05 Apr 2021  |   05:44am IST

Goa has become home to many during the pandemic

Goa has always been a favourite destination for many travelers. However, during pandemic many from outside state came in to Goa to actually ‘work from home’ and they ultimately got hooked to the friendly and beautiful Goa. Many of them even decided to buy property here and the building of bond with Goa naturally happened. VIKANT SAHAY talked to several such persons who actually took pandemic as a boon in a disguise for acquiring property in Goa

Panjim the capital of Goa was recently ranked 16th on the Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020 listing according to the index released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry Hardeep Singh Puri, recently. The city scored 62.42 to top the chart of Quality of Life Index and was closely followed by Tumkuru and Vellore. The ranking was based on other parameters as follows -- Economic Ability (24), Citizen Perception (46), Sustainability (42). However, Panjim performed badly on the Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020 and was ranked at 28. 

The ‘Quality of Life’ covers aspects such as affordable housing, access to clean water, basic education, healthcare facilities, safety and security and recreation avenues. It reflects in the mind of people too. Many youngsters and mid level-executives who were operating as ‘work from home’ from Goa have now decided to stay on in Goa. Many of them are seen buying property in the State giving an indication that they are planning to shift base to Goa. 

The EoLI had been carried out on four parameters of quality of life, economic ability, sustainability and citizen survey. A total of 32.2 lakh people residing across 111 cities participated in a 'Citizen Perception Survey' holding a weightage of 30 per cent. 

Anirudh Rastogi, founder of Ikigai Law, a law and policy firm had move to Goa in August last year, about a month before Goa started to open up completely after the lockdown. 

“I am able to work and manage my team seamlessly from my laptop, sitting in a cafe or at home. Internet and phone connectivity is a little bit of a concern in parts of Goa, and that is usually the first question anyone moving to Goa asks about. Besides that, few parts of the country provide the balance that Goa does - of greenery and natural beauty with high standards of living, whether it is in terms of housing, options for entertainment or other infrastructure. What I like most about Goa is that it allows you to be incredibly social. People who moved recently to Goa from all parts of the country look to engage with other like-minded people,” said 37 year old Anirudh Rastogi. 

Thirty-three year old Abhishek Agarwal who heads revenue and growth at Sheroes, a start-up which is now fully remote and is a  women only social media network  got married in January this year in Goa. Foram, his wife, and he decided to move to Goa and spend a year here. Foram is a creative director at an agency in India and was in Dubai before this. 

“We were living together across Bangalore and Delhi before we decided to move to Goa. We were a little unsure to start with, but once we landed here, we are loving Goa. Connectivity was a key question for us and so far, we have been pretty satisfied with connectivity across areas in Goa. We are definitely here for a year and maybe more. Living here is great in every sense. The standard of living for the same budget is much higher than what one can get in a Bangalore or NCR. The air is clear. The food is fresh. I am also convinced about Goa increasingly becoming not just a tourist destination but where people like us, come, live and work from,” said Agarwal.

Thirty-five year old Suhani Mahajan and her sister 38-year old Mansi both founder of House of Kapaali, a homestay business, had taken an apartment on lease in Goa about five years ago. “During the pandemic the business in Greater Noida where they were based was very slow and on the other hand Goa was booming we decided to take two more apartments in Goa and we have in fact purchased one of them and all three properties are doing very well in Goa. Goa is magnetic and index of living in Goa is very high on all parameters. If you have good connectivity you get the best of both worlds, urban and rural in Goa. Many preferred to ‘work from home’ from Goa during pandemic,” said Mahajan.

Similarly, 25-year old dental surgeon Dr Mridu Taneja from New Delhi came to Goa in August last year and stayed in Goa for three long months with her husband who is a businessman “During those three months we explored Goa a lot and finally we decided to buy a plot near Anjuna-Assagaon border in Goa so that we can make a home for ourselves. Goa has always been fascinating for me since my childhood and now it is like a dream come true to have a property in the beautiful State. I am also thinking of opening up a new venture very soon,” said Taneja.

Preetika Chawla who 34-year old is into pickle business and has a film production house and actor by profession was also doing her work remotely from Goa during the pandemic. She hails from Delhi but has spent 15 years of her life in Mumbai.

“I came to Goa for a one week holiday in October last year but ultimately landed up staying longer and I got back to Delhi only in the month of April this year. Goa is so environment friendly and during pandemic I realised that it was possible to ‘work from home’ from Goa in a much better way,” said Chawla.