food, snakes, safety in Chennai

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Hi GKJ,
sorry for not replying sooner but have been busy coming back to China,I am really sorry to have been negative but I couldnt lie,the relocaters we are using are called IOS,they are a company that the Gates company use and have on the whole been pretty good,I really want to say that maybe what we were shown was all there was at that time and next month maybe better,I really hope for your sake that this is the case,it looks like we are definetly relocating to Chennai on the 1st of January,maybe we are lucky as they want my husband so badly that they are giving us more or less what we have asked for so I am getting more used to the idea and Chennai didnt look as bad on the way back to the airport as it did a week earlier so you do get used to the differences quickly,and the ladies I met for coffee on the Tuesday were normal and sane and very nice so maybe Stephanie will do the same for you I think you have already been in contact with her as her husband works for caterpillar.I look forward to your response about Chennai and if you do go there are many like us that are going to be new so we can all get together at some point or meet up at the OWC good luck.

gertie

b16,

Those prices sound outrageous!

Six months ago we rented a huge, stunning 3 bed, 3 bath apartment in a very nice part of Alwarpet for Rs 80000, so I don't understand why you are being quoted so much.

Friends of mine rent a 4 bed house on the ECR with a pool, garden etc for 1.1 lakh, so again your prices are way, way off beam.

Have a chat to your company/agent about this as you are most definitely being taken for a ride.

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gertie,
I think you would be in for a shock if you were to go and try and rent these properties you mention now,they are saying that the demand is so high now that the rentals have doubled and in some cases trebled in the last 6 months,a lady told me that her rent was 1. lakh and now has went upto 2.5 lakh in a year,the brand new apartment that I really liked was just off boat club road so more affluent I understand and they want 2.5 lakh for that if we wanted it furnished and thats an apartment with no swimming pool,anyway we are still looking but at the end of the day I want a nice property if I am to live there,one that they showed us at 80,000 rupee there was no way on this planet I would have lived in it was awful,I am only telling you what we are getting from the relocators,we havent come down to negotiations yet so it wil be more interesting then to find out how much they come down if any,trust me I am hard to bargain with and if they dont come down to what I think is reasonable to pay I will move on to the next property,I asked whether an unfurnished apartment they would give me a budget and I would pick the furniture and they said no, well I am afraid if they want to charge expat prices they are going to have to start changing some ways and allow us to do some of the things that we want.

Nick-H

I think the 'relocation agents' are even more expensive than the brokers. Maybe you should look on your own.

It must come as a shock, and I don't think house-hunting in the first few days is a good idea.

I think it is a good idea to expect the employer to pay for a good hotel for one month at least. Spend a week or so being touristy, driving around, finding out the place names, walking around some streets.

It is also a lot easier to rent a house than it is to terminate the agreement, getting back the substantial deposit in full, after only a short time.

I counsel caution, taking it easy, and letting a hotel be your buffer: ease your way into Chennai.

That way you are much more likely to end up enjoying the place!

Boat club is pretty-much Chennai's most through-the-roof expensive locality. They can charge what they want. For buying the new appartments they may even vet you to find out that you are not only super-rich, but the 'right kind of person' to live there. This is snob value in the extreme! But whoa! If anyone has an employer who is prepared to house them there, it is quiet, peaceful, spacious; go for it!

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

DenverMark

Here is what I have learned so far. Please take it as you wish and hope you learn from some of my trials. I agree, stay in a hotel for a bit and look around to see what you like. You will not be able to do this in a week. Heck I still can not tell one area from another and I have been going around everyday. I am in the Courtyard by Marriott on Anna Salai. Very nice buffer to make the transition from the states to here. Great food, gym, salon, and has Apt.'s here with kitchens. Very nice but not cheep.
The US Embassies here have nothing to offer as in services. Everything they offer is on the web site. I know this because I went in person and asked.
I found a place in Besant Nagar looking at the Bay of Bengal. Not too sure if it will help with the ride to work but at least I get to relax when home with such a nice view and breeze.
When you use an agent to find a place here, they make sure all the paperwork is in order and there are no troubles. If you find the place on your own and it is with the owner, then this is your responsibility. I am not to sure what all that in-tells because the people at the office are handling it but said it is more work for them than if I liked one of the places their agents showed me.
I can go on about tons of other stuff but I'll save that for m next little blurb.

Nick-H

Go for it! One of Chennai's nicest areas. Just check out the water situation (tap and flood!) See if you can meet a neighbour or two, ask what happens in rainy season.

Besant Nagar Sea-view property has long been inflated by NRIs who are prepared to pay what they can afford, without regard to local values, to get it.

I don't think you'll get much out of an agent here, even if they do screw up! But, let your employers worry about that!

Where are you working? Will you have a car?

When I came to live here, I moved to a place in an area that I knew already. I was still glad of a couple of weeks in a guest house to acclimatise to the idea that I was living, not visiting.

DenverMark

Sorry about not saying hello when I first posted. I had been reading IM for over 2 months. Kind of felt like i was a part already. "So hello all" The company is in Sriperumpudur Taluk. I wont have a car, even tho I am a very aggressive driver I still think I wouldn't make it here. Heck just walking across the street makes my heart race.
Looking to find a place to pick up towels, sheets and kitchen things. I have been to the 2 big malls but none of the little places on the streets yet. Are they firm like the City center or do I need to bargain?
Just a side note to gkj. Not sure what school your kids are going too but that might also help in picking where your going to live.
Mark

Nick-H

Don't worry about the hellos! Some people do introductions, other just do a sort of traffic-merging thing and join in . No proble, you're welcome

Believe it or not, if you can get over the initial terror () it is sometimes easier to drive here than to be a pedestrian! I took a year to pluck up courage then took course of lessons to ease me in and facilitate getting my Indian licence. It's a rubber-stamp job if you go through a school, which explains a lot about why the driving is so dreadful!

If you're commuting city <-> Sriperumpudur I think a driver is necessary! Too much hard work to add to a day's work. How do you like our IT ExpressWay (Old Mahanalipuram Road)?

Look out for Bombay Trading for cottons and linens. Fixed price.

No time to add more now....

Amyth

How true...reminded me of a friend who hired a rick just to be dropped on the opposite end of the road, after taking a long U turn, she said, she couldn't bear the trauma of crossing the road by dodging through the serpentine, bumper to bumper convoy of cars who treat pedestrians as lesser mortals!!

__________________
Smile -- it makes people wonder what you're up to

ISN

Try

Shoppers' Stop
Harrington Road
Chetpet ,
Chennai 600031
Phone: (44) 28363355

If you have more time then you can go to T.Nagar and checkout all the small stores.

__________________
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Indian Students Network http://www.IndianStudentsNetwork.com

gkj

Mark,

Our kids will be going to AISC which is right by my husbands work. We would really like to live down ECR Road and don't mind a 30 min commute (the kids ride the bus longer in the states!). I am just praying that we will find a house for our price that is nice. I must say I am quite nervous. We leave in 2 weeks!

ISN

If your company is paying for the relocation you can use the services provided by Global Adjustments http://www.globaladjustments.com/

mairangi_vice

yikes! 80k! I also am in a nice part of Alwarpet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms also, in a nice new(ish) building, and we pay about 1/4 of that amount! it wasnt furnished, but it has 3 a/c's, backup power inverter.
Your place had better be massively huge!

Nick-H

...If your company is prepared to pay that much .

I heard good things, I've heard not so good things, they gave me some advise for free --- but, generally they are known as expensive.

DenverMark

Day 11,
I think we will be getting the place on the beach in Besant Negar. Didn’t meet anybody yet in the area and will ask more questions if we get it for sure. The place is very nice and the street seems quiet. From what you are telling me that this is the Posh area, that term is very relative. I will take your word for it . It is hard to put out of my mind where i come from and change my perspective on things. Here i am finding all areas are within the same neighborhood. As an example Saturday we took a walk on the beach in front of the condo just south of Elliot's beach. Some kids skinny dipping, one or two couple sitting and chatting and tons of what I thought was dog droppings. Walking just a couple minutes further i found a fishing village in front of a complex on the beach. I assume the huts didn’t have much for several people were squatting and going. Thus explaining all the droppings.

Went into a couple shoppes in the area and the produce looks great and is inexpensive by Denver prices. Very easy to get lost down here on foot and once I guess i was out exploring off the main road along some shacks/village? by the river. All the kids kept coming up and saying HI but a couple adults sort of let me know I was in the wrong area and pointed me back to the main road.

Tried to walk thru the shops out by the fort. I am not ready for that wild ride yet, lasted about 30 minutes before I called my driver. I am 44 and have been to many places but I think I am pushing to hard to adjust here on my own. I do want to point out everybody and i do mean everybody I have come into contact with has been more than nice.

I am wondering where any other US people are? Are they all held up in their places with the air on. Other than the hotel here i have been the only one I have seen. Maybe that is why everybody says hello to me because I am the only freak willing to walk around and mingle. My friend says its the blue eyes, smile and I always make eye contact.

Thank you for some shop names by the way. I will be going to those once i am sure we got the apt. I copied the address down. I like City Center but that is only because it reminds me of some malls back in the us. I am sure the prices are much higher there. I have not looked in the shops but have eaten there a couple times. No not Kentucky Fried Chicken. I am thinking of it though. My mouth is still adjusting to the spice. I have eaten any and everything I see and I am sure maybe not the way they are intended to be combined, but there isn’t classes telling this stuff. My first meal I was given a cone shaped leaf stuffed with something after dinner and told to eat it all at once. I did but i was not sure if they were pulling my leg and giggling in back.

This is for GKJ, This whole time I have not seen anybody walking dogs. Only one dog wondering around with tags and the rest look like skinny wild running dogs. They aren't mean or anything. Are you sure it wouldn’t be better for your dog to stay with a friend or family while your posted here? Locals may answer this better, but i am not sure its worth the hassle or the stress on the dog.

Mark