Questions - moving to Delhi??

Wanhainen

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. Me and my family will be moving to Delhi from Stockholm in the beginning of september, we are to live at the Swedish embassy compound and are planning to stay at least for a couple of years. Since none of us have set foot in India there are a lot of questions.... Mainly about children, we have a son who will be 14 months when we get there - is everything needed for a small child available in Delhi, diapers, food, toys?. We are planning on hiring a nanny anyone with experiences?? Are there international day-care services available? Or maybe expat gatherings for children - my greatest worry is that my son wont have other children to play with...

Buying a car? We would like a safe car - SUV or a jeep of some sort, prices etc?? New or used??


I also would like to now if it's possible to purchase contact lenses, or am I to stock up before leaving? I use daily disposable Acuvue, the most common kind.

Sports? I'm into sports a lot and like to work out at gym's I am also a great fan of golfing. I understand that there a quite a few courses in Delhi but are they any good, and what are the prices?

Puuuh!!! A lot of questions - and I probably have more.

I'm greatful for any advice on what to bring from home and what to think about when getting started in Delhi....



Many thanks!!!


Wanhainen

machadinha

Hi there and welcome. Almost all of these questions have been brought up and answered in the few months that I've hung around here. Have you tried searching through the forums first? Maybe do that and come back with any specific questions you're left with.

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xbhp.com

Hi Wanhainen
a) all the stuff you will need for your son will be available easily in Delhi , you just need to shop around. places like the "ansal plaze shopping center" or "south-ex shopping market" will definately take care of your needs

b)well , a jeep will do fine , so will a saloon car too.
indian SUVs like the tata safari , mahindra scorpio , toyota innova are available in both diesel and petrol engines. the innova from toyota is the latest indian jeep around and i think this will be the best bet. the top of the line turbo diesel (2500cc) version with airbags , alloys, dual a/c etc will cost around 950000 indian rupees.

c)its easy to get the best contact lense from normal markets from the medicine shops

d)Delhi has a very very good golf course on the outskirts of the city at gurgaon (around 25kms from the chanakyapuri embassy area). dont know about prices , but trust me , the place is very good.

keep popping all your questions and queries , we at IM will be more than happy to help u out

mriduus@yahoo.com

Hi

I am not in Delhi right now but headed there with my 3 little kids for a 2 year stay in 3 weeks and i was there in 04. Contact lenses - daily disposables were available at same price as in US so i decided this was not anything to stock up on in India. Diapers and certain cosmetics type products (conditioners imported from US for example) were more expensive than in US.

Mridu

novice77

Dear Wanhainen,

Wondering if you're still on the boards, and if you could provide some feedback on how your stay in Delhi has been?

My husband and I are considering moving and would be at the Norwegian Embassy/Compound.

Grateful for any feedback/advice/reflections you can share on your experience.

Warmly,

shashank.aggarwal

novice, there are loads of threads in the forum giving this info. Please browse through.

Secondly, life in embassy compound is totally different from outside, so any general advice won't be of much help for you.

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Travelogue - Around India

Wanhainen

Still in Delhi, fourth year starting now, we even had a son born here in november 07. Life is good and really nothing to worry about. It takes a while getting used to but when you're settled you coldnt wish for a better life. Ok the air is really bad in wintertime and it gets REALLY REALLY hot in may-june. We have 2 kids and I think they are the ones best off - quality time with your children is hard to squeeze in in Europe - I know we are swedish - but in India where you can afford to hire a maid all the time you spend at home is good time with your kids!! And if you are embassy - even better - compound living normally offers calm secluded areas with a lot of greneery! Any specific questions feel free to PM me!!

Cheers

novice77

Thanks for your reply, W. Would be great to pm you as I have a few questions, but am not sure how (a novice at these forums as you can see). When I click on your name there's no option for this.

dzibead

Under the forum rules, you don't get the ability to send a PM until you made a certain number of posts.

Also, I see you have posted the same question about moving to Delhi in a lot of different threads, some of which are several years old. Under the forum guidelines, it's frowned on to post the same question in multiple threads. For one thing, it's hard to keep track of replies you might get in different threads, so you should just stick to posting the question in one place

Wanhainen

Just ask away without PM

//W

dzibead

Here's my standard "moving to Delhi" suggestion: read William Dalrymple's book The City of Djinns before you go! It's not a guidebook and won't give you "practical advice" like the best place to live or where to shop or how much things cost, but it'll open your eyes to a city that is often under-appreciated by visitors to India, especially first-time visitors.

novice77

Dear Moderator, Sorry for the double posting - I had tried to send PMs but couldn't, hence my post on a same topic to different threads. Won't do it again

Dzibead, thank you for the recommendation on William Dalrymple.

Wanhainen - one of our considerations actually was facilities in Delhi for childbirth. I'm sure they're top-notch, but its always daunting to consider going through such a thing far away from home.

Also, I don't have specific questions - more a reflection on quality of life. I found the traffic congestion and pollution a bit hard to get used to when we visited Delhi in January this year. For me, its important to feel a sense of freedom, in terms of getting around. Has that been an issue? What about social life/activities? Work for spouses? Easy to travel from Delhi?

Sorry for the many questions. Any input would be great.

Wanhainen

Well, my biggest issue with living in Delhi is that you tend to get stuck indoors quite alot. Being Swedish I'm used to walking everywhere and everyday - in Delhi there is no walking - unless you take your car and go to a park. Traffic is always a hassle and gets frustrating from time to time but its also something you gey used to and learn how to plan for. Pollution is bad at least in winter. But all things considered the positive outweighs the negative otherwise we wouldnt have stayed on so long....

Travelling out of Delhi is OK - there are plenty of low-cost carriers and trains are fine, going with car will take you forever though.

What I do like is that you can make everyday an adventure - or you can choose to kick back and just enjoy an easy life!!!

Cheers

jupeter

Hi Novice77

Did you move to dehli??

I am negotiating a move to dehli with my company and would probably go in late July this year. We are a family of two adults (Norwegian/Brazillian) and three boys, 20mnths, 3 and 6 years.

Can you share your experience of your move?

Regards,

Jupeter