work and conditions in Bangalore

fate32787

Dear Fellow Travelers,
My name is Fate, and I am looking to move to Bangalore this winter. Some questions I had about the area are 1. what are the basic living costs for Bangalore, say I went with 2000 dollars, if I spent it wisely, how long could that potentially last me. 2. Basic rent there. Lets say for a small studio, or a crapy 1 bedroom or bunking it with another in a 2 bedroom, for a not so fancy place, just bare essentials, how much could I get away with paying per-month? What are some fun things to do around Bangalore?
Also, I am going to be looking for work at some point. I have 4 months to plan this trip out, so I am trying to find work prior to arrival, just because due to everything I've read its a pain in the rear to find work once there, among other things. Does anyone have the name of any websites that are good for applying for Jobs as a US citizen. I would prefer no IT stuff, but Ill take what I can find. My specialties are with tours. I ran a tour company in Egypt for 6 months, so I also have managerial skills. So if anyone knows the names of any websites, or companies that typically hire americans or foreigners in general, I would be super greatful.
Lots of questions I know, I'm curious george. All who can help me with this I would be very greatful!!!

Thanks!

Fate

gaurav1441

It would not last much. Though could be stretched to 90 days. Even for temporary housing people genrally ask for deposit starting from 1000 dollars. Though food and transport options are really cheap but you would require some time to learn them and get used too. Apart from Lodging all other daily expenses could be managed on $5.

Best thing is to find someone already staying to and share the accomodation even before landing into Bangalore.

linsen

Hi Asher,
2000 dollars means around one lakh indian rupees. I will say my options. The monthly rentals starts from 5k. And you need another 5k to survive in Bangalore. I am just saying the expense which i have at the moment. This 5k include my petrol bills, weekend movies, restaurant bills etc. I am talking only of mid level restaurants. You can splash around 2k for just one night out in lounges. So naturally the 10 k goes up. This depends upon you. In this way you can spend 10 months in Bangalore. There is another catch here. When you go for a 5k room, you have to pay 50k as advance. Ofcourse you will get this back at the end of your tenure.

I am an IT professional. I post my resumes in naukri.com and monster.com. Ofcourse you can search for all type of jobs here. Just try it out.

Being a newbie in Bangalore search in Orkut and Facebook for friends(m/f). As you need a company to hang around. Correct? Just kidding I do the same and have succeeded. Ofcourse not for male friends. Depends upon you

For Bangalore movie timings check the site "http://www.nowrunning.com/showtimes/Bangalore/". Really good

For Restaurant/Pub/Lounge bar reviews check the link "http://bangalore.burrp.com/". Too good.

Need any more info just mention it in the next post

Thanks,
Linsen

fate32787

Hey, thanks for the very thorough reply. Out of curiousity, what is one 'lakh' equivalent to? You mention that 2000, is the equivalent of one lakh, but is one lakh like 10,000 rupees or something, how does that work? lol.
Thanks again for the great advice!

suricate

One lakh is 100,000 (one hundred thousand). One USD roughly equals
50 INR these days.

I'm curious about a few things, Fate. Have you ever been to
Bangalore before? Do you have a fair idea of what you'll be
getting into? It seems a good idea to atleast check it out as
a tourist before planning to move there.

Also, please check about laws of the land. Under what conditions
you'd be allowed to work there, and such.

Here are a few points to note. A 5k (INR) rent will likely not get you
anything in a decent locality. The accommodation may be okay,
but will it be acceptable if it were in the middle of a horribly dirty and
congested area? You should look at at least 15k for a decent area,
I think. Of course, it will all depend on what you'll find acceptable.

Also, the security deposit is at least equal to 10 months rent.
Then there are brokers to fleece you. Usually you must go through
one to find an accommodation. They'll charge you one month rent
(at least). It all adds up. Think thoroughly through about various
things and come up with specific questions for more help.

fate32787

Suricate,

Thank you for all the help thus far, really appreciate it. To give you a better idea of what I am looking for, I would like to be able to find just my own studio apartment or something just for myself. If its not the most 'conventional,' on the inside, i'm cool with that as I like fixing things up anyway. I also dont care about cleanliness as much (if its in my home, once again thats something I can work on as time goes) as I do about safety. If its a hole in the ground but theres pad locks on the door lol, I'm happy.
As far as Bangalore goes, my friend Abby, who is also American is moving there around the same time I am, and shes been there before and is trying to set me up with some of her networks there as well, so I'm not walking in completely blind, but also, I lived in Egypt, Brazil, Mexico and France before also, so this isnt my first rodeo lol, of course theres always a bit of culture shock anytime you go someplace new, I usually welcome the changes, no matter how challenging.
To be honest, what I'd REALLY like to do work wise is find a tour job. I was the managing director of a tour company in Egypt for about 6 months, so I know the business inside and out, so if I could, I'd love to find a tour company that is looking for help. I know most of the time, from what I've been reading, that if you can find a place willing to hire you prior to arrival, that they will fill out all the paper work neccessary for a visa, if its a contractional/seasonal type of job, so I'm trying for somethings along these lines (crossing my fingers lol).
I'm still a little confused about the income exchange lol, 2000 US is about 1 Lakh, I got that, and 1 USD is about 50 IBN's (sp?), but if something is 5k or 15k, how much would that be in USD lol? If I am being stupid and just not getting it, please feel free to make fun of me lol.
Dude, I know I'm being a pain, but thank you for all your help so far already, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Fate.

capt_mahajan

5k=5000 INR (Indian Rupees) = 100 usd (roughly, taken 50 although 1 USD is around 48.20 rupees these days.)

15k= 300 usd.

__________________
.
Outside the machine

suricate

Fate, it's good that you can ask Dear Abby for help :-). I just
hope that she has a good local network. Because as outsiders you
are always at a disadvantage. As an example how it can work against
you, the broker could easily quote you a higher rental (than the
landlord is willing to accept). This way he earns a higher fee
(one month rent). The landlord also wins. It's you who lose out.
Some local friend should be there to help you out. Good luck.

freebirdnz

Hi there Fate,

If I was you I would just get cheap accommodation at a PG for a month and have a look around and see what area you like etc and take your time to decide. There are loads of great areas to stay and you should take your time before you start renting a private flat.

If you do end up looking for PG accommodation be careful as when I was looking they tried to charge me a lot extra because they knew I was a foreigner. You should be able to get a PG for R's 3,000 - R's4000 per month while you are looking for a rental. Just take your time and find somewhere local that has good bus routes, shops etc. Koramangala is a great area but can be a bit expensive I have been told but then again it's very central.

Good luck,

Shareen

fate32787

Shareen,

Hey, thanks for the advice. I was just curious, What are the different areas of Bangalore that you would recommend a expat to live. And for instance, Koramangala you said was central. What would be the next closes part of town to central, but a little cheaper?
Also, does anyone happen to know a good way to go about finding work in Bangalore?

Thanks,

Fate

salluks

most areas are quite good, Frazer town/cox/cook towns are good,
most very crowded and expensive,
finding job shouldn't be difficult, u can apply for any of the real estate co's here or start of with a bpo job until u find doing what u love. lot of consultancies around to help u with that