Cost Of Living In Kolkata - The City Of Joy

Gaurav Ghosh, 32, a senior digital marketing executive at Berger Paints, lives with his family in Kolkata. He belongs to Nadia district of West Bengal but shifted to Kolkata in 2018 for better job prospects after completing an MBA from NMIMS, Mumbai.

He shares his experience of living in Kolkata, its food, culture, transports, people and much more.

Rent

Rent depends on the area where you live in and the facilities that you avail. However, in terms of rent, Kolkata is not as costly as other metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune etc. I live in a 2 BHK flat in Dum Dum which is a posh area. I pay a monthly rent of Rs 16,000 which includes a maintenance charge of Rs 1,000. Electricity and water bills are paid as per usage.

Economical And Upmarket Localities

Some of the affordable areas of Kolkata are Rajarhat, Jadavpur, Baguihati, Barasat, Balurghat, Tollygunge etc. A decent flat of 1 BHK and 2 BHK in the areas would cost around Rs 6,000 - Rs 7,500 and Rs 9,000 - Rs 10,000 respectively. The maintenance charges may vary but that too won’t exceed Rs 300 per month.

The upmarket localities of Kolkata are Plak Street, Alipore, Bhowanipur, Salt Lake, New Alipore, Gariahat, Dum Dum, Ballygunge etc. The minimum rent at these places starts from Rs 15,000 per month. Not to mention that the maintenance and other additional charges vary from place to place and society to society.

Apart from these residential places that are mostly preferred by families, there are paying guest (PG) accommodation and hostels for students and those who work here and live alone. A good PG in a posh area would cost you around Rs 10,000 - Rs 12,000 whereas, decent PGs in other areas are available in the range of Rs 6,500 - Rs 8,000. Most of the PGs here provide accommodation, two times meals/day, internet service and laundry service. Hostels on the other hand would cost in the range of Rs 7,000 - Rs 8,000 that too with the same facilities as that of a PG. I have a good idea about these because prior to shifting here with my family, I have lived in PGs and hostels for three years.

Expenditure On Food

There are four members in my family. My monthly expenses on food is roughly around Rs 7,000 - Rs 8,000. At times, it also touches Rs 10,000. Most of the expenses are incurred on milk, fruits, dry fruits and fish which is the main food of Kolkata.

Those who live alone and cook on their own, their average expenditure on food is somewhere between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500. Even if one takes tiffin service (lunch and dinner), which is common among students and those who live alone, the monthly expenditure on this would be nearly Rs 3,000.

Also Read | This Is What Should You Know Before Moving To Hyderabad

Travelling Expenses

Travel expenses are very economical in Kolkata. A majority of Kolkata’s population uses public transport like buses, trams and metro trains to commute. Apart from these, auto, taxi and e-rickshaw services are also available and that too is very affordable. Almost all parts of Kolkata are well connected with each other. My flat is 35 km away from my office, it takes me an hour and a half to reach from my home at an expense of Rs 62. I use the metro train as well as shared auto rickshaws.

To your wonder, Kolkata is the only city in the world to have the hand-pulled rickshaw (introduced by the British) also known as Tana Rickshaw being used as one of the mediums of public transport.

Other expenses

My expenses apart from rent, travelling and food are incurred on electricity, water, medicines, internet, mobile recharge and TV set-top box recharge. The per unit electricity charge is Rs 7.50 which exceeds to Rs 7.70 if you consume more than 600 units in a month. Those exceeding 900 units per month, pay the per unit charged at Rs 9.22.

My per month expenses on electricity is around Rs 1,200 - Rs 1,500. This crosses Rs 2,500 in summer when we use ACs. Per month expenses on water, mobile recharge, internet, set-top box, cosmetics, medicines etc. are fixed which is nearly Rs 3,000. Miscellaneous expenses are around Rs 1,000 per month.

Leisure And Tourist Attractions

On weekends, you can visit local markets as well as malls and supermarkets that are present all across Kolkata. People prefer visiting libraries, Birla Planetarium, Howrah Bridge, Victoria Memorial, Plak Street, St. Paul’s Cathedral Church, South City mall, Quest Mall, Acropolis Mall and nearby beaches.

On weekends, we watch movies at cinema halls and shop at local markets which requires you to be smart and very good at bargaining if you want to save money. At times, we also go for dinner. Kolkata has a lot of pubs and nightclubs as well. Every part of Kolkata exhibits its culture and heritage.

Food and Street food

West Bengal has got a lot to offer when it comes to food. In street food, one can commonly find phuchka (golgappa), samosa, luchi and aalu dom, chaat, jhal murhi, momos and pakora etc. The street tea stalls or typically known as ‘chai addas’ are one of the favourite places of the people of Kolkata. It’s a common sight to see people of all ages talking about politics, cricket and international affairs at such addas.

Coming to main food, West Bengal is famous for its fish dishes and sweets. Its cuisines are world famous and tourists from all across the globe come here to enjoy it. Some of the most famous dishes of Bengal are Ilish macher jhol, shukto, muri ghonto, tangra macher jhol, alur dom, chholar dal, lau ghonto, kosha mangsho, daab chingri and many more.

Now, coming to my favourite ‘sweets’, sweets like rosogulla, misti doi, patishapta, sandesh, jalebi and chamcham are the main attraction in the dessert category.

Also Read | ‘Local Train My Second Home’: 4 First Jobbers On The Cost Of Living In Mumbai

Culture

Kolkata is culturally a very rich city. Not only is it known as the City of Joy but it is also known as the cultural capital of India. Kolkata is a perfect blend of Indian and western culture famous for its cultural, artistic and literary heritage. People of Kolkata are extremely proud of their culture and heritage. Buildings and monuments made by Britishers can be seen very commonly.

The most famous festivals of West Bengal are Kaali Puja, Durga Puja and Basant Panchami. These are celebrated at a grand level and are a delight to experience the atmosphere of these festivities.

People

The people of Kolkata are very friendly and helpful. Since most of them are Bengalis and speak Bengali, they don’t find it difficult to converse with anyone speaking Hindi. Language is not at all a barrier. However, they feel very happy and proud when a non-native speaker speaks in Bengali. The literacy rate of Kolkata is around 87% so most of the people here are educated and well-informed.

A large number of non-native people living in Kolkata are from Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand.

Job Opportunities

The city is not as economically dynamic as other metropolitan cities. It doesn’t offer as many job opportunities like its counterparts. However, since small industries and few big companies are based here, people may find decent jobs here. A higher percentage of people in Kolkata do business of their own.

By now, you must have understood that Kolkata is a very good and affordable city to live in. Right from food to cultural heritage, it has got a lot of things to offer. It's a big city with a lot of population. Few cons, if I may say about Kolkata, is that it is very humid and very polluted. Overall, as per my five years of experience as a resident of Kolkata, I have loved living here and didn’t face any problem worth remembering. Taking everything into consideration, I will give a rating of 7 out of 10 to Kolkata.

If you are planning to study or have got a job here like me, it’s great but if you are looking for a good job and earn big, you may find other big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore etc more aligned to your professional goals.

Also Read | 5 Professionals On Living In Bengaluru, Where To Stay, How To Budget