Jordan2377

Hey, I'm a British Indian Male (By which I mean I am born in England) and I'm 20 years old. And in all honesty I cannot see myself living in England for a long time,
South Asians are such a looked down upon people here that I find it almost unbearable living here.

I'm thinking that I might as well move to a place where I'm more accepted considering that I am not accepted here. Now I would consider myself pretty well travelled around India and I only visited Goa once for about a Week and that was three years ago. I remember loving it when I was there. If I live in India it would definitely be there.

Of course everywhere in India has it's major flaws. Lousy Health Care, and a lot of Crime. My main question is what is it like living in Goa and the following:

Are race and community tensions there high? There are a lot of Russians, Israelis and Africans Etc. Do people actually mix with each other and make friends? I have heard that the Russians are not well liked there by the Goan's but is this exaggerated?

Does Goa actually get boring after a while? If anyone can fill me in then I would be very grateful.

Bipat

I think you will find a lot of answers looking through threads on this Forum. You will have realised there is a lot of difference between north and south Goa.

What do you mean by live? I presume you can get OCI or PIO so a long holiday would be a start. How would you support yourself?Only menial jobs would be available.

Which part of India are your parents from? If you do not speak Konkani you will always be a foreigner/tourist.

You seem to be unhappy with UK, I wonder where you live there? There is a difference as to peoples acceptance of 'brown' people in different areas of the country and in different communities.

My OH is originally from North Karnataka. In Goa he is a 'tourist' until he speaks Konkani--and then the smiles come.

PS Take a long holiday in Goa.

Jordan2377

My dad's born here but my mother's from Punjab. My dad is Punjabi as well so we are very culturally, linguistically and geographically removed from that particular area of India.

I just don't think England's the place for me. England does seem to have a lot of racism against South Asians in general regardless of whether it is some small Lancashire Town or a large cosmopolitan city like London. In all honesty I'm not very well travelled in general, I think South Asians are strongly disliked all around the world so it's a frustrating experience to try and accept that some countries are just going to always be off limits like Australia for example.

Goa seemed like a pretty chilled out place - There seems to be a lot of different communities residing there and I enjoyed it immensely when I went. I was in the North of Goa in the Candolim and Anjuna beach area. I'm totally broke at the moment, but as soon as I scrape some cash I'm going to visit there again.

I just wanted to know from other British expats what's it like living there? Things from the cost of living, healthcare, ease of lifestyle Etc. Like is it really as laid back as it seems or can it be quite stressful once your not in holiday mode?

poipleshadow

Goa is whatever you make of it and depends a lot on where you stay and who you associate with. If you find a nice place a little distance away from the tourist hot spots then you will get to know the locals and generally they are very welcoming and interested in getting to know you, as long as you're welcoming back and polite. The closer you are to the tourist areas the more you will look like another tourist. I love Goa and it has been my home for the last 10 years, people generally get on well with each other but there is under the surface racism, but people generally keep it to themselves.

Health care is pretty good, Just had an eye operation and it went quite well (still recovering), and the lifestyle is what you make it, if you so desire you can go out every night and party (although you will quickly run out of money), or chill and relax, do yoga stuff, chill, take up a hobby, whatever, people do anything and everything over here. There is a lot of info about prices etc on here :

Prices in Goa, India

Try it out for a few months, I would suggest coming before the season (at the end of the monsoon) so you can see it before it gets busy, experiencing a bit of the monsoon is an experience anyway. Start of September would be good then you can see the resorts come to life.

Jordan2377

By 'under the surface' racism do you mean Xenophobic Goan's or a fraction of Arrogant Europeans who think they can run things there way over there? I heard some Russian shack owners refused to serve Indians, this made me very angry.

leavinggoa

Some Goan shack owners refuse to serve Indians!

Bipat

Goans are Indians also!!!

I must say have never experienced that in Goa.

But message to Jordan--- A British Indian is recognised as that from the minute they set foot in Goa and are therefore 'foreigners'!!

As a Punjabi, though, he will be recognised as that by other Punjabi tourists.

Jordan2377

That's their land, and to be honest you do get a lot of the quite cheap and sleazy Indians from areas like Mumbai coming to Goa. There's always some very hateful individuals in every Indian community, and it isn't really a 'United India' at all. It's been less than twenty six years since Sikh militants were hijacking trains and killing Hindus on sight in demand for the new state of Khalistan. That really is a different matter.

But in the Russians case (I am only talking about the Russians which apparently have done this) they are moving to a country where they are guests (A Russian born in India isn't a guest but if someone speaks in their own language and has only a vague understanding about the local culture that makes them a guest) and then making 'Russian Only' areas. There are no words for how absurd that is.

The Russians which respect the land and the people can stay, but those who don't should get the heck out.

Bipat

I am sure you know about the massacre of Sikhs in 1984. Many as you know fled to UK we have friends who still weep at the memory.
We had a work colleague who spoke out in public about the violence you describe.

India has 28+ different states as different from each other as European countries, they are bound not to get on. (Europe had two world wars). Human kind seems not to be able to stop being violent.

As to Russians as other nationalities there are good and bad. The riffraff seem to congregate in the North of Goa.
In the South we meet many pleasant Russian families and individuals.

May be if the new government comes next week Kiran Bedi might be asked to do something about improving the police.

willb

Noisy. Colorful. Crazy. Great Food. Crazy Driving. Nice Long Beaches. Quite Cheap To Live There. Best to go for a while and try it out. South Goa is a bit more peaceful than the North. But it depends on what lifestyle you want.

Jordan2377

Hey I already made another thread. But this is about a completely different topic. I visited Goa a few years ago and really enjoyed it there. Different communities seem to reside there, which is cool with me.

However I have heard from some accounts that some of these tourists actually don't like Indians, whilst they are living there. I heard one story from a guy where he was refused to a Rave Club by the European doorman but his American friend was allowed to enter, and a few stories about Russian shack owners causing trouble there.

Now as I said everyone seemed to really get along when I went there, but is this situation from what you know severe? (Foreigners residing in India and hating Indians) or is it quite rare or at a very minimal level? Share your experiences thanks.

BEVS

Actually, this is very similar to your observations in your other thread & which are being discussed there, so I am not quite sure why another thread.

Still. Let's see how it goes. If I see a dual conversation happening , I may merge.

BEVS

You don't say what age you are but if you are young then perhaps you should consider a working holiday visa to 2 or 3 countries over the next few years.
That would widen your life experiences.

You will find accepting and not accepting people all around the world. That is regardless of who you are as a person & can sometimes be about your simply being not home grown as it were. There are all manner of reasons for nonacceptance in communities. Believe me, many expats can experience this to a greater or lesser degree.

WHV. Get yourself out there .

Bipat

Jordan; when I read your first post stating you were 20yrs old, penniless, Punjabi origin. Every one against south Indians in UK etc.---
As a mother I worried -- I thought as a young man wanting to leave home, Goa would be the last place to go with all the alcohol etc??

Now as BEVS has suggested I wonder if you are wanting to stir up argument??

Certainly there are people as you suggest, but in general, not.
As in UK there are people who dislike 'brown' people but in general not.

My OH is of Indian origin living in UK since age of 30, originally from Karwar, all his family are in India. Nobody gives him a second glance in UK or Goa he is just a 'person'.

(and for that matter as an indigenous British I have no problems either)

scot47

Settlers despising the locals is not new and not limited to one country. Have a look at Spain ! Many Brits there practise apartheid !