How to choose an area to live in Chennai: by commute, rain and rail

In Chennai, choose by three things: where you work, how you will travel and how an area copes with heavy rain. The IT corridor runs along the Old Mahabalipuram Road in the south, and many other jobs are in the centre and west. Pick the corridor first, then the neighbourhood.

Which areas are near which work corridor?

• Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR): Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Sholinganallur and Navalur, with tech parks and many apartment communities.
• Guindy, Velachery and Adambakkam: south-central areas with good road and suburban rail links to the centre and OMR.
• Adyar, Besant Nagar and Mylapore: established southern neighbourhoods near the coast and the older city.
• Anna Nagar, Kilpauk and Ashok Nagar: central and north-central areas with a mix of homes and shops.
• Porur, Ambattur and the west: growing residential areas, with offices and industrial estates nearby.
• Tambaram, Chromepet and the far south: reachable by suburban rail, with a mix of apartments and houses.

What should I check?

1. Flooding history. Ask residents and neighbours how the street fared in heavy rain, and check the ground floor and parking in particular.
2. The commute at peak hour, and whether a metro or suburban rail station is near both ends of your journey.
3. Water supply and quality: ask what the building uses and whether it needs tankers in summer.
4. Distance to a pharmacy, a clinic and daily shopping.
5. The kind of housing on offer: gated apartments, independent houses or PGs.

If I am buying, what else matters?

Check the project's RERA registration and the layout approval, and look at the title papers before paying. Read RERA explained, DTCP-approved plots and the documents checklist.

How do I shortlist on Bhavano?

Open Chennai, choose a category and an area and compare listings, or go straight to the PG listings in Chennai. Use apartments for rent for a flat, and the flat viewing checklist on every visit. New to the city? Read moving to a new city.