Chennai Questions - Apartment , Car etc.?

ausi

Hi Guys!!

i am new to this community, let me introduce myself. I am Joel i am coming from Australia to ( Chennai )INDIA to start a new business.

I would like to know few things like:
* How to find an Apartment in CHENNAI
* How much will it cost to find a single bed room apartment
* I want to stay near kalakshetra colony
* Do you recommend Public Transport or to buy a car

Nick-H

Hello Ausi,

Welcome to the site.

The area around Kalakshetra/Besant Nagar is one of the nicest places in Chennai to live. I can't help with current rentals, though.

Other stuff... you will find most of it covered already in other threads. I don't know why Chennai seems to be the most popular expat destination on this site; it may be a google-related phenomena, or it may be just my impression because I notice the Chennai questions most.

Transport is something to find out about as you learn to live here; do not rush into anything (unless you are going to be on a huge ex-pat salary and a car and driver is part of the deal). For one thing, it depends entirely on your daily commute. For another, driving here (if you are thinking of driving yourself) is a whole trip in itself.

Raghu.Kumar

Hi Joel,

Welcome to Chennai at the outset. Let me try and answer your queries to the best of my ability


How to find an Apartment in CHENNAI

Finding an apartment is not all that difficult. You can bowse through internet websites, local classifiends, Saturday's Hindu, which has got the property plus page and there are a whole lot of agents. You can browze through www.99acres.com which would give you a fair idea of the rental scenraio and some of the properties have got photo graphs as well.

If you want me to refer any good agents let me know, can give you a few names. But most of the agents would ask for a commission from 20 days up to 1 month's rent.

Whats your rental budget ? Do u want furnished or unfurnished apartment ? Are you single or comong with family ?

* How much will it cost to find a single bed room apartment
* I want to stay near kalakshetra colony
* Do you recommend Public Transport or to buy a car

I would not recommend using public transport because it is not easy. You cant go by local trains nor bus. Autos would fleece you and there is no air conditioning.

There are some cab comapnies which can provide you with a car and a driver for a monthly sum. If you have any budget in mind, then i can suggest a few types of cars which can come for that kinda of money.

If you want to buy a car, then again we would need to know the budget accordingly we can advise.

Hoping to hear from you,

Raghu

__________________
S.Raghu Kumar
sahana_kumar@yahoo.com

ausi

Thanks Mr.Raghu that was so kind of you to send me a quick reply

I want a single bed room furnished apartment (Studio Type), well i am single right now, who knows may be my girl is waiting for me in CHENNAI... the portal to find apartments was good.

Raghu.Kumar

Hi Ausi,

You are welcome. You may cut the Mr and address me as Raghu. Do let me know your budget for house and car per month and accordingly I can advise.

By the way when do you plan to come to India . Hope you are taking care of the Work Permit etc as you need to be careful about the right type of Visa and then the FRRO registration in Chennai within 14 days of arrival.

Regards, Raghu

Nick-H

Whoa! Hanging off the side of a bus in the rush hour with the kids is surely not easy, as well being potentially lethal, but otherwise public transport is not so bad.

--- MRTS trains are excellent, if one is lucky enough to have at least one end of the journey close

--- Autos fleece their customers; this is undeniable. I've written many a rude post about Chennai auto drivers,but, as one comes to know the place, the areas, the distances and the prices, the fleecing gets a little less. They are are a very convenient and easy way to make short trips.

--- Share autos, out of rush times, are a great way of making that trip 'just up the road'. More expensive than buses, perhaps, but still just a few rupees. Harder to use, more likely to be a language barrier.

--- Call taxis are no more expensive than autos, for a newcomer making longer journeys, and go by meter or pre-arranged package, so you will not be fleeced.

Car ownership is, like anywhere else in the world, expensive. If you feel the need to add a driver, then that means a lot more expense. Car ownership is something I do because I enjoy owning a car, it is a luxury item. Of course, I do not make any daily journey/commute, but even if I did, I suspect that car-ownership would not be the cheapest way to do it.