Moving to Chennai from US for work

Hi Jamie,

Time to Commute

In the evenings say about 6-7 PM I feel it would be a bit longer than the 15 minutes depending on where your home and office. I would safely put 30-40 mins.

Some one to cook at 3:30 AM
Errr.. tough one to crack. If you want someone to cook for you at 3:30 AM, then you would require a live-in maid or cook. That is just going to make it more complicated. My suggestion find a cook who could cook for you around 4-5 PM good enuf for both the times, Microwave it at 3:30 AM.

And one more thing to consider, since you would spend most of the early part of the day sleeping, suggest you find a place which is quieter during the day time. that would allow you to rest peacefully.

Hope it kinda answers your queries. In your first post you said you had a million questions, pls feel free to shoot the rest of the million. As someone making a transition in the near future I can understand your anxiety.

Cheers
Ajay

Hey everyone,

Thank you for your help so far. As I look more into things, below are some more questions that have come up. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

1. How are the Hospitals in Chennai?
2. Is there a Hospital close to Anna Nagar?
3. Is it worth it to get health insurance that covers things while there? Or are most things inexpensive enough not to need it? If you do think it is worth it to get is there a kind of insurance that is more widely used or accepted there?
4. Are there services that would help take you around to different places when looking for a rental? Also, is there a particular site you would recommend that has rentals (with pictures)? 90% of those I find have no pictures.
5. Are there any neighborhoods that are best to avoid? I have found that whether in America or abroad in any major city there are places that are better to avoid.

Thank you again for any help.

Jamie

The hospitals that you would want to go to are private, profit-making organisations. You will get treatment from experts in their field, and advanced technology will also be available. Base on pure hear-say (I've never been to USA) you'll find the charges laughable, but that does not mean that you will be able to easily afford major surgery or accident recovery.

Yes, you should take insurance. You might even demand it as part of your expat package if you are being sent here for work?

Hi Jamie,

Hospitals in Chennai
You Have good hospitals in chennai. Close to anna nagar - I can think of Apollo in Poonamalle High Road. Also much nearer there is Madras medical mission hospital. Link http://www.madrasmedicalmission.org/overview.html

Health Insurance - Must. Best not to take chances. Though the healthcare could be affordable, Insurance could assist in case of emergencies. So please find a option to include health insurance.
Policies come with a lot of conditions and clauses. Check with your employer if they would provide one, and if you dont feel adequately covered by it, check out for other options.
I am a localite, so would not know the options in front of expats. Probably the US Embassy in chennai could be of help.

Rental Site with pictures
Most of them would not provide. Suggest best take a temporary accomodation in a serviced apartment for a month ( Costs is too high). And then do the ground work on your own with some local assistance.

Services that would take you around when checking out for rentals - I dont think I have heard of any. Most of the houses for rent in the mid range are generally handled by brokers.

A brief overview of the procedures for taking a house for rent.

1) Shortlist the houses, through on site advertisements and any personal referrals. (Pref have a list of 5-10)
2) Visit them and check out the rent + maintenance fees and what other services you would need to pay
3) Choose the house and pay a refundable advance. Generally 5-6 Months rent.
4) If you have approached the house through a broker, generally the broker commision is about a months rent.
5) Ensure have a rental agreement in place. generally rental agreements are for a period of one year. and rents would be revised after the same.
6) Move in

Check out sites like sulekha.com / magic bricks. those two are the first things that come to my mind. i find magic bricks a bit slow.

If you would like to deal with the owners straight away, you can save a months rent. if you have any contacts in chennai who resides in anna nagar area, you can ask them to save the Local weekly newsletters ( Anna Nagar Times / Classifieds ) and short list the properties.

Hope have give you enough to chew for the day

Cheers
Ajay

I'm an expat living in Taiwan, will offer some general expat advice.

If your company is locating you to Chennai, insurance should be arranged by your company as a matter of course. This is a no brainer.

If your company is having you arrange your own housing that can be good and bad. The good is you're not locked into a specific agency taking you to a limited list of houses. The bad is having to do the searches and negotiations on your own.

My advice for the housing is to arm yourself with as much info on properties as possible before meeting with an agent. If possible, use local web sites for finding potential housing AND print out the search results for places you want to see.

Make sure you go over these results with your agent so they understand you have an understanding of fair market prices for Chennai. Here in Taipei it's common for agents to greatly inflate the prices on housing and any related services. Helloooooo kickback!!!

I was talking to a friend last weekend who inquired about having a bed and end tables moved to a storage unit. Their service quoted $3,000 USD. Another friend on his own hired a company to move his ENTIRE HOUSE for $300, which included boxing everything up and unpacking at the new house.

I've never heard of a proper expat contract that didn't include regular personal flights back to the employee's home country (at least once per year). Your stint won't be long but anything over a year should include this benefit.

Hey Ajay and Shaktipalooza,

Thank you for all the in-depth info, it was really helpful and greatly appreciated.

Here are a few more questions I had if anyone has any insight?

1. How long does it take to get from Anna Nagar to Elliot's beach (by taxi or rickshaw)? Are there better beaches?
2. What are some names of some shops/ department stores that are close to Anna Nagar that I could go to when I get an apartment and want to get some things for the place (Fan, things for around the apartment)? Here I know what to look for when I want something, I just want to have a good idea of what to look for or ask for.
3. Any cultural tips for Chennai in particular that you might not find when just looking up for India?

Thanks again for any help.

Jamie

Quite a while: an hour or so probably. There are busier beaches and there are quieter beaches, depends on your "better"
Not my area: over to someone else. Probably best answered by neighbours and colleagues when you get here.

Yes: it is uniquely the hub of the South Indian branch of Indian classical music, called carnatic music. Performances are frequent and often free. The Chennai "Season" in December/January has thousands of concerts at dozens of venues.

Hi Jamie,

Approx Time From Anna Nagar to Elliots Beach - 1.5 Hours in Cab. Should be less on a sunday morning.

Now my next question - What would you wanna do in the beach? If you would like to jog in the morning then a better option would be Marina, which has a good track and would be less crowded during early morning hours.

Stores and Departments Stores in and Around Anna nagar.
I believe you are looking to set up the home. So I am answering your question with the assumption that you would be interested in buying the following stuff ( Fans / Air Condition / Washing Machine / Television / Iron Board / )

Tata Croma, Anna Nagar - Link - http://www.cromaretail.com/location.aspx

Vasanth & Co - (Kilpauk ) - http://www.vasanthandcoinfo.com/branches/chennai.htm

Shah's, Anna Nagar - http://www.shahs.co.in/profile.html

Viveks, Anna Nagar - http://www.viveks.com/StoreFinder.aspx

I think each of the above link would also give you a indicative list of prices. Guess it would help you to plan pro actively.

Cultural Tip: I am drawing a blank here. Coz not sure of what to say. Prob other expats living here can chip in.

Jamie,

If you are looking for household items like pillows, carpets, cleaning supplies (mops, brooms etc.), MA Jacob is a good place. That is where I used to buy things that we needed when in Chennai. It is not really close to Anna Nagar but it would be a worthwhile stop maybe once every few months or so. Following is the address and their web site, check them out.

MA Jacob, 118A, Cathedral Raod, Chennai 600 086

http://www.majacob.com/

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Bombay Dying is good for sheets and stuff. There's always shops for cleaning supplies nearby, everywhere.

Chennai is a local sort of city, Jamie: you'll find you can buy most of what you need within walking distance of your house.

I am sure I am not of much help... But yeah I guess you got bunch of English movies. Running everytime. All you need to do is drive to a nearest multiplex. English movies are common... Hindi movies are rarer though..

You could try checking out Mogappair west locality . The area is very close to Ambattur . The area is pretty much decent and quite close .

If you plan to stay more than a year than buying a car and hiring a driver makes sense , else you can use Fasttrack cabs .