No place like 'namma ooru': Bengalureans, expats reflect on city's top rank in ease of living index

Expats who have now made Bengaluru their home share their views on namma Ooru emerging as the most liveable city in the country, while also explaining areas they think B’luru could improve upon.
Aerial view of the city of Bengaluru.
Aerial view of the city of Bengaluru.

BENGALURU: Bengalureans had a lot to celebrate over the past week, especially with the city emerging as the most liveable city with a population of one million and above in the ‘Ease of Living Index’ released by the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

Just as happy as locals are the expats from different countries, who now call Bengaluru their home. Some even feel the news comes as no surprise.

Take, for instance, British Deputy High Commissioner for Karnataka & Kerala, Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford, who says, “Having served as British Deputy High Commissioner in two cities, and travelling across India, I don’t find it surprising that Bengaluru is ranked as the best city in Ease of Living Index. The restaurants, bars and leisure opportunities, the green canopy coupled with forward-looking policies of successive Karnataka governments have helped it retain its competitive edge.”

Agrees Jonathan Zadka, Consul General of Israel to South India.“It comes as no surprise. With friendly people and delicious food, it is a great place to live in,” he says. For Sebastien Hug – Swiss Consul General and CEO of swissnex India – his Sunday morning jogs at Cubbon Park highlight one of his favourite things about the city – the sense of community. “It’s what makes me feel at home here,” says Hug, who moved to the city in 2017, and now resides here with his wife and two daughters, aged five and eight. “There are other Asian cities that are clean, green and orderly, but those are government initiatives. Here, in Bengaluru, it’s community-driven, where people want to come together to preserve the city’s nature,” he adds.

A similar factor is what helped Colleen Currie and Ethan Salter feel less like outsiders in namma Ooru. The American couple has previously lived in the USA, Cameroon and Japan, but find Bengaluru to be one of the easiest places to live in. “The city is modern but you have ample access to nature. We love being able to ride our bikes with our two kids to a local tennis court. And more importantly, we love how people come together here, be it for mango season, spring bazaars or even during the pandemic, when our neighbourhood rallied together to allow vendors within the complex,” says Currie, who along with Salter teaches at Canadian International School. 

But while the reasons to celebrate are plenty, expats CE spoke to did also point out areas in which the city could improve. Hug, for example, believes that while public transport and bicycle lanes are moving in the right direction, more structure is needed. Salter points out how in his four years in the city alone, he has seen at least 25 high-rise buildings come up in his neighbourhood. Other reasons some of the expats mentioned, unsurprisingly, were the city’s infamous traffic.

But as Nazrin Balan, a Malaysian expat who resides here with her British husband, says, “The weather is lovely and it is a great place for our family and dogs. But overall, people in India need to be less selfish on roads – not hold up traffic or litter the streets. I also have safety concerns bringing up a daughter here. I want her to be able to have the freedom I did to move about. But that’s something to consider in the future. For now, Bengaluru is home for us,” she says. 

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