For Hyderabad experts and expats! Living Expenses?

Hyderabadi

You mean Walden? Next to Cottage Industries Exposition (CIE)and also next door is G.Pulla Reddy sweets. Walden now have a another store, a branch, further up near KBR Park. Atleast it was there when I was in HYD in '06.

Some more reading on Hyderabad:

The Days of the Beloved - http://www.orientlongman.com/display...-0-86311-269-0

and

My Dear Nawab Saheb - http://www.orientlongman.com/display...-0-86311-169-3

Also
http://books.google.com/books?id=AXM...l= en#PPP1,M1

Narendra Luther's blog has interesting anecdotes about Hyderabad: http://narendraluther.hyderabadi.in/

Mr. Luther has also written a few books on Hyderabad.

shelley13

Actually that is really good to hear that the heat in Hyderabad is more on the dry side. It is usually the humidity that I can't handle.

Thanks for the book selections, I have already added them to my must buy list. I read a Fine Balance, A Suitable Boy and Shantaram before I went to India the first time. All excellent reads.

If there are any more good book titles people would like to share that would be great. I need to stock up anyway before I leave.

Nattusbs

Hyderabadi

You are right on both counts - Waldens book store next to Pulla Reddy sweets.

Cheers

Nattusbs

Ignite

Hey shelley, heres a list of bookstores in hyderabad with their addresses and phone numbers. Some of these bookstores have also been reviewed.

http://www.fullhyd.com/scripts/listi...le=Book+Stores

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shelley13

Well folks, looks like all this information will prove to be very handy, since I was notified this morning that I did get the job!!

We are now trying to get the paperwork done to get the employment visa (does anyone know how long this takes in Canada)? I read on the consulate website that it was 6-8 weeks. But that seems like a long time to me.

Anyway, thanks for all the help! Hyderabad will be my new home for a year, and I couldn't be happier.

barefoot4kids

I think the best advice I could give is if your job allows you to bring any frieght, stok up on some cleaning supplies (bleach) and snacks you love and ship them over. A bed is good also, or at last a blow up one before your shipment arrives. Groceries are here, and not too bad. Q mart way too expensive, but food world and local stands good. You will NOT find cleaning to your standards, I do suggest a trip to Sams to stock up on basic stuff to save some hassle. Your electronics will not work here. Plan on purchasing TV/ stereo here. or bring your boom box and buy alot of batteries here...

Should find expats returning that would be willing to sell you their stuff.

Here now for 2 weeks, and staying for 2 more months. Not a real walkable city, at least near the cybercity. But so far it has been fun.

Oh yeah, bring some liquor from duty free, always a good gift and you really cant buy bottles at the wine shop as a woman.

shelley13

What do you mean my electronics won't work there?

I won't be bringing a DVD or anything like that. But I will be bringing my laptop and my Ipod. I am sure my laptop will work in India with a plug adapter. The voltage automatically converts.

Oh, from the sounds of it, I'll also be bringing a lot of Mr Clean.

Any other suggestions of things I need to bring. I've been to India before so I know I can find most everything I need except for maybe tampons. I found them when I was there, but boy did I have to look.

myKrav

Shelley,
The following about Hyderabad's weather is not to put you off, but to give you a better perspective so that you are well prepared by the time you land there.

The weather in Hyderabad is bearable most of the year (it is actually pleasant during the winter) except for the two summer months of April & May.

Expect dry heat with temperatures reaching to the low 40s Celsius on some days during this time. Hyderabad is about several hundred kms away and is equi-distant from either coast so there is minimal humidity in the air.

To minimize discomfort during summer, limit your day time travel, keep yourself hydrated and cover your face when you are outside. You would need to buy an A/C for your apartment/house if it is not already furnished for you.

One other thing that you would want to purchase in Canada is Sunscreen (I do not know how widely available it is now there).

You will love Hyderabad if you are an Indian food lover. Get a taste of Hyderabadi biryani at one of major establishments in the city and you will become a fan for life.

For further reference this is a blog of an American family who lived in the city for a semester last year.
http://www.kaploinindia.blogspot.com/

shelley13

Great info mykrav!

I belive that my apartment will have AC already installed for me.

It sounds like it is pretty hot, but i have to say I prefer the dry heat to the humidity I endured when I lived in Korea. In the summer months (May-August) you just never felt dry, and everyone (mostly westerners) were constatnly a sweaty mess.

It is some good advice for sure, and from the sounds of it, it will be hot. I plan to buy a few bottles of 30spf sunscreen and bring with me. I brought some over with me on my trip their a few months ago,glad I did, as I never saw much of it around.

What is the monsoon season like there? Can I expect to be washed away by the rain

I never really experienced monsoon weather, so it should be interesting.

barefoot4kids

sunscreen LOTS for your whole time the stuff here is not so good., cutter bug spray, canned tuna,chicken, cliff electrolyte soln flavor packets for those electrolyte imbalance days, tampons, diaperwipes, ziploc baggies to store food/ diaper wipes in for washing hands/ass take your pick. photos of your family to share, any vogue or mccalls patterns you would want to have someone make here for you.. zippers to if you are interested in this sort of thing., socks. slip on shoes, curad wound wipes, cleaning supplies, toilet brush, squeegie, little organizing bukets ( like for all your hair stuff or your desk stuff(those little plastic separaters) lounge wear, depending on your size at least 2 swimsuits...Indian women are extremely tiny! microwave recipes,no ovens here....good luck.

myKrav

Monsoon rains start around early June in Hyderabad and are a welcome relief from the dry summer heat of the preceding two months.

Monsoon season lasts until September/October with July and August being the highest rainfall months. However even during July and August mean number of rainy days that you can expect to have is around 10 per month. And it does not rain all day most of the time. Rain during the non-monsoon months is minimal in comparison.

You may not be washed away by the rains :-) but you will surely be drenched. When it rains during the monsoons in India it usually is like it is "raining cats and dogs" ;-). It is hardly like the drizzle that we have in Seattle for most of the year. Monsoon rains are a spectacle really with rain usually preceded by dark clouds over the horizon.

However the mean total rainfall in Hyderabad which is about 30 inches is less than other high precipitation Indian cities such as Mumbai which gets around 85 inches annually.

The following link provides important weather information for Hyderabad (including data for mean total rainfall and the number of rainy days):
http://www.worldweather.org/066/c00530.htm

To summarize, you will be fine during the monsoon season in India. It is actually fun to go out and get drenched when it is raining. If you do not want to do that a good umbrella (you can buy this in India) will stand you in good stead.

kristinm

Can I just ask both of you what profession these jobs are in? If someone did want to spend say 6 months living in India, where would one look for jobs? What type of jobs are available for foreigners?

machadinha

Some general monsoon and weather links and maps and stuff on this thread too: India climate chart

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Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Ignite

hey guys,

Can someone tell me how does the whole cell phone process work in india? I'm only going to be there for a month, so do I have to sign up for a contract? or can I just get a prepaid SIM and use it on my own phone from the U.S. ( Sony Ericsson W600I). And if I can get a prepaid SIM, can someone tell me how much it would cost? I also want to be able to call international.

Thanks,
Ignite

machadinha

The subject is really out of my league, but it gets discussed a lot on the board. Have you checked this? (Note that thread starts in 2004, but it runs on till fairly recently): Prepaid mobile phone in India - a starter's guide! (roaming, SIM cards, networks...). Or search around some more, notably in the Electronics in India sub-forum, but it will likely have been discussed in other places too, e.g., under Moving to Place X etc.