Moving To Bangalore

pids

Have the oportunity of a job in Bangalore.

Looking for advice on expereience on living there - everything from expat point of view, places to live, getting around, markets, what to do in free time etc

We would be moving from the UK, the wife will need to be kept occupied (preferably through work) or something or she will be bored and hate it

Any advice much appreciated.

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sudheer poppa

Few suggestions

Take a house comparatively closer to work

If you get a driver for your car, and dont mind spending upto 60-80 mins in the traffic you can choose to have a house in Indira Nagar, Near MG Road or Sadasiv nagar, Koramangala etc depending on which side of city your office is.

Lot of things can be done over free time, but each person would have their own interest and there are lot of options. There are a few malls and supermarkets spread around the city, but nothing that you need to bother with before coming down.

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phantom

well.. be ready for a pleasant weather.. (bet 15-30 degrees) all the time and very nice people, traffic jams, potholed roads, evening rains that go on for 8 months. Actually there are only two seasons in bangalore.. rainy and non rainy
Not many parks though. As Sudheer has already mentioned that try to live near your workplace otherwise travelling will take most of your time. No dancing (discotheques) allowed in bangalore post 7 pm. and most of the pubs close by 11 pm. So be ready for that too

pids

Have been out to India before, so know about the culture, traffic, climate etc, but have not been to Bangalore.

Have looked up various web address to get idea of accommodation areas, travel times etc but wanted some indepth views from any ex pats, or locals etc

Weekends - how easy/feasible is it to get out of the city and travel at weekends ?
Sport - will be keen to continue various sport interests - are there any organised clubs ?
Bars - yes, we will want to visit some (will prob stick to Hotel bars though, wife has experienced the usual indian back street booze holes)
Shopping- we will want to shop in Western style places and local indian markets etc for things - assume they both exisit
Medical - whilst I have had excellant service the one time I was in trouble from an Indian hospital, it would be nice to know if there are any western standard places (Bangalore has a high American expat ??) nr so they must get treated somewhere)

Loads more questions, will not overload just now.

ro-anD

Weekends - how easy/feasible is it to get out of the city and travel at weekends ?
Sport - will be keen to continue various sport interests - are there any organised clubs ?
Bars - yes, we will want to visit some (will prob stick to Hotel bars though, wife has experienced the usual indian back street booze holes)
Shopping- we will want to shop in Western style places and local indian markets etc for things - assume they both exisit
Medical - whilst I have had excellant service the one time I was in trouble from an Indian hospital, it would be nice to know if there are any western standard places (Bangalore has a high American expat ??) nr so they must get treated somewhere)

Loads more questions, will not overload just now.[/quote]


Hi pids,

Let me help you with a few queries:

WEEKENDS
There are quite a few near destinations to visit, will be feasible to drive provided you leave in non peak hours to get out of the city, else it can be a nightmare. A few destinations you can visit Coorg, Chikmangaloor, Mysore, Hampi.
BARS
Lots of great bars and lounges in Bangalore. B'lore is India's premier oub city. But please dont compare it to the pub culture in UK, no Guniess or Stout on tap, and the ambience is not so rustic. (Mu husband loves the UK pubs, and was heartbroken looking for something similar here
SHOPPING:
There are quite a few malls that have sprung up in the past year, you will find MANGO, Marks and Spencers and Guess among them. For Indin shopping there's no dearth of stores.
HOSPITALS
There are both large and small hospital groups, Sagar Apollo, Wockhardt, Manipal to name a few. There's a also a new Columbia Asia ( US collabration) thats supposed to have great facilities. Personally I follow Homeopathy and in emergencies have a Family doctor Allopath, who has his own small nursing home.

There will be lots of activites, and hobbies for your wife to pursue. Best to check on them when your here.

Hope this helps! Do write back for any other queries.

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The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." ~Daniel J. Boorstin

pids

Thanks for all the advice - looks like I may be coming over in the new year if things play out the way I plan / want.

Renting a house - western style, with garden - long shot but how much in a decent area (ok, daft question, but ball park prices ?)

Driving - how manic is the traffic, compared to say Delhi ?

Any advice greatly received on Bangalore

sudheer poppa

Manic -- Maniac - you must be kidding... You can sit in you car and look at all the snails over taking you in the road

phantom

Another thing is.. in Delhi you got wide roads where you can be manic. In Bangalore, if you achieve a speed of 30 kmph then it will be a wonder. But avoiding all those potholes while driving will keep you absorbed

pids

have been offered a contract with a salary of I.Rs180,000 (Indian Rupees One Hundred and Eighty Thousand) per month - is this a decent slary ?

crvlvr

have you tried this website -- http://www.bangalore-expatriate-club.com/

GoanCanuck

That is a very very high salary.

Nick-H

That's more than I used to earn in London!

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Malkers

You'll live like royalty for that salary. But remember that although it is easy to live cheaply and save money in Bangalore it is also easy to overspend too and Bangalore is actually one of the most expensive places in India.

Send me a pm if you need any further info, been here 18 months now and have just about overcome most hurdles except the ones that just cannot be overcome!

Cheers
Malc

Malkers

Delhi is a breeze to drive through compared to Bangalore, in fact Bangalore is (IMO) the absolute worst place in India for traffic, bad roads and pollution!

Western style house, the expat website already mentioned is the place to get help with that, there are several communities in Whitefield area where many Brits and Yanks live that are quite beautiful and within a secure complex too, pricey though and landlords are putting price up so don't tell them you work for any big players like Microsoft or Delhi as that gets you an extra 50% loading!

Cheers
Malc
PS: Sagar Apollo hospital is excellent, they got me through fume driven pneumonia a few weeks back!