housing on ECR

Gerry1

hello together,

yes, another guy who will move to Chennai, soon.

Me and my wife will move to Chennai in October for a couple of years. Our housing tour will be in September. A few information in advance would be great.
My company will be built in the area wher the Ford plant stands South of Chennai.
I am looking for a nice home outside the town, which is in an acceptable distannce to the plant.
ECR would be great from a first point of view.
Can anyone tell me something about the coast around Kelambakkam (neighbourhoods?)? Is there a road whiich brings me to NH45 and the plant?

Thanks in advance

Nick-H

Yet another one! Welcome to the site ---and Chennai!

Kelambakkam seems to be near Kovalam (not the Kerala one, there is one near Chennai as well). I haven't been there. Pretty rural, I'd say.

There is a route from the ECR, near Kovalam, accross to the OMR (Old Mahabalipuram Road) and NH45 at Vandalur; hits it just by Chennai zoo.

See Google Maps page -->here.

Wikimapia is good for finding a lot of the names.

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Gerry1

thanx for Your reply and the warm welcom.

Which part of the coast (ECR) would You recommend to live?

Nick-H

Really depends on whether your priority is being close to the city, or shorter commuting journeys.

Main thing is that you are getting the chance to come and look around

mirjamd

Like Nick said, it does depend on your priorities of either being closer to the city, or shorter commutes to work. But if you are coming with your wife, it might be better for her social life if she is not too far from the city. Kovalam for example is quite far. If she makes friends, they will most likely meet up in the city somewhere. And even for shopping trips it is much easier to be closer to the city.
An example of an area where a lot of expats live is Neelangarai on ECR.

An idea for your wife to meet people (if she is not working, which I maybe sillily presumed...) is the Overseas Women's club.

Nick-H

Yes, if she is "at home" in the day, she could feel very isolated in those further-out places.

Another factor is that the beaches are more safely wanderable closer into the city.

ISN

Welcome to Indiamike.

If your priority is to get to work quickly then your location Kelambakkam will be good, but if you like to stay close to the city then Thiruvanmiyur or Adyar will be a good option. It all boils down to what you like, if you like to live away from crowds and enjoy it then you can stick to your plan, if you like the busy city life then go for the areas that I have mentioned.Can you share with the forum in what industry you will be working?

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mirjamd

The distance to the city for your wife also depends on whether you have a driver or not. If you have a driver that is also available for her, and at night, the distance should not really be a problem.

But one of my friends in Neelangarai was desperate to move out, because they DON'T have a driver, and she has to depend on autodrivers. It costs a lot of money, and she couldn't really be out later than 8 pm, because it was too dangerous to come back alone. This really pissed her off after a month. They are now moving closer to the city.

Nick-H

Gosh... why? Was it something to do with the location of their house?

I've heard that some of those sea-side lanes with expensive houses (they look wonderful in the day) are a little short on stuff like street lights, and a little popular with drinking people in the evenings

Gerry1

Thank You for Your information.

I will work with the new truck company, coming up right now. Surely You heard or read about it.

We are Germans, living for 18 years in France, have been living for 4 years in USA and spending our vacations in Asia.

We are not the people who like to live in an expat spot, discussing the kids school problems with other Germans all day long. We rather would like to get in touch with the locals.
Therefore I am looking for a calm, friendly and quiet home near the beach out of the town. A swimming pool would be great.
It seems, that me and also my wife will get a car with a driver.

So, which area on ECR would You prefer?
From Your point of view, can I trust the relocators o would it be better to look for my own?
Thanx in adavance.

Nick-H

I suggest that you check out SAHM's posts. She lives further down the ECR than most, I believe quite a way out of the city.

ISN

If your company is paying for the relocation service use their service to find a house, you have to look at a number of houses before you finalize the place. When you look for a house don’t let the agent know your budget, let him or her know your requirements and never accept no for an answer, insist on finding a place with all your requirements and if the agent says that this is the best he or she can offer then just walk away and find a new agent. If you are going to do the house search by yourself you have to have lot of patience, real-estate segment is not a well organized sector in India so everyone is trying to make a quick buck so you will end up frustrated.

If your company is paying the expense then use http://www.globaladjustments.com/

Sample houses offered by Global Adjustments http://www.globaladjustments.com/?q=node/747

Sample houses for rent in ECR http://www.primelocator.in/search-properties.php


Areas closer to Thiruvanmiyur like Akkarai, Neelangarai, Kanthur are good, don’t go very far away from Thiruvanmiyur, then you will have to travel a lot for shopping and entertainment.

I was in Duisburg, Germany for a couple of months in 1996, I really enjoyed the place, visited a small town near river Rhine it was like a fairytale land.

Gerry1

thanks a lot.
I will follow Your recommendations. May be we can together in Chennai?

Gerry1

ISN

I am in the process of moving from USA to Chennai, I have to sell my house in USA (it was a bad investment, should not have bought a house in USA, instead invested in Chennai real-estate) before I can move and the housing market is very bad so it is taking a longer time then I anticipated. I will be glad to meet with you when I move back to Chennai, good luck with your relocation.

P.S: The key to surviving the real-estate market in India is never take NO for an answer, because people just use that word to sell you what they have.

SAHM

SAHM says: "Don't trust the real estate agents AT ALL." Based on her experience.

However, we do live very far out on ECR - nearly to Muttukadu. Homes everywhere in Chennai are really fortified compounds, so you don't get to mingle much with the locals, outside of your staff. We personally do not have drinking or partying problems on our lane, but it is gated off. Also, that's what the guards are (supposedly) for - to keep the merrymakers away.

One thing to be aware of is that some houses on ECR are rented out on weekends for parties. These can get very loud and obnoxious and really annoying. Be sure you get someone (your driver?) to check with the local staff (in Tamil) and ask if any of the homes around are used for weekend parties, then avoid living near them if possible. The police are not a good resource...as they get quite a lot of money from these parties.