Relocating to chennai

Roasted_Spuds

Hi All,

My first posting on IM, I hope I havn't missed the similar postings on this subject.

I spent 6 months wandering around India ,as you do, and thoroughly enjoyed my time in Chennai and Mahabs.

After a great time in general and a bit of investigation, the wife and I have decided that Chennai is our city of choice for a few years out of the UK, both hoping to work at some stage.

Being a project manager type chap, i've researched bits and bobs of the relocation and being a seasoned traveller understand the difficulties of Indian life in the simplest matters.

Could any IM members comment on the following thoughts

We have looked at Besant Negar or poersgarden. They seem to be pleasant areas to live. Are there any other areas not to be ignored?

Most of the IT parks are in the South of the City, are there IT parks in other areas of the city?

Should Management Real estate agents be used to find apartments or only go for private landlords?

That'll do for starters

spuds

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galahad

you are right...most of the IT parks are in the south,on the old mahabalipuram road(parallel to the ECR).
Quite a few new ones are coming up in these areas.

A few will come up in the far West(ambattur/sriperumbudur).


But its all invariably in the South now.
So,Besant Nagar/Adyar/Tiruvanmiyur makes sense.

I dont really get it when u talk abt the management real estate agents.Are u talking about the brokers?If yes,they do not own any property.They will take you to the private landlords who are their clients.

What you can otherwise do is check local newspapers like the adyar times/mylapore times.And dont check the listings who ve multiple entries.They are brokers.

U can also contact the building society to check if they have a vacancy.For example,the housing society at "The Atrium' in Kalakshetra colony will have leads about openings at their place.Or a builder like "Ramaniyam",or 'Kishorekumar GokalDas" will have information about rentals in one of their chains of apartments.

Roasted_Spuds

Thanks galahad,

Definitely pointing me in the right direction there.

spuds

ISN

Welcome to Chennai. Abhiramapuram, Kilpauk, Tiruvanmiyur, Adyar, Alwarpet, Anna Nagar are also good places to stay. There are many factors that you have to consider when you are looking for a place in Chennai; are you going to rent or buy are you planning to live in an apartment or a house, what’s your budget? If you provide some input IM’ers will provide lots of advice. Indian real-estate market is not an organized sector so there are lots of frauds and suddenly everyone wants to become a real-estate agent and wants to make easy money. Chennai real-estate market is on the rise so you have to do lots of research before you decide on your final place. Start with real-estate websites then look in the local papers like Hindu and if you still don’t find a place then go to a real-estate agent. Since you are a foreigner everyone will try to extract the highest amount of money from you if you are not good in bargaining then you must start working on your bargaining skills. Have you found a job or are you looking for a job?

Checkout the India real estate portal

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Nick-H

There are heaps of lovely, leafy suburbs in Chennai. You would do best to spend a few days driving or walking around!

You sound like you've been doing your homework, so will be aware of the visa situation --- or maybe you are a returning Indian, and don't have to worry about such things?

So far as this site is concerned, the reputation of Chennai seems to have changed markedly over the last few months, from the standard, very unfair, guide-book line, Nothing to see; arrive at the airport and take a cab somewhere else to it being the place everyone wants to come and live!

mairangi_vice

Im going through the 'find a place in chennai' ordeal at the moment, so my advice is to steer clear of agents unless you are really having trouble finding places on your own. Ive managed to look at quite a few places just by going into a promising looking building and asking the watchman if there are any places available. there are also a lot of places on www.classifieds.sulekha.com. good luck!

Nick-H

Do not forget to check the Property section of The Hindu on a Saturday.

It seems a fairly general thing, by the way, that anyone who introduces you to a place that you end up renting will expect payment!

I guess that, if I found a place through the watchman, I'd give him a substantial tip (several thousand) but nothing like the one month rent that an agent would charge. What do real Chennai-ites think about this?

rangss

Broker is a right way to go but do not start negotiating right away with the first one you meet. From my experience, i found brokers slightly menacing especially when they play tag with me...handing my case over to the next level all the time. When it comes to settling the brokerage, each of these levels prefer to negotiate independently.

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Roasted_Spuds

more info

The budget im aiming at is the 20 to 25k per month Area.

we were going to get a job when i got there. (I'm a high level Internet Project Manager). If cant get job then will get by financially and study some more technical aspects at one of the many IT training schools (truckloads cheaper than UK training)

we need to be near the sea (i love sunrise) and grew up south coast UK

I'm not PIO and neithers my wife

any further advice appreciated

spuds

Roasted_Spuds

Also - visa's - not being a PIO neither my wife or I.

We had heard that once in India and found a job it is simply a matter of flying to Sri Lanka with the relevant invite letters etc. and applying for an employment Visa at the Indian commission there - is this correct and/or straightforward

ISN

If you start your job hunting in UK you can easily get a job in Chennai. There are lots of large UK companies operating in Chennai. Thales www.thalesgroup.com recently opened an office in Chennai they might have some openings, Xansa www.xansa.com/ has a huge operation in Chennai. If you get a job before relocating they might pay for your relocation. You can get a decent apartment or a house for rent in a good location for 25K. Good luck.

Xansa Chennai http://www.xansa.com/about/locations...fices/chennai/

mairangi_vice

Id check with the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka first.

It would definitely be better to find a job before you go.

bronzedin india

Dear roasted Spuds,*Going to Srilanka will not solve your problem. You can* live in Chennai/India on a 6 months visa on visiting terms.You can extend the same after you get a job. This extension must be done in the place from where you originated.There are many heads under which you will fall, for example if you or your wife or your parents are.were of Indian origin you should not have a problem. The visa guys at Immigration office,shastri bhavan , chennai are pretty cool and will give you the best advice.


Mod Note: bronzed in India - we used to have a classified section where you could have advertised your house. However, we no longer have this, and hence, advertisements like yours are now not permitted on India Mike. I have deleted the details about it, and left the rest of the post's information