toto1982

Hello all,

I am considereing a job offer in india with three possible location, New Delia - Mumbia - Channai. Can anyone offer advice on the best place for my wife and I to live.

We are both 30, no kid but plan to in the next year.

I have been in New Delia and didn't like the smog. are the other cities better?

What is accommodation cost like in Mumbia and Channai?

Any other comments welcome, thanks.

Bipat

I think you need to do some research yourself, where are you living now? It will depend on what your job is and where your work place will be situated within the cities.

Mumbai, the traffic is just awful and must be considered when you decide where you can live in relation to work it can take hours in the rush hour to go short distances. Will accommodation be provided otherwise also it is expensive? but If you are there you are more central for other travel in India.
Weather bad monsoons and flooding.

Delhi residential areas are away from city and again it depends where you are working. The climate can be difficult very hot in Summer very cold in Winter.

As a city I would go for Chennai every time, but that is a personal opinion. It can be very hot , and sometimes water shortages. Again depends where you are working.

As I said it depends where in the cities you will be working and what is provided in way of accommodation only then can you decide.

toto1982

Thanks Bipat for the comment,

I am quite limited on the information at this stage, but accommation is provided through an allowance and so too is a driver.

I work in construction so the project could be either of the locations. I have looked in to accommodation in Delia and satisified I could find something around £500pcm that Id be happy with.

My concerns are around life style so would be keen to know how be find living in each location with any pros and cons.

thanks

dreadsoc

Hi Toto

I just noticed you're quite new to BE so I just wanted to say welcome to the India forum.
I can't help with advice on where to settle as I haven' lived in any of those cities, and I would advise the same as Bipat about researching and choosing which one will best suit your lifestyle desires.

Wherever you decide I wish you all the very best.

Dread - x

a_f_d

Google it - there was a survey published in the papers in the last week or so - best cities to live in - iirc pune was top then Bangalore,- Delhi and Calcutta near the bottom.

AndyD 8-)#

johnkim

Isn't kolkata in your lists ? It is by far a better city ! The cheapest amongst all, less traffic and without any horrible traffic. The summers can get a little hot though !

Confus3d

I have lived in Delhi most of my life and I have seen the 90's here when your white shirt would turn almost black by the time you come back home in the evening but things have changed now. No commercial vehicles are allowed to run on diesel any more. The buses, taxis and auto rikshaws all run on CNG( compressed natural gas) and traffic has become a lot more smoother since metro trains got operational a few years ago. Delhi is a better place now and improving by the day but it sure is one hell of a crowded place.

Delhi has a lot to offer if you are willing to give it some time

Accomodation cost in Mumbai is a lot higher then Delhi and Chennai. In order of cost I would say Mumabi is the costliest then NewDelhi and then Chennai.


Newdelhi gets very hot in summers and very cold in winters, Mumbai doesnt get that cold in winters but summers are "very" humid and Chennai weather in my opinion is worse then Mumbai in summers but thanks to lesser pollution Chennai would still be my preference over Mumbai if I had to choose between the two. Shopping and nightlife is better in Delhi and even better in Mumbai.

You posted that you are looking at renting for £500pcm in the thread some where. You would be spoiled for choices in Delhi and more so in Chennai with that much to spend on rent (I dont have a good idea of Mumbai rentals)
Do not read the rents quoted on different websites as they are no where near the reality. Have a look at "Dwarka" in Delhi where you could get a 3 bedroom flat with power backup for less then Rs20000 a month with shops, bars, resturants and everything at a stones throw away. There are a lot of expats living there now and its a recent trend. Even in areas like Vasant vihar it wont be hard to find something for 25k. You just need to look around yourself once you are there. Get help from people at your office instead of going to agents.

toto1982

Thanks for the help.

I have now chosen to move to Chennai. I leave in 5 weeks so am busy with sorting Visa, shipping and general arrangments.

We are shipping our belonging to Chennai from temporary storage and I have heard that you pay Tax in india for electrical goods brought in to the country. Can someone advise on this does this mean electric toothbrushes are taxed?

Thanks

Bipat

Pleased that you chose Chennai, which area will you be in?

If it is an electric toothbrush you are using yourself then no problem.
If it is several in their boxes you could be questioned as possibly going to sell them!!

dreadsoc

Hi Toto

Just to say all the very very best with your move and new life in Chennai.
I am sure if you have a couple of electric toothbrushes in your luggage and a load of spar brush heads you will be absolutely fine.Don'tworry too much though, you can get the whole range in the big cities in india - and actually dentistry over there is pretty good (and a bloomin site cheaper than the UK).

Enjoy - and if you ever pop down to Goa for a weekend of sun sea and sand during the season, do pop onto the Goa forum and say hi as there are plenty of Brits there during the season, some of whom may be in your area and may join you for a small tipple.

Dread - x

toto1982

Thanks Dread,

I think that will be the first place I go when I get some time off!

I suppose I was meaning will I get taxed if I ship my cooker, fridge, washing machine and TV over with other houshold goods?

Chameleons

When we brought all of our stuff in, we were allowed the first of anything free of tax but where we had more than one TV, fridge, etc. we were taxed on the second one. The TVs were a complete waste of time as we then had to get them converted and they were never the same afterwards. Fridges and freezers were also not such a good idea as they weren't "tropicalised".

Hope this helps.

Bipat

Yes above posters are right you can get anything and everything in Chennai.
There will be imports from Singapore also at a very good price.

dreadsoc

Totally agree Toto - don;t bother shipping out electricals - they are not outrageously expensive to buy when you get there. If you don;t want to go to the cost of new ones, ask around as there is always plenty of nearly new going.

See you in Goa one of them days - all the best

Dread - x