jewellery designer thinking of moving to goa

Emma Chapman

I am a UK jewellery designer who has been to india many times and has workshops in Jaipur so visit regularly
Thinking of moving full time to India next year and wondered what it is like living in Goa full time as a single woman
I could possibly rent a house near Anjuna - is this a good base?
Are there many friendly ex-pats living in this area?

And also wondered what sort of opportunities there are to sell jewellery in Goa?

GoanCanuck

Hello and welcome to India Mike. Living in Goa as a single woman used to be fairly safe until a couple of years ago. Not any longer. Too many criminals from all over the world operate in Goa these days and you have to be alert and smart or you are going to get ripped off and worse.

There are ways to mitigate the dangers that confont a single woman. First of all you will have to avoid staying in detached houses or bungalows and you will have to maintain a certain distance from the locals. This may be perceived by some as being snobbish but it is mandatory for your own safety.

Look for a condominium in a gated complex. Of course even here you can not take your safety for granted but it is much safer because these type of complexes have security 24 hours a day.

Once you set up your own shop make sure that you are never alone in your shop. Jewellery stores have been robbed in broad daylight by heavily armed bandits in Goa. You will also have to make sure that you get some local male to chauffeur you to work and then drop you home. The reason for this is that as a white caucasian female you are perceived as a "soft target" by the dacoits who operate in Goa who will most definitely target you.

It would be better to be based in Candolim or Calangute because this is where you will be looking to work and set up shop. Anjuna gets mainly backpackers who are highly unlikely to buy anything from you.

For you as a foreign national the opportunities are more limited but they are definitely there. Over the last few years many large jewellery stores have been set up in Goa by wealthy jewelers from Mumbai who have well established bases all across India. You will find it almost impossible to compete with them because they have deep pockets and they have been in this business for several decades.

There is a member of this forum from Austria who is also a jewellery designer like you and she lives half the year in Goa. She has an advantage over you because she is of Goa origin and if she read this thread then she will be happy to assist you.

I can also give you some tips because I know some of the largest jewellery store owners in Goa and at one time I was contemplating setting up a jewellery business here in Canada.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask.

Emma Chapman

Thank you so much for all your advice

airdisc

I love Goa and have been a proud owner of homes in the states since 1988. My suggestion to you is if you are looking to do business and meet people in business Anjuna is the wrong side of the coin. You are better of living in Panaji,Dona Paula,Caranzalem.

Haylo

If you want to live in India full time, you will have to give a lot of thought to how to stay there, presumably you will seek a business visa?

Not sure how many business visas they would issue back to back, the Indian authorities are clamping down on illegal immigration (people living in India full time on tourist visas etc) and I don't think business visas are intended to enable people to make a permanent move to India. Might be wrong, but it's worth your while keeping up to date with the current situation, whatever that might be.

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