anonymous0258

Hey all,

Im new to the India forum. My girlfriend is from North East India and I will be coming to live for 6 months.

Where is the best place to live for British guy late 20's? Looking for a place that has good quality private hospitals, clean, some western comforts including shopping mall, close to major airport, beach would be a plus. Also quite cheap to live compared to UK/western world.

Thanks in advance for any tips and advice

dreadsoc

Hi Anonymous

Welcome to BE and the India and Goa forums

Does your girlfriend live in India or UK?
If you want a more westernised part of India, then I suggest you look at Goa, especially due to your age and the liking for being near a beach and western comforts.

Dread - x

oodles of noodles

If I had the choice, I'd go to Bangalore.... pubs, bar, some "malls"... The weather is great. To be honest, if I were going to India for six months, I'd take the opportunity to travel a bit. India is so diverse.... I'm thinking - Kerala, Jaipur, (Goa if you wish - Nov-Jan best times to go though, otherwise off season); Ladakh etc. etc. etc. Not a fan of Mumbai/Delhi. The only Indian city I have liked is Bangalore (no surprises)...

AdrianTO

I don't think Goa is the place to be if you are actually looking for "western comforts", in fact, it is probably one of the more backward states in the country.

Pune might be a good choice, it's a young vibrant city, with a large university age population, high end stores, shopping malls, restaurants, bars etc.

Many foreigners who come to India for work also end up in Gurgaon which is a suburb of Delhi. The lifestyle of the western expats and many of the Indians there is no different, in fact it's a lot better than in the West.

Goans are poor by comparison to the rest of India.

Bipat

Agree about Pune but the poster mentioned a beach.

"Goans are poor by comparison to" ???? those of Bihar, UP, West Bengal for example?

dreadsoc

Unusual though this may be I have to agree with you here Bipat. Goans are not that poor in comparison - and there is plenty of poor folks in Pune as there is in every part of India. There are also plenty of Western comforts in Goa due to there being a large expat influx who stay for a large part of the year, as well as it being a main tourist spot in India so is very geared up to cater for Westerners.
That said - out of the tourist season Goa closes a lot of things down so the best time for being there for beaches and Western comforts is between October and April.

Dread - x

AdrianTO

What "Western Comforts" are you talking about? He specifically asked for good quality private hospitals, shopping malls and the like. Goa is a backwater compared to larger Indian cities. There are malls in Delhi and other larger cities that would not look out of place in any Western city. There is a mall in Delhi called Emporio which is packed to the gills with high end luxury brands, Armani? Jimmy Choo? Louis Vuitton? All there.

Something a little more downscale? Mothercare? Marks and Spencer? Debenhams? Oh, there is another mall that has all those stores. High end cuisine in a fine dining atmosphere? Yep. Multiplex cinemas? With a bar and dining? Food courts? Italian cafes? You name it, it's there.

There are large modern supermarkets all over the place, you don't need to go running to Newton's for your crappy western groceries.

Goa is a vacation destination and that's fine. But, it doesn't compare to the larger Indian cities.

AdrianTO

I'll put it this way, Goans might be ok on average, but you will not see the sheer wealth that you see in some Indian cities. It's not an industrial centre. The movers, shakers and wealth generators of India are not in Goa. Yes, they all come there to vacation, but they don't actually live there. They can't, the big money is in Delhi, Mumbai and other city centres. So, guess where you are going to find places that emulate the West? In those cities, not in Goa.

Bipat

Your post said "Goan people" obviously 'big' money will be in the 'big' cities but Goa in general is not a poor State.

The original poster also asked for somewhere "cheap to live"; the big malls you describe are expensive even by Western standards. What would be the point in coming to India for a mere 6 months and then spend time/money in those places?

My personal favorite city is Chennai, it has everything (except smart clean airport!!!), but original poster's girlfriend is from NE India they probably wouldn't want to go that far South.

Probably best to split their time between Goa for the Winter and Pune for the Summer. Only a relatively short distance away.

noni

Now I am confused! you are no Why are you looking for a girl friend in Thailand? You say you have a girlfriend in India - what is going on? Being a typical man.

noni

Totally agree with you - have been looking for the last 18 years for the giant shopping Malls of Panjim Newtons, would rather use the local shops.

AdrianTO

Goa is not a poor state because of tourists and Goan expats sending home money. Businesses don't think about Goa as the first place to setup shop. Goa itself is one of the least industrialized states in the country.

The poster wanted "Western comforts". In India is not possible to have those comforts as well as be somewhere "cheap to live". The most expensive cities are the most westernized. That's why Pune is probably a good compromise.

AdrianTO

The last time I was in there it was packed with Russians. Didn't expect to see so many of them, I thought that end of Candolim was more British.

noni

Newtons is mainly full of Russians and Indians. Only go in there for ice, and a free cool with their A/C - bet they will be charging for that next.

dreadsoc

Personally I find the Indian 'big cities' of Delhi and Mumbai absolute shxtholes full of extremely rude 'neuveau riche' twats where the difference between the rich and poor is very striking !
If I want big shopping malls and Louis Vuitton etc I certainly wouldn't go to India for them - I would go to Italy or London - but hey ho each to our own eh?
I mentioned Goa because the OP wants a beach, somewhere cheap to live with SOME westrn comforts. Hence I thought the OP may quite like Goa.
Maybe the OP would like to read the posts from us all and make his/her own choice ?

Newtons is a rip off and I avoid it like I avoid mosquitos - especially as many of the staff need a lesson in washing their armpits !!

Happy days

Dread - x