where is the most foreigner friendly place to live in India ??

Gokulam is where most of the foreigners live. Very quiet, lots of parks .. you can get a lot of nature (bird sanctuary, brindavan gardens, even bandipur national forest) if you just drive a bit out of Mysore. Gokulam, Lakshmipuram, there are a few suburb-type areas just out of the city that are very pleasant, safe, and (in my experience) foreigner friendly.

It's true that one most often hears these things from those mallus who have moved away --- but I do get input from one or two that haven't, as well

Foreigners can be very annoying & when they congregate they can become more than very annoying & attract annoying Indian 'entrepreneurs'. Find a quiet out-of-the-mainstream-tourist locale where you can come & go easily & melt into the more Indian existence.

Gokulum,
Jayalakshmipuram,
Vijayanagar,
VV Mohalla.

These are some of the the areas frequented by foreigners .
150 Kms from mysore you can finds loads of places of interest .

And yes , mysore is a pretty safe & pleasant place .

Yeah , you are right

Hello again Nomad

Any idea how much land (an acre) would be in the places you mentioned above. Am I right in thinking these places are 150 KM from Mysore main?

Indeed Sir, will do my best....

I'm hoping to go next month and visit, sounds lovely. WOuld you know of any cheap places to stay on the outskirts?

No, no, all places mentioned are within 2-3 km of Mysore center I believe. It's a small area. You can easily get to city by bus/auto/bike. I think what he meant is that you have loads of options for points of interest and nature spots within 150 km of Mysore.

If you are staying to visit, I'd find a hotel first in Mysore city and tour around a bit to decide what area you like, look for places, etc. Not many hotels I think in Gokulam, VV Mohalla, etc. But they are very close by to visit! They are kind of known as the "yoga areas".

too many parameters , next to river , lake , dry land ....?
but outskirts of city you will find land for reasonable price

i think you are right candycanelady .

BTW : Neat , clean & nice is ginger hotel , should cost you abut 1300 per day .

Bangalore, especially expat-friendly neighborhoods like INDIRANAGAR

There's everything from feta and arugula to pesto piza, fresh juices, and NON-Indian food (countless Italian and continental restaurants, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese) and even a Domino's, Pizza Hut, KFC, and a McDonald's all within sight of CMH & 100 Ft Roads!

And you won't be the lone foreigner on the road (10 years ago, maybe, but not now)!

Kerala has wonderful weather and scenery, but thats all. Domestic help is hard to get, and labourers cost a fortune. Unskilled manual labour cost between Rs350 to 450 per day.

Another of my compalints is supermarkets in Kerala do not stock even half the stuff you can get in Chennai.
Its important to have either contacts or plenty of money in Kerala. A combination of both is ideal.

Hi everyone, I've been reading this site for quite some time, just registered today though

Anyway, I've read through the thread but havn't checked all the posts in details, so my appologies if I'm repeating something that was already said.
I understood two of the main options suggested were Pondi and Kerala (+ Mysore). So here is my point of view.

- Regarding Pondicherry, there is a big difference between the French town and the Indian town; atmosphere is totally different, and so are the prices. It depends where you're leaning to but both are pretty nice, even though the Indian part is of course less touristy and more conservative (clothing, entertainment, etc.). Overall, nice city to stay I think (I was there for 1.5 months only)

- Kerala: Big difference between North (beyond Trissur) and South Kerala I think. North might generally be less friendly (esp. to foreigners).
I did not have much trouble getting a domestic help, and fares may be a little higher than elsewhere, but maybe by 20 to 30% at the very most. I was living in Trivandrum for some 3 years approx. I did not find life that expensive at all. I was living with approx 10,000 Rs a month very comfortably (incl. accomodation). That was a few years ago. What might be more expensive now is if you want to purchase land/a house, where in any case you should go through a local, and somebody that you really trust as a lot of foreigners get fooled/pay horrendous prices.
Place is very safe also, for women and children (and cyclists), and people are usually quite friendly (a little too much, bordering nosy though sometimes ).
Doing business WOULD be a headache for sure with the union issues mentionned ealrier in the thread.
Also, almost everyone wouls at least speak or understand some basic English, although if you learn some rudiments of Malayalam, it would open a lot of doors to you.
Other plus points: good climate, laid-back atmosphere, mid-sized cities.

I do not know Mysore well, so I will not speak about it.
As a conclusion, of course I would recommend South Kerala Just my point of view.
Hope this helps.

Cheers

Really?! Isn't it hot and uncomfortably muggy near sea level?

To Suricate:

Hum, well, I wouldn't say so. You have the rainy season of course when it can be muggy, but I found it very bearable (I originally come from a European climate). Places that are near to a laguna can get very moist and full of mosquitoes though, like Cochin and Allepey. Otherwise I found it pleasant overall.
Never too hot, never too cold (not below 25, not above 34 approx.)

For comparison, I have stayed in both Mumbai and Calicut. Calicut was much more bearable by comparison. Probably it is the high tree cover that helps bring both the temp and the humidity down a bit to make it more bearable.

Depends on your definition of hot and uncomfortably muggy!

It never gets as bad as Chennai, but ... while we dream of rain, Keralites have to put up with months of it!

Nick - we found Chennai really hot even in January compared with other places we had been in India such as Mumbai, Goa etc. Is Chennai usually hotter than other parts of India?