo - thats so tru, unpacking and then putting things in their designated place..

@ Phatichar - thanks ya..

@ Mama Mia - ek dum.. as soon as i get new curtains!!

Just call me 'A' said...

moving house is tedious. I just moved house too and everything is still in shambles.

Mampi said...

I am shifting house soon. Your post gives me heart. But it is indeed a huge task.

Iya said...

@ A - did u manage to put the place in shape??

@ Mampi - really, in the same city of moving out?

Anonymous said...

Why blogs can not me more interesting?