Staying in Chennai

FAM

Hi

I am hoping to be in Chennai in the fall of 2008 for 3 months with my 2 young children (4.5 and 6.5 and husband) doing research. I would appreciate advice about finding a reasonable and reasonably priced furnished place to stay - close to the beach for my kids!

many thanks
FAM

ISN

If you can be specific about your budget then I can give you some advice.

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

FAM

Good question - but I am not certain.

I am an academic from Canada with a small fellowship to spend 3 months in India doing research. I had originally thought of being in Bangalore or Delhi but have ruled those out for 2 reasons: they are wildly expensive, and are not easy places to entertain children. I don't know Chennai (I have only been to Bangalore in India), but it looks like a potentially ideal location - with a good university, ready access to nice beaches, and - hopefully - more affordable rents.

That said, I am not sure what is reasonable: Rents of $1000 Canadian (close to par with US) would be fine; less would be better. This may, however, be quite unrealistic.

Many thanks - in advance - for any advice
best
FAM

Nick-H

Rs40,000 will still (rents are rising fast, catching up with the enormous increase in land prices of the last three years) get you somewhere quite big and/or very nice in Chennai. In fact you could be comfortable for less than half that, in a nice area, maybe within reach of the sea.

The bad news is that, if your daydream is one of those sea-side houses with a garden and a swimming pool, of the kind often rented to companies for their ex-pat employees, then that sort of money is not even going to get you in the front gate.

Maybe if you go a long way out of the city, but then you won't be in Chennai any longer, and maybe the beach won't be such a safe place in the evening.

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

ISN

You can get a decent apartment near the beach for that price, you have to at least spend a month to finalize your place, if you have contacts in Chennai then you should ask them to start searching for a place before you land in Chennai, since you have mentioned that you will be there for a short period, you should get everything planned out before you arrive otherwise you will get frustrated searching for a place and will not be able to do your work, real-estate is an unorganized sector in India, there are no hard and fast rules and everyone will makeup their own commission and rules, so if you have not rented a place outside of north America then be prepared for some unpleasant experience with real-estate brokers. Checkout this link to get started India real estate portal


Can you share with this forum on what you will be researching?

Nick-H

Hah, yes, very unpleasant.

traveller.1

I hope your vision of the beach is not as in california or Florida with lazy afternoons and a cold beer and a quick dip in the water. The beach here is just a sea shore, no one swims no clean sparkling water. So dont pay a premium for near beach property

I too am in the same situation. I have rented a place in Nungambakkam. This is a pretty nice area. A subway close buy, Taj and Park hotel within walking distance. You shouldn't have to spend 3000 euros. About a 1000 eoros should do well

Aishah

From what I remember years ago (may be changed now) you could get a 'near beach property' for next to nothing - it was all jughi, black polythene and cardboard boxes...

__________________
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

SAHM

I hate to say this, but someone might as well. We live right o the beach, so here goes.....

The beach in Chennai is an interesting paradox. On the one hand, it's got sand, sun, and water, three key ingredients to a child's happiness. On the other, it has strong tides, tons of trash (mostly non-biodegradable), and is used extensively as a public toilet. If there are fishermen working nearby, the public toilet usage will go dramatically up, and they also dry their catch in the sand - producing dramatic odors in the heat. Occasionally, there are fish kills that throw tons of dead sea life up on the beach. Add to that the incredible heat of April and May, and really, it isn't a nice place to go.

While my children do enjoy it, we also pay someone to clean it regularly. (Or, the kids get into trouble and get to perform community service. ) It isn't entirely safe to go there alone - lots of staring and occasional lewd overtures if you are female - so we have to take a guard or other male with us.

If I were you, I would consider an apartment in the city that has a pool. There are a few. Your children will then probably have friends to play with, being in an apartment, and they can still enjoy the water.

Good luck,

SAHM