Although it's often compared to Silicon Valley, expats moving to Bangalore may need some convincing that the city is leading India's rise in all things computer related. At first glance, the metropolis is a patchwork of bad roads, low slung buildings and sprawl, but as those who move to Bangalore know, in the many software industrial parks there’s enough microchip, software, computer, and brainpower to make the whole city spin out to space.

Compared to other urban Indian cities, like Delhi and Mumbai, Bangalore, officially renamed Bangaluru, enjoys a reputation for being relatively clean and cosmopolitan. Bangalore has also long enjoyed a reputation for being cool – both in terms of its agreeable temperature, and the generally open-minded attitude of the populace. In the city centre, nice cafes and shops present a city as modern as any other, but farther out, the city’s character is shaped by the large population of indigenous poor.

As Bangalore copes with accommodating the needs of a growing IT industry, it is caught providing for a substantially less affluent population. The result is that often neither community is satisfied with their infrastructure.

For example, until recently power cuts were a recurring problem. Yet an educated workforce, low overheads and a welcoming business culture have continued to create the rise of Indian companies and attract foreign departments.

Like other Indian industry centres, Bangalore is caught between being a still-developing country and being a leading industrial centre that's trying to pull away from its former role as a traditional backwater. Those who move to Bangalore may find themselves in the latter, having to contend with poor government oversight, bad infrastructure and a sometimes a confusing and contradictory culture.

For many expats moving to Bangalore, the experience is that of a hardship posting, but for others it is a real chance for development.