help and tips on living in Goa

meearp

Hi all

just joined recently love the posts here.

I am looking into moving to Goa soon. I have visited twice recently and find that although there is a lot going on in the North I prefer to be based in the south.

If anyone's recently made the leap successfully, can please give me any tips? All help you can offer will be really appreciated. Could anyone point me in the direction of a reputable and reliable lawyer who would be willing to help me with questions I have etc?

I met someone in Candolim whilst I was there who offered to help me, who is not a lawyer but was hoping to act as a "Liaison" person for me. After I had explained to him what I was considering, he proceeded to tell me he couldn't help me as it was in the south. He has since emailed me asking me to reimburse him!!! for what? I don't really know! but I am definitely looking to avoid such free loaders!

It seems I am also helping a friend set up a business in Goa and need to contact a Lawyer/accountant who can advise us in respect of this. Also could anyone recommend a good web wizard to help my friend set up a website? My friend is Goan and so the cost has to match his income bracket. Sadly he has no knowledge and experience of this media and has asked me to help. Although I understand the technology cannot help my friend with this, so if anyone can recommend a local wesite guru would be really grateful.

With thanks,

Meera

GoanCanuck

Meera, one thing you should know is that none of the lawyers in Goa are going to answer your questions via email or on the phone. You will have to personally go to the lawyer's office.

You did not mention whether you are going to be working while living in Goa or whether you are going to retire? Before making any decision you should stay for 1 year in Goa and only then should you buy a house. Living in Goa is not as nice and easy as it first appears to be and you can get frustrated after some time.

steven_ber

Hello Meera and welcome to indiamike.com

You seem to be asking 3 very different questions, a person who may have answers to question 2 or 3 is unlikely to look at the thread, I suggest you start new threads for the 2nd and 3rd questions.

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How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.


Train information.


RAC & Waitlists explained.

cyberhippie

http://www.tripod.lycos.com/

which offers an editor and 20Mb of free space

Or

http://www.bravenet.com/

Online editor and 50 MB of space free

Or

http://www.homestead.com/

Packages start at $10 a month

These are all easy to use editors and with a bit of imagination you can build a decent website. The free/ cheap packages aren't good for e commerce though, as they don't give you a lot of monthly bandwith this limits the number of visitors who can visit your site per month!!!!

seventies'hippy

Good advice. Holiday mood is very different from permanent move.


Perhaps I'm being over caution & your friend is a real friend but in India lots of people want to be your friend especially when they've got a 'business plan' which they for whatever reason need help with. In 2 weeks time when the first friend has gone home they'll be looking to befriend another rich westerner,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Please be careful,

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cyberhippie

Yep business partnerships between westerners and locals can be "turbulent" to say the least, don't get fooled!!

Meerap

All your words of wisdome are being taken on board.

Firstly, I note all the warning signs. That was definitely my first reaction too. .. i.e. keep away from any possible con trick and I bet I am not the only "rich" westerner who could be gullible enough to fall for this business idea con.

The business idea was originally mine simply so that I could help the friend find his "niche" and a regular income but I do not have the finances (of which the friend is well aware) nor the local knowledge to put it into practice and that's delayed progress on the plan for a while. Also I am aware of the possible pitfalls for a westerner and that is why I would like to have a lawyer's advise etc. about any risk this may put me at. My thinking is that as I am mainly acting on an advisory level I have little to lose. So thank you for your words of warning, v much appreciated.

With regards, lawyers I understand that most prefer to meet potential clients face to face, I would just like to approach someone who has been of help to anyone on this site and who has a good reputation.

My original plan for Goa was simply just to escape the rat race in the UK for a few months and sit still for a while shedding past experiences and disillusionment whilst deciding where to go from here. The more I think about it and the more time i spend in Goa, the more I feel I would enjoy using Goa as a base from which to work (I basically travel and teach).

At this time I am not considering a permanent move for various reasons one being that I cannot afford to buy a place but can manage a rent at this time (also partly why south is preferable!), so am only looking to rent for up to 6 months initially before venturing back into the rat race that is the western world for the next stage of my possible move! Ie if I like it and can survive I will then plan the next earning stage of my life to help me afford a local place in the long term!

Thank you all for all your tips and I look forward more advice and help from you all.

Meera

manreet_16

first choice is to stay away from agents(most of them r fraud)

rcopple

Here is a website that might help you some with Indian Bus. Law, and they have chat, phone, and email as well. Not sure what the charges are, but I have found the info pretty useful. If you have more specific questions then you can post them here and I am sure some people can assist you.

http://helplinelaw.com/

omshanti

Hello meerap and others -

Was wondering if you were able to make any progress on your search for finding a reputable lawyer in South Goa? I am also in the process of shifting to Goa and leasing a small guesthouse from a long time friend but I know there will be lots of bureaucracy and red tape to go through first.

Any tips from you or others who have had similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Especially first-hand tips from people who have gone through the process would be brilliant. I am aware of all the warnings and risks but hearing about the logistic procedures and process would most likely shed more light on this endeavor.

There is so much to sort out - visa issues, paperwork, transfering funds, operating licenses, etc. etc. - any tips would be welcomed!

Thanks in advanced!

machadinha

Kindly check also these (massive) threads:

Foreign owned property in Goa, (Part One)
Foreign owned property in Goa, (part Two)

And do please note the above posts till post #9 date to early 2006. Meearp (the original poster) has never posted again after that one post (er, nor has Meerap after the second).

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omshanti

Thanks for your response. Have looked at those threads but they seem more related to buying property whereas I am interested in leasing my friend's business from him and running it together. So, technically I would not be buying anything - but am still keen on making sure everything is legit as I am not an Indian national.

I did notice that this post was from 2006 but am having difficulties finding current information directly related to my queries, so I thought I'd give it a go, just in case.

Thanks again.