Moving from Goa to Gurgaon |
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Nov 26th, 2008, 19:35
| #31 |
| Member  Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 62
| You're welcome Bedenham. I can join you at the RO if you like, but I don't speak Hindi. The best thing to do is get there early like 09:15 that's when it's nice and quiet. Aishah is right about the international license being valid if where you got it from says it is, but generally speaking I'm not sure if the police here in Gurgaon recognise it. It being valid is different if the police you are speaking to that day is saying it isn't. I sense they don't know their own laws so recognising a foreign paper is alien to them. I was asked which side of the road I drive in the UK, the left, same as India I replied. So I think if you drive on the right, like most countries in the world, I think they might say your international license isn't valid. |
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Nov 26th, 2008, 22:10
| #32 | |
| Forever blowing bubbles  Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Gurgaon, India
Posts: 14
| Quote:
I have enabled the email option. You can send it now. Or you can write me directly to Mike_Rumpf@Mac.com. Hey, have you taken your kids to "32nd Milestone" yet? They're gonna love it. | |
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Nov 26th, 2008, 22:19
| #33 | |
| Forever blowing bubbles Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Gurgaon, India
Posts: 14
| Quote:
When you have been asked on which side you drive have you actually been stopped by a cop? I haven't seen that happening here. Well, and if, I just tell them what we do in Germany: Drive on the left, of course.  | |
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Nov 28th, 2008, 10:51
| #34 |
| Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 62
| What would you men do without your wives hey! I haven't been stopped yet. I was asked this question when I was applying for the local indian license when I was showing my UK license as proof I could drive. |
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Aug 30th, 2009, 22:33
| #35 |
| Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: London
Posts: 9
| Goa or Gugaon? Hi Birgit (&Susan), I have read your thread with interest as my family and i are planning to immigrate to India from the UK. We are of Indian origin but have never lived in India bar the very regular holidays we have had. We have 3 children (2, 6 and 10 years old) and are very keen on following that 'quality of life' thread as to why we wish to move to India. My question is this, Birgit, you have had experience of both Goa and Gurgaon. We had originally chosen Delhi/Gurgoan as the place we could settle, but my wife is having an issue of dealing with the hot summer days/temperature, so we have now thought about Goa. The issue we have with Goa, and not with Delhi is the schooling. Goa is not particualarly famed for its UK biased schooling ,whereas Delhi is. Could you possibly help shed some light as to your experiences of both Goa and Gurgaon, both pro's and con's and which you prefer? Anybody elses comments are truly welcome too. In terms of Shri Ram school, is there a website? and is it run according to any UK examination board? Many thanks. |
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Aug 31st, 2009, 11:48
| #36 |
| Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Delhi / Gurgaon
Posts: 17
| Hi, yes - I agree - Goa is a very nice place, but only for a holiday  I'm glad I moved to Delhi and can lead a 'real' life... for the following reasons.
I really enjoy living in Gurgaon ... YES it is dusty and dirty and due to the construction around the air is poluted, but we really like it. We have very nice neighbours and made good friends. My kids have lots of other kids to play with and they live in our building so we don't even need to go out to meet them ... we are now planning for every festival some activity for the residents e. g. we had a ceremony on Independence Day with flag hoisting, kids singing the national anthem, games for the kids and some snacks. On Holi the kids made a play on the origin of Holi (as I understood it since I'm not familiar with the Indian mythology). So we all have lots of fun (if you are interested in moving to Gurgaon I can really recommend our complex in Nirvana Country. It's called 'The Close North'...). The school is excellent and we are very happy that we got admission for my son. The school website is http://www.shriconnect.net/portal/ . Still there are lots of other schools in Gurgaon which are also good e. g. Heritage School, DPS, American Excelsior, Scottish High. My middle son (3 years) goes to a preschool called IDiscoveri which is also very nice. Shopping is very easy here in Gurgaon since you also get a lot of imported stuff in most of the shops around. We enjoy going to one of the malls on sundays for food, shopping, ice cream and fun for the kids as well. As far as the big heat in summers is concerned - yes, it is definetly hot here and we are waiting for monsoons which is total different from Goa. In Goa it would rain for a few month every day whereas in Gurgaon it rains only for one day and the next few days are sunny again. But you can really survive the heat... if it is really hot then I stay at home in my bedroom which has the advantage of having an A/C or I go to a mall If I had a choice I would choose Gurgaon... and go to Goa two times a year for a nice holiday  Hope this helps you... Regards, Birgit |
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Sep 1st, 2009, 20:13
| #37 |
| Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 2
| Well just an update ...try Excelsior American School , Gurgaon...I have shifted from US and my children have adjusted pretty well..... |
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Sep 1st, 2009, 21:32
| #38 |
| Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: London
Posts: 9
| More questions.... Thanks Birgit, and Sanjana! Really helpful advice about Gurgaon over Goa, i think i will ask the administrator to change my login to delhibound now! Couple of questions, if you are ok to answer? 1. How far is the schools you talk of from ,say, where you live in Nirvana? 2.Does the Excelsior American educate to US standards? I am assuming so from the name. 3. What schools do follow the UK syllabus? It is amazing what emphasis we place on schooling for our children! My wife is only prepared to move to India if we are sure about 2 areas. The first is naturally the schools we choose for our children, and then there is the area in which we will live. I am assuming that it is very much the same as you guys, but we need to be able to live in a villa/apartment that has a good feel to it, has a neighbourly community, is easily accessible to the area, but also provides a sanctuary from the madness that is all around, as well as security such as that provided by gated communities. One other issue that we had, is that we are a family who love swimming. Is there any of you who enjoy swimming and have found a residence or a way of getting to swim regularly without the unfortunate consequence of peering indian young men!! thanks for your time. Bob |
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Sep 2nd, 2009, 17:56
| #39 |
| Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Delhi / Gurgaon
Posts: 17
| Hi, not a problem... The Shri Ram School follows the Indian ICSE system and after Class X you can choose the IB curriculum - if I'm not mistaken. Nevertheless it is a really good school ... Scottish High School might follow the UK syllabus, not sure about that... you can check it out on this page http://www.scottishigh.com/academics.html . The Scottish High School is about 5 to 10 min. drive from us, The Shri Ram School about 20 min. My son gets picked up in the morning at 7:50am and comes back at 3pm. Swimming - yes I would love to go for swimming... right now I don't go, but we have a nice club her in Southcity II which has an excellent swimming pool. Even Nirvana Country is getting its own Patio club, but it's still under construction so can't say much about the pool. Something else which I feel is very important - we have an excellent child clinic here in Southcity II. Dr. Gupta has worked in UK and Australia and opened his own clinic here. It's very close to our house about 5 min. by car which is very important for me since I have small kids and always need a good doctor. Regards, Birgit |
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Sep 4th, 2009, 19:05
| #40 |
| Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: London
Posts: 9
| Hi Birgit and thanks. What are the fee's that you are paying for your schooling? And also, i understand from the Shri Ram website that the children have to speak Hindi to a certain level. How did you approach this with your son? One more thing (sorry, you will have to excuse me for all these questions but they keep springing to mind when i send you a reply), as you have been through the admissions procedure, when do you have to apply to a school for admision at a certain time. ie if the school year is starting in september (for example), do we apply in march etc? Thanks and regards Bob |
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Sep 4th, 2009, 20:55
| #41 |
| Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: New Delhi / Gurgaon
Posts: 17
| Hi Bob, we pay around Rs.10000 per month but this can change quickly... The admission is starting in October for the following session e.g. October 2009 for session 2010-2011. We got admission midterm - we arrived in Delhi beginning of October 2008 and immediately approached the school for the admission. It took several visits and finally my son joined school mid November. Midterm admission always depends on the availability of seats - you can be lucky and get a seat for both your kids or only one as it happened in our family. One son got admission in Shri Ram and the second son not so he joined Scottish High. Shri Ram has a Special Need Department and my son is part of this. He gets extra Hindi lessions to reach the class level. I don't know how it would be for older children. You might have to ask the school, but there would be certainly a way... Scottish High mentions the NRI kids on their website and how they will get extra lessions in Hindi... Regards, Birgit |
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Sep 7th, 2009, 21:02
| #42 |
| Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: London
Posts: 9
| Hi. Really, really do appreciate the help here. When you say, 10,000, that could change quickly, what do you mean? Also, you explained that admission is taken in October for the following academic year, but can you tell me what is the academic year? If you had a choice, would Shri Ram still be the school of choice, or is there a more favourable one that you are looking at more positively? As a foreigner in India, how are you finding the experience, in terms of being a lady, with a family? I am basically trying to help my wife with coming up with a way in which she can deal with life in India/Delhi, how she can partake in extra curricular activities, both with and with out family in tow, where she is more likely to meet new friends and also where she can get involved in terms of work, building a business or just plain old keeping herself busy. Also, do you know of any parents who are NRI, or Non-Indian who send their children to Scottish High? Maybe others on this site? Y0u are a great source of information for Shri Ram, but it would also be nice to get an angle on Scottish High. |
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