Moving from London to Delhi for Six months...

solecita

Hi everyone,

I work in an IT department within a bank in London, and have recently been asked to move to delhi for six months to help some of the team out in the office in gurgaon. I was wondering if anyone could help me with some questions i have.

I'm 23 years old and have been working for two years now, after graduating. As I am of indian origin (but born in the UK), i was interested in such an opportunity to explore India and life there. I also cannot speak Hindi well so I want to improve my language skills too (im actually punjabi, but im guessing ill have a better shot at learning hindi than punjabi in delhi). I'll probably be going out there from mid feb to mid aug.

Anyway, I was wondering:

- Where is the best place to live? I would like to have a proper experience of india while i am out there. I guess this would mean not living in gurgaon, because the place sounds quite westernised. I'd like somewhere where i can access delhi quite easily (so i can visit certain places without having to travel far). I've done a bit of a search around and Vasant Vihar seems like a good place as it is close to central delhi and to gurgaon, as well as the airport.

- I'm quite mindful of the fact that im quite young... what kind of groups/activities are there to get involved in? I did think Vasant Vihar would be good also for its proximity to the university meaning there would be quite alot of youth around the area. Or maybe i am wrong? Has anyone else been in a same position?

- I am interested in development/NGO/voluntary work, but have never actually been fully involved with it apart from some work in the past (some of which actually took place in delhi). Does anyone know to mind if there are such opportunities readily around, and where to find them?

- Are there many young expats, or young foreign students around?

- What's the expat lifestyle like? Is it simular to that in HK?

- I love to travel and intend to travel a lot while im out there. Does anyone have experiences of travelling over long weekends etc while out there? Did you travel alone or did you find people to travel with?

- I've seen that there are salsa lessons advertised for expats on one of the india expat websites. What are these like? Has anyone ever seen Bhangra lessons before?

- What is the nightlife like and such a lifestyle like out there?

- Is there any other advice you would think is relevent?

I guess id like to get the whole experience out there, of meeting locals but also expats and experience the both lives. In fact, imagining being a foreign university student out there would pretty much sum up what im looking for. I know we cant force these things, but its no harm in planning certain things!

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks


PS i have posted this across a few places so you may see the same post on different forums.

capt_mahajan

Which one of us moderators will delete as we find them

Multiple postings are not allowed as per the site's rules.

solecita

sorry, i meant ive posted on different websites (i havent cross posted on this forum).

capt_mahajan

No wonder I couldn't find anything

Where you want to live depends on your budget. Vasant Vihar is much much more expensive than Gurgaon, and maybe even more 'Westernised'.
And, yes, the JNU (University) is there, but it is kind of self contained though students do hang out in the Besant Lok market and the movie hall there.

For NGO activity, Delhi is a much better bet than Gurgaon.

Generally speaking, I would say live in Delhi if your budget permits it (also travelling to Gurgaon daily will preferably require own transport) since you want a varied experience and want to do other stuff.

Gurgaon is more unidimensional, apartments, offices, shopping malls mainly. It can't have the sheer weight of history behind it that Delhi has.

If budget does not permit, live in Gurgaon, will be cheaper, and travel to Delhi. Or look for cheaper options within Delhi.. you will get those too.

Either way, whether gurgaon or delhi, you will have to be prepared to travel, because your work is in Gurgaon and much of what you want to do will be in Delhi.

jyotirmoy

Dear Capt has already said most of what I had to stay.
If you are looking at south Delhi and want a non-westernised ambience try Munirka & R.K. Puram. These areas are mostly inhabited by middle class professionals but still offer good shopping options and other amenities. Other hip places are also easily accesibble.
The night life in Delhi isn't like say HK or even Mumbai. Once you make friends here you will find a lot of entertainment options.
There are plenty of week end destinations with in easy reach. Plus Delhi has numerous historical monuments and other sights that will keep you busy for many week ends.

hmm..whatcanthisbe

Barclays is it ???

mmmmmjenny

1) "Where is the best place to live?"
Delhi. Gurgaon is very dusty and the air quality is awful. It is very hard to get around except by a car. Delhi has auto-rickshaws that you can hail like a taxi in Manhattan. They are cheap and plentiful. But Gurgaon doesn't have them (I heard they weren't allowed). You can't walk: the distances between buildings/malls/hotels is great, and sidewalks are hard to find. So you'll be stuck relying on a car to take you anywhere and to top it off, traffic in Gurgaon is awful. Massive construction is happening everywhere 24/7. We stayed in Gurgaon for one week and were quite miserable. We'd wake up in the early hours of the morning to the vibrations and sounds of massive earth-moving equipment from several construction sights nearby.

My husband works in Gurgaon, and has accepted what comes with a long commute to and from South Delhi (we live by Green Park). He has shifted his work hours to leave the apartment at 9am, and returns usually at 8.30pm. This works well in avoiding a lot of traffic. With no traffic, his commute is 20 minutes. But with traffic, it can be up to one and a half hours. It's not so bad now, but imagine when it gets hot in March... That is something to consider, but if you know it is only for a short amount of time, maybe it's more bearable?

If you live in Visant Vihar or in South Delhi, you will be so much closer to a lot of fun things to do. Like I said, just hail an auto-rickshaw like hailing a taxi - except you pay a lot less.

We feared if we lived in Gurgaon, the drive to and from Delhi would make us not go out and see things very often.

2) "I love to travel and intend to travel a lot while im out there. Does anyone have experiences of traveling over long weekends etc while out there? Did you travel alone or did you find people to travel with?"

You can easily make a weekend of some top Indian destinations:
Agra (Taj Mahal)
Jaipur
Udaipur (by flight)
Lots of national parks
Go to Kathmandu in Nepal (check out Jet Airways)
Fly to Bangkok
Fly to Istanbul

There is actually a book sold here on weekend trips from Delhi. I don't know about finding travel partners.

3) Meeting people. We've only been here for 2 months, but we have made friends through work and also through various meet-up groups. The Time Out Delhi will be immensely useful to you.

Good luck! Sounds like a great opportunity.
Jenny

solecita

Thanks for you replies.

I will try to get a place in Vasant Vihar, if work permits it. How long does it take from there to gurgaon to get into gurgaon for say, 8am? If im not able to find a place, are there any other places i should bear in mind? Im thinking those that are close to gurgaon timewise.

Timeout delhi the book? I'll get onto amazon and get it, as well as a book on india that i was planning to get as well.

Looking forward to it, although as it gets closer the opportunity becomes more daunting!

mmmmmjenny

Vasant Vihar is nice. Vasant Kunj is closer, but we didn't care for it and it seemed out of the way to Delhi. We stay in Hauz Khas, which is nearby Green Park and Safdarjang Enclave. Looking at the map, they look a bit farther from Gurgaon than Hauz Khas, but i'm not sure what the difference would be to your commute. This all depends on your location in Gurgaon too. Perhaps ask your future colleagues for help identifying areas w/ a minimal commute? Perhaps an area called Saket? You should also clarify whether you will be provided with a car. Auto-rickshaws are easy enough to get around Delhi in, but you'll need your own car to get too and from Gurgaon.

Not Time Out Delhi the book, but they have a twice monthly Time Out Delhi magazine! Just like in London and New York. It's pretty awesome - despite some overly enthusiastic restaurant reviews.

solecita

What was wrong with vasant kunj?

Think im going to ask to be placed in vasant vihar, else ill have a look at vasant kunj and hauz kaus etc. Anywhere around that area would be ok for me i think.

Yeh the timeout looked good. Getting pretty excited now!

capt_mahajan

Vasant Kunj has mainly DDA (Delhi Development Authority) construction.

While DDA colonies across the city are usually excellently located, the construction leaves much to be desired. Maybe that was the reason, but I am guessing.

It all depends on the budget. Vasant vihar is a few kilometers from Vasant Kunj, and can be perhaps four to six times more expensive for the same size of apartment. Non-government construction, perceived as a posher area etc.

mmmmmjenny

The apartment we saw in Vasant Kunj was in a gated community. Felt very far from both Gurgaon and Dehli. We only saw one place, though, so don't take our word for it.

Praveen

Hi
i am punjabi , jined a job in delhi 2 yrs back
I can help you with hindi lessons on weeksnds if you lie
I dont see any night life here
it might be diffcult to hv bangra lesons here
Gurgaon though westernise site is not easiyl accessible from Delhi , you ned about 50 mins or so to get to any good place in delhi, with those trafic jams

ari786

Am moving to Delhi in April from New York with an American company. I am looking at the vicinity of Hauz Khas, Greenpark, Malviya nagar.

My family will join me only in November, and, therefore, I am looking for a smaller place for the time being for a 6 months lease. May be 1 bed, 1 bath, 1 living room kind of a place will be enough for me. My budget is flexible and can be Rs. 10000 to Rs. 25000 for a 1 BR apartment (naturally I would like to spend Rs. 10K and not Rs. 25K). My questions are (1) what kind of place can I expect with that budget, e.g., can I expect 100% power back up and water availability? (2) Any member has any lead about realty agents/ aprtments for rent in that area ?

mmmmmjenny

(1) what kind of place can I expect with that budget, e.g., can I expect 100% power back up and water availability?
I don't know what small places go for, but most nice places have back-up power. As for water, they should either have an installed water filter or you could use bottled water.


(2) Any member has any lead about realty agents/ aprtments for rent in that area ?
We found our place through craigslist:
http://delhi.craigslist.co.in/apa/

Also, once you get here, try the classified sections of the Hindustan Times and the Times of India.

good luck,
Jenny