India 3 months /year for the next however many years

skk

Hi,

I'm 54, and I've done enough financially - so I'm planning the rest of my life - around 3 months in Maharahtra/India in the cool season, 3 months in Colorado during some of the summer and also some skiing, 3 months in South West USA during the deep winter and England in spring - at least that's the plan.

Of course as they say - "The best laid plans of mice and men" - but I have to at least try..

I grew up in Pune India(St. Vincents High ) till the age of 12 but have been out of the country since, first in the UK for 26 years then in the USA for 15 years with intervening sojourns in France.

I have visited Indiaevery 3/5 years for a few days at a time all through the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s. I have OCI citizenship and can speak Marathi and Hindi, sort of.

I spend most of my time studying and participating in the US equity markets nowadays - a 12 hour/day or more task that I find deeply absorbing but something I feel could be done from anywhere !

The place in India I would want has to have a well educated, higher income populace as a rule with good medical care - sort of like Boulder CO but warmer and Indian ! Pune sounds like it doesn't it?

As a first step I'm going to spend 2 months over Diwali(end-Oct to mid Dec ) in Maharashtra India with the goal of encountering and solving as many of the problems that one would face as I lived there more long term. So I will have many questions that I will post in this or other sub-forums as appropriate.

I keep smaller Maharastrian cities like Kolhapur, Sangli in frame too - to be honest the only reason I stick to Maharashtra is that I can sort of speak and definitely understand Marathi. My parents were reputedly fluent in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada as well as Marathi but sadly the only words in the South Indian languages I know are for #1 and #2 ( nope I WON'T transliterate them here)- ok, ok, TMI but gimme a break, I must have been 4 / 6 when we lived in South India(Madras, Bangalore and Hyderabad) and presumably the amma taught me ?

Look forward to reading posts here.

-skk

Jean-Philipe

Hi SKK, welcome to IndiaMike.

Sounds like a great way to semi-retire!

__________________
It's all part of the adventure of travelling!

wonderwomanusa

And US citizens are able to get a 10-year multiple-entry visa, so you do not have to apply every year!

__________________
The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

brownboy66

Hi Skk, and welcome to IndiaMike. In a similar vein I've taken leave from 12-16 hour corporate days to spend more time with the family - coming to India seemed like a nice way of making the change and having an adventure at the same time.

Will look forward to seeing your posts on the forum about your experience and your impressions - and of course, hopefully IM will be able to answer a few questions in return.

happy travels.

__________________
"the last meal is history - its the next one that's important" - Garfield (the cat)
IndiaMike Mod Team.... just some plonker with access to the mod tools

skk

re: jean-phillipe Yup, this semi-retirement is the plan - though honestly, I work just as hard in continually staying on top of all the "news" that continually buffets the equity markets as I ever did in my day-job !

re: wonderwoman - I did go and get the Overseas Citizenship of India which is sort of like a Green Card for India so apart from voting, owning certain property, access to government jobs, and unregulated entry to certain restricted border areas ( I think so anywa ) I can go as I please in India.

re: brownboy16 - I don't have much of a family connect to India anymore - or rather I have an older retired brother and a older sister in Mumbai and that's really all and whilst I call and talk regularly on the phone from here somehow I WANT to keep the relationship mostly to "chats over the phone" - just that my calls will be from Pune or elsewhere in Maharashtra rather than from Boulder USA; it wouldn't surprise me if the feeling was mutual - after all we are so different and having been separated since the age of 12... - besides I'm set in my "western", individualistic, do my own thing ways and it would stress me out not to do my own thing..

That's probably an aspect I wonder about the most about spending time in India - will I able to do my thing without seeming rude, offhand and will I be able to maintain my privacy ?

That's one of the aspects that the upcoming trip should help me sort out.

I will definitely share my impressions here - right now I'd love to share some of my planning bullet points - I have almost 4 beer mats scrawled with them ( I do my best thinking in the local microbrewery - ) - just a question of finding the right forum and not hijack threads - in fact I'm reminded that I should look for how to obtain decent beer ( microbrews {- IPA ( India Pale Ales ) is my favorite style} NOT Kingfisher etc..) in India - are there microbreweries there ? I'll start a new thread in a relevant forum - how to obtain certain speciality Western foods and drinks in India.
I feel its ok to want to do so - heck I STILL get Melton Mowbray pork pies sneaked into the USA - and always have some marmite handy and go to the Brit specialty food store and buy outrageously expensive sausage rolls - even after 16 years in the USA.

-skk

bearable

Hi Skk, welcome to IndiaMike. If I may ask, are you planning to visit India with family?

skk

Hi bearable - I'll be with my wife for the first two weeks - then she returns to the USA ( she still works {for an employer I mean, rather than my type of equity research and transactions "work"}) and I'll be on my own in India for the next 6 weeks.

-skk

brownboy66

there's a sign of someone who works long hours in the corporate world - notes scribbled on a beer mat or a paper napkin! (many a large contract has been finalised that way....)