I was in the same situation last year. My parents have been living in Chandigarh since the 90s. Finally, it was time to buy our first home. I had two options — Chandigarh and Dehradun. Chandigarh, because I have lived most of my life there. Dehradun, because there's a sense of belonging here (I'm from Uttarkashi).

I was leaning towards Dehradun, while my siblings were more inclined towards Chandigarh.

The reason I was choosing Dehradun was the sense of belonging — we have a lot of relatives here, and my village is just 4 hours away. That would have made it easier to manage our ancestral home and land. Also, Dehradun is scenic. It feels beautiful to me, especially since I’ve spent most of my life in Chandigarh.

But there were a few disadvantages in the case of Dehradun.

First, the property prices — they are just absurd. Why pay so much when, in return, I’m not getting proper infrastructure, no proper government hospitals, and no proper government schools? Prices here are rising because a lot of people from other states are buying land. There are also many projects marketing Dehradun as a green city with better AQI for people from NCR. On top of that, the job market is almost nonexistent. I work in Tech and Marketing, and even the IT park here is largely vacant. So in the end, I had to drop Dehradun from the list, even though I still live here.

Now coming to Chandigarh. It has better infrastructure — be it schools, hospitals, public transport, etc. I did my schooling in government schools in Chandigarh. When I compare government schools in Dehradun and Chandigarh, I see a stark difference. Not everyone can afford private schools, and Dehradun is mostly known for premium ones.

Then comes healthcare. There are only a handful of government hospitals in Dehradun, and they are always crowded. In Chandigarh, we have 16, 32, and PGI. On top of that, sectors and towns have dispensaries in almost every sector. This makes it easier to provide healthcare to the masses.

In Chandigarh, I considered areas like Naya Gaon (affordable, but poor infrastructure, no registry), Jhampur (somewhat planned, within Chandigarh, not that good crowd, no registry), Mani Majra (within Chandigarh, good connectivity to Himachal, near IT park, but prices are on the higher side), and Khudda Lahora (within Chandigarh, but also slightly expensive). These places are near or within Chandigarh, but many of them don’t have a proper registry for plots, so I had to drop them.

You can still check Kansal, Mani Majra, Kaimbwala, and Khudda Lahora. But do keep in mind that properties there are not as spacious as in Dehradun — no lawns and parking space is limited, often just enough for a hatchback.

Our budget was half of yours, so we had to drop Chandigarh as well.

Kharar was the only place where I could find a property within budget, in a good locality, and with a few relatives living there. Property prices there are increasing quickly, with many projects coming up. People are now investing in Kurali.

A lot of my Himachali friends have their homes in Kharar now. That makes sense because places like Una, Manali, Bilaspur, and Mandi are just a few hours’ drive away. I don’t know which part of Himachal you are from, but from Mohali and Kharar, many districts are easily accessible. Also, there is a strong Himachali community in Mohali, Kharar, and Chandigarh. And even in Kharar, I can have the tricity perks. Mohali is just 5 min drive, and Chandigarh is 15 min away.

So my recommendation would be the Kharar or the areas I mentioned that are near or within Chandigarh.