Some questions about moving to Delhi

Midas

Hi There !

I posted these questions in another area on the forum aswell. but on second thought, I thought that it is maybe best to ask them to people who live in India, as I am moving there soon...

I have found a callcenterjob for a western company and am moving to New Delhi in a month.
So I am reading absolutely everything there is to read to prepare myself a bit.
So far, I got most answers to my questions. Now, a few more questions pop up into my head... so I hope you can answer me...

The company is providing a furnished appartement with house help.

-What can I expect from a furnished appartement in New Delhi. What do appartements in Delhi look like and how comfortable are they (average)? And what is a househelp and what do they do ?

-How are the working hours in India if you work for a western company ? just a regulair 8 hour a day or more ?

-Is drinking alcohol allowed and accepted and can you order a beer when you go out ?

-How is the nightlife ? What kind of places are nice for a good night out and what can you expect there ?

-What is the average wage in New Delhi ? (just guess if you're not sure, I'm just looking for an indication.

-How are women in India ? Can you flirt with them without getting killed by their brothers ?

-How openminded are Indians and what is nessesary to know if it comes to behaviour in India ?

-Is there anyone who can give me a few examples of prices, what stuff will cost me on the markets and in the shops there ?
like: clothes, food, water, beer, soap, sigarettes etc..

Many thanks in advance for taking the time to answer my questions !




Regards,

Midas !

radz

Hi Welcome to India.
Furnished Apartment usually ,cot,tables,sitting room sofa ,Kitchen with gas.
Few apartment provide you with washing machine&Fridge.

Working hours will be 8 hrs if they follow,western company rules .
If they behave like Indian firm then there is no limit of working hrs.
drinking alcohol allowed ,you can order beer,but alcohol is availbel only few reastaurents,
bar you can have beer there.

Night life,if you are staying South Delhi ,you find many restobar to chill out.

Average wage,you mean call centre job,(I assume ,bcas each work its diffrent average income,
There was one thread regarding this ,you can search IM.)
Call centre pays good her ,starting you can get Rs8000-10000,
if you are senior level then more than average Rs20,000.

The next question "
-How are women in India "its better others who travelled India they will answer.

But if you happen to work in Delhi ,i can say,Delhi is conservative.

openminded ?what does it mean? )))kidding like all countires you will find
both openminded ppl&and very very conservative.

Cloths are cheap,comparing to Europion countires.
Soap Mysore sandal Rs18,other soaps i never chekced .

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rikko

Hi Midas,

I am in Chennai right now on a business trip. I was taliking to a Korean guy who has lived in Delhi for 2 years. He said that he enjoys living in Delhi . He had a couple of things that he missed very much:

- there are no Korean restaurants in Delhi
- There is no "business men" type of entertainment go-go bars etc
although I did see an ad in the local Chennai entertainment guide (ones you get free in Hotels) for a in-call "massage" service. It also said that available in all major cities!!!!
- He also said that he rarely seen a woman wearing skirt in Delhi

The positive side of this was that it was very cheap to entertain customers...take them to a bar and then restaurant, the cost may be at the most $200 where as in Korea it can cost $10000!

I moved from USA to UK recently because my job brings me to India often plus it is closer to India.

Actually the TV channels in US are more conservative than MTV, Fashion channel in India...they show see-thru clothing without censorship where as in US mainstream channels fuzz over the see thru clothing. Go figure....

Have patience, you will love India, people, contrasts, smells, noises......

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volga_volga

Hey, good on you!! Delhi is a wonderful place to live. Here are my 2c from a limited experience of working in Delhi for two months this year:

-What can I expect from a furnished appartement in New Delhi. What do appartements in Delhi look like and how comfortable are they (average)? And what is a househelp and what do they do ?

* i think the biggest concern of yours should be aircon facilities. and that they work. Delhi has a severe climate - too hot in summer and too hot (for India) in winter. household appliances... with the cheap and plentiful househelp you shouldn't be too worried about the lack of machines.

-How are the working hours in India if you work for a western company ? just a regulair 8 hour a day or more ?

*i agree with radz. also majority seems to come to the office on Satudays also. i didn't say they "worked" on Saturdays as this forum is suspiciously active on Saturday morning during Indian working hours

also a lot depends on your seniority. if you have a senior position you have much more flexibility eg turning up at 10-11 am at work. noone will raise their eyebrows. check this thread for a discussion on Indian work ethics (you may need to scroll down through the outsorcing bits) - start with message #14):

How India is saving capitalism

-Is drinking alcohol allowed and accepted and can you order a beer when you go out ?

of course. you may have a problem if you are a wine lover as Indian wines are not ... mmm... so good and imported wines are expensive. beer - of course.

-How is the nightlife ? What kind of places are nice for a good night out and what can you expect there ?

*Gurgaon seems to be the happening place in Delhi (even if it is not right ÍN Delhi but on the outskirts). Otherwise Dublin Pub in Mauria Sheraton is popular with local social batterflies. and you can see women wearing skirts there Maurya has recently opened a Lebanese resto with bellydancing. This is as far as you can go in Delhi (apart from MG -? road) I think in terms of seeing flesh

-How are women in India ? Can you flirt with them without getting killed by their brothers ?

see A Suitable Boy (or girl) thread about Indian dating and marriage customs. My wild guess is that only very modern Indian girls would consider a relationship with a foreigner, and these are already outside India another type, of course, are gold diggers, dunno if you are interested in these

off topic. when i was considering taking up a job in Delhi which would tie me down there for 3 years my main concern was being single white female in India... social suicide!! your Korean friend may provide a more accurate view, of course.

-How openminded are Indians and what is nessesary to know if it comes to behaviour in India ?

read this forum. there are more rules for girls though than for boys.

-Is there anyone who can give me a few examples of prices, what stuff will cost me on the markets and in the shops there ?
like: clothes, food, water, beer, soap, sigarettes etc..

beware: Western clothing you get in India is of a different quality and style vs what you normally buy in the west. but you can always make a shopping trip to Dubai

volga_volga

I think I didn't make myself clear enough on the previous posting. As far as I can see, when Indians think of love it is very closely tied to marriage. You won't be considered as a subject of a romantic love unless there is a potential for marriage. It is just the way Indians are being brougt up.

And Indian marriages have complicated rules in terms of caste, social standing, family history etc. That excludes foreigners from the pool of potential husbands/wives. And therefore from the pool of potential dates. As dating should always have a marriage potential.

well that's my impression. Have I re-opened the Suitable Boy discussion? I was just trying to explain the issues around being single expatriate in an Indian metro.

Oh, I think oldhippy has some experience in this area, but he might be plain happy to be with the type 2 that I mentioned above. SORRY IF I OFFENDED ANYONE by this post. I didn't mean to.

alfa

Hi

Furnished apartment means different things to different companies and you will have to find out what your company is offering to you.

Salaries for Indians in call centers are around US 200-500 per month in middle level jobs. Most of the MNCs in India follow their homework culture. If you are getting paid anything near a western level salary denominated in dollars then you are a very rich man in india.


Household help and some extra hiring, at very low rates, would mean that you would not ever have to cook your meals or wash or iron your clothes again.

Delhi has lot of resto-bars, pubs and discs (now in last couple of years). But meeting somebody in a pub or bar is still difficult and cold calling is not appreciated. One has to get one’s own company. :-)

But the conservative mold is wearing off and you will find a lot of girls to meet. At some stage they will wear you out. :-)

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