What do I need to know about working in Bangalore?

dgarland

I work for a large automotive company in the United States and have been offered an opportunity to work a 3-6 month temporary assignment in Bangalore (beginning in April). I have to make a decision very quickly and don't really know what questions to ask. What do I need to know about moving to Banglagore and working for 6 months?
I would appreciate any help/advice. Is this a safe city for a female living alone? Are females readily accepted in the workplace? Would I safely be able to travel outside the city to do some sightseeing? How about the weather from April-September? Is English a second language in India/Bangalore? How about clothing? Are there limitiations concerning the type of clothing women would wear (i.e. slacks, dresses, ect.) What do I need to know?

batistuta

Hi and welcome to Indiamike,

I will try to answer a few of your questions.Bangalore is relatively safe for a female living alone.You need use the same common sense you will use in any city.You will be able to travel outside Bangalore safely (Bangalore is not a warzone,though the traffic may make you feel like you are in the midst of one ),english can be called the first language .
If it was any other place then there would have been restrictions ragarding clothing but not so in Bgalore .Still some imers would suggest against wearing tube /tank tops.
As there are many working women in Bangalore i would say females are accepted in workplace but then again i say it in a general way and it cant be said abt every organisation.
Bangalore weather is considered to be one of the best in India so thre wont be any extremes .
Have a good time in India .

gautam

Bangalore is a very good place to stay. Females should follow some basic rules & you shld be good to go. The weather here is awsome. How r u planning to commute to office coz autowaalas are good but i prefer going by my own vehicle.

Cheers

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Vicenzo

If you're working for GM (that is the only large US auto co. I know of in Bangalore - btw, I used to work for Volvo), then your location would be Whitefield at the tech. centre at ITPL.

Whitefield is a very good area to work in - although the traffic at peak time sucks. Bangalore is one of the safest cities in India for women, and women are very much accepted at the workplace, so no issues there. Also, Bangalore is a city where English is more the lingua franca than other cities where Hindi is spoken more (except other than chennai).

Hope this helps.

Ciao

IndeGuru

Second all the above posts however would like to add that B'lore is also one of the most expensive cities to live in India so you may like to factor for that while you're planning to come here.

John Rambow

And yes, English is definitely a second language in India, esp. in Bangalore.

Re: expenses. Housing seems especially pricey in Bangalore. I'd try to get your company to help you set up something for the temporary stay here.

sudheer poppa

Try to negotiate a car and a driver in the relocation package, it wont be a very painful option for your company - though living in US you would feel it as a luxury, it is not in India.

Take an appartment relatively near the office, so that office commute time is minimal and in weekends the traffic would be low so that you can still happily go around exploring. For sure, you would be provided accommodation by the company.. just try to negotiate it being close to the office.

English is fine, I lived there for seven years without knowing the local language and it is the first language in office as well as most of the places you would hand out in.

Dressing - stay conservative for the frist few weeks, till you get a hang of it and beyond wear what you are comfortable in.

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dgarland

Thanks so much for the info about Bangalore. I am now waiting for more info from my company regarding housing, whether they will furnish a driver, etc. I appreciate your insight.

geminitu

Hi dgarland,

Bangalore is much more safer place compared to other cities.
yes lot of females are working and they are verymuch accepted at work place
yes, u are very much safe for sightseeing outside city, of course try to maintain yr timings.
avoid late night travel alone (i guess any part of world, that is better)
april to sept - that is gong to be very good season, as summer willbe finished by march
english is first language, not to worry ppl are very helping nature
clothing - at official try to be formal, outside - casual no probes.
it is one of the most beautiful city, in terms of place, people, climate, lot more things ...

At official front,
try to negotiate for company guest house for yr stay n car n driver, that is more than enough.
after coming if u need any help u can buzz me.

Warm welcome to blore.
Nitu

crvlvr

India is relatively safe. But, as a rule single women should be cautious and select accomodations that offer basic security. Don't be too thrifty. What you pay is what you get.
Depends on the workplace and the size of the company. what kind of work will you be doing ?

I would recommend that you find travel partners to avoid being hassled by locals in touristy places.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/trave...12?from=search

English is a second language in India. But a large portion of the educated population have a basic understanding of it.
Women do dress more conservatively on the streets. Thi link might help http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=India

fardesi

Usually foreigners only get offers of work for purpose to train someone in India. You can compare Bangalore to, say Tijuana Mexico.
Safety is not really a huge problem in Bangalore, but question is if you have the patience to live in India. Of course, you will only be there 6 months so it may be a valuable experience. And Indian food is wonderful if you know where to go and even to this day I miss it (Leela Palace, or my favorite small 'ethnic' one with tandoori on Church Street, which I forgot the name of but is right before Amoeba, on the opposite side). You will have better food in the 5-star hotels than in small hawks, of course, so don't gather always only around the fast food places.

Weather is just fine and not too hot. No shorts, tight clothes or tank tops or you will look cheap. Almost all Indians, even poor people sometimes, can manage with English to some extent and in Bangalore and especially in an office everyone will speak English (remember, they were ruled by the British for 400 years!).

I think culture will be hard. I was extremely bored in India to the point of jumping off a cliff; the company and conversations were so boring and basic, and Indian women talk of little else but their cooking, children and lots and lots of gossip. The surroundings are unattractive, dilipated and extremely dirty in our standard and there is really nothing to do to entertain yourself. If you are a female and alone, because of the general view that all white women are 'whores' to a certain extent, you will seldom be invited for functions since no one wants the impression that you are with them, or get a reputation of 'why' they are with 'this foreigner'. If you are a male, it is much easier.

Go for a shorter time. You can take short trips to see other places in South India. There is a wonderful, deserted temple with hardly any visitors at all on the way to Mysore called Somnathpur. I recommend you see it. Amazing workmanship with every inch covered in carvings.
The beach, I can recommend Varkala which is far more beautiful than the overrated Kovalam, in Kerala.