Few questions before moving to Bangalore

lsdmt

Just wanted to say thanks for such an informative sight. I am considering taking a position for a larger multinational advertising firm in Bangalore and have some concerns before I do take the position.

The job description has been very minimal. They have offered to pay 25,000 rupees/month. Will this be enough to survive for a year or so for a single male that lives modestly. I figure I can get a 1 BHK furnished apartment near/around C V Raman Nagar for 10,000 rupee/month? 15k rupees should be enough to cover food, occasional travel and drinking on the weekends? Also about how much of that money will actually make it into my hand after taxes as an American citizen.

Another concern I had was that when searching for apartments, I noticed that many places require a 3/6/10 month deposit. Is this money returned at the end of my stay or considered more of a key fee. Are there any other fees that are normal when renting an apartment besides electricity, tv, internet or phone or the like?

I consider this job more of a stepping stone. I am a recent college graduate with no work experience and figured that getting the exposure at a large advertising firm with the benefit of living in India will be worth the several fold pay cut. Am i crazy?

Thanks again.

Cayle

Are you a returning NRI, or an American moving to India? Also, from the payscale you mention, I'd assume that this is an Indian contract and not an expat posting.

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lsdmt

I am an American who is looking to go to India for the first time. I have been overseas most my life, however, and have worked for less money for half a year in China. Money is not the big issue, just want to make sure I can live comfortably.

I would use this job to get me overseas in the industry that I am interested in. Hopefully after 6-12 months I will be able to get a better paying job in the company or find another on the ground in Bangalore.

Cayle

I asked because people here will assume that Americans or Europeans are rich and will treat you as a walking ATM machine. You probably could do it; after all the typical maid or driver brings home ¼ of that. Just be aware that 25k will get an Indian a lot further than an American. Expect higher prices for everything and to have to fend off touts who will simply assume that your income is measured in lakhs. I’m not trying to turn you off. It will be a great adventure in any case. I’m just warning you that one of the big challenges you’ll face is the assumption that you are made of money.

You will probably master getting auto drivers to use the meter the hard way. Afterwards, you can give me tips.

lsdmt

Thanks for the advice. I am going to have to learn the going prices on many of the goods that I will buy on a normal basis then.

Does anybody have any good websites that would assist in finding an apartment/flat 1bhk in or around CV Raman Nagar? Also any details on apartment deposits would be great. Thanks again.

pmvelu

Yes, it's a norm out here to pay "Few months" rent as deposit. In Bangalore , the norm is 10 Months (Normally)& I Paid 10 Months rent as "Deposit Amount" in Mysore !.

And this "Deposit Amount" you will get it back when you vacate the house.

Apart from all other fees you mentioned, invariably For Apartments, a "Maintenance Fees" also is applicable !

Hope this helps !

lsdmt

Thanks for the response. I have lived in some countries where deposits should not be expected to be returned so I was just curious.

Anybody have any input on what sort of taxing the Indian government would have on my income. I am not worried about the American government taxing since the pay is so low but I was just wondering what percentage of my income I could actually expect to recieve "in hand." Thanks again.

2cents

lsdmt,the best place to check about your income tax implications would be the accounts department/accounting firm that handles the tax returns of your agency. Someone in the HR department should be able to help you with it.

Do you have a break-up of your consolidated monthly salary in terms of Basic pay, House Rent Allowance, Dearness Allowance etc?
If you do,to get a rough idea of the kind of tax payouts you are looking at, try the excel sheet template that can be downloaded from :-

http://www.ynithya.com/taxcalc/

This is the link to a previous post of mine that has a list of websites :- Staying in Bangalore

lsdmt

2cents, thanks for your input, its invaluable. I followed that link you posted. Only thing with this possible position is that I will be paid as a local. It seems like income tax is 12%. My income will be a flat rate of 25,000 with no additional benefits and I will be paying for my own flight. This will come out to about 22,000 Rupee after taxes each month. Is this still enough to survive? I really want to make the move but am concerned about money. Thanks again.

2cents

You can certainly survive and lead a comfortable life in Bangalore for that amount. However it all depends on whether you can manage with a PG or some other sort of shared accommodation(this would not only reduce your monthly rental from about Rs.10000 or so to about Rs3-4000 but also reduce the amount to be paid upfront as deposit considerably), eating at home or in value-for-money restaurants(where a meal is in the range of Rs.30-50), either finding a place to stay close to your office or making use of public transportation mostly,resisting the urge to splurge on weekends at a pub or a fancy club(could easily set you back by couple of thousand rupees or more for the night)and so on. Since you have managed to live for a considerable period of time in China with a very limited salary, you stand a really good chance of doing the same in Bangalore too. If you do cut out the unnecessary and extravagant expenses, Rs22,000 in hand every month should leave you with enough to spare to do a bit of travelling during the weekend, catch a movie,buy a few books etc.

ajitkommini

Didn't see anyone comment on transport. Do you know how far your workplace is from where you plan to live? Do you plan to buy a vehicle to commute or use public transport? If the former then petrol prices are pretty high in Bangalore, so you should budget for this. The best option for public transport is the BMTC Volvo bus (provided there is a route that gets you to where you need to go). Autos / taxis again can work out pretty expensive if used on a daily basis.

suzi

Hi Isdmt. Here are my two cents (take it for what it's worth). I am also an American and I have lived in Bangalore with my husband for the last 1 year and 10 months. Would I be living here if I took home Rs22000 a month. NO WAY. Our rent is Rs16000 (we have a three bedroom furnished place, not very fancy but sufficient). If you want internet access you will be paying over Rs1000 a month for that also. I am guessing with all of your utilities half of your salary will be gone. You can of course live for Rs11000 a month but don't expect to save any money or live too comfortably. If you want to buy western food at the gorcery store you would be spending Rs250 for a jar of Prego and another Rs100 at least for a package of spaghetti. If you indeed have only Rs11000 to spend each month on food, travel and entertainment that works out to Rs367 a day. Can you live in Bangalore on $10 a day? Sure, but not the way you are accustomed to. Sorry if this sounds negative, but I wanted to infuse some reality into the conversation. I guess you need to assess what you want, do you want not to penny pinch or do you want an Indian adventure? I am afraid that you might not be able to have both.

PS-We paid 5 months rent as deposit on our apartment. We are supposed to get it back when we vacate. Keep your fingers crossed for us that this actually happens.

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I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uhmmm, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps

samin86

i definately agree with you suzi....i just came here about a month ago from the US, and you won't even realize how much you spend...i have broadband(which by the way is not even close to the speed we get back home) and I pay 1500 rupees per month...i bought some honey bunches of oats for 240 rupees! i think you'll have a hard time in the beginning, but you will adjust...theres so many places you can get cheap food...like ordering pizza is cheap comparatively...well anyways...crazy your from north carolina...im from tennessee...

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Paresh

Agreed to samin86 and suzi.

For a native Indian 22000 in hand is enough. For you, it may or may not be enough. If you are determined, make sure you follow some guidelines. You can surely contact other IMers living in Bangalore after reaching here in case you need any help.

About the 10 months security, you will get it back but many times landlords deduct one month rent from it for the name of maintenance of house.

n_siva

22K is in mid-range of a typical fresher IT professional salary in Bangalore. I know quite a few such people who are able to stretch this money. The key seems to be in being able to find shared acco, plus a cook to save on atleast one meal's expenses. As Suzi says, if you want American food, they are expensive to make, but Indian "khana" can take your salaray a long way.

The good news for you is that CV Raman Nagar recently got a AC Volvo bus route, so you could live close to the bus route in a cheaper place and not worry too much about transport costs.

Route map for the new bus..

10 V-201R Srinagar C.V.Raman Nagar Kathriguppe, Banashankari, BTM Layout, Koramangala, Indranagara, HAL 3rd Stage, Bagmane Tech Park. 4 3/8/2008

More details including bus timings at : http://www.bmtcinfo.com/english/volvo.htm