Americans moving to Darjeeling (maybe)

ashakasha

Hi- Just wondering if there are any Americans here who moved to- or stayed for a long period of time- in Darjeeling (or somewhere close-by)?

We are planning to move there (going to check it out first- may decide to settle elsewhere depending on what we find once there). We haven't been to India before, and probably aren't nearly as prepared as we should be. We have a lot of travel experience, and once lived on a tropical island, but have never lived in another country ('cept Canada).

Are Americans welcome there? Any tensions we should be aware of?

Will we be able to work? Or start our own small business?

Are there homes to rent that have an actual heat source of some sort (wood burning stove, etc.)? I'd rather not sleep with a hot water bottle to keep warm

We would like to bring our dog, Asha. Will this be acceptable?

If we arrive during monsoon time (we plan to be there July or August), are we going to wish we hadn't?

Is english widely spoken? We don't know any of the other languages, but will be looking to learn as quickly as possible.

Any info would be so immensely appreciated. We currently don't know much, except what we have read. Sooo many questions...

Thanks!

mantru

Hi,

First question is why do you want to settle in darjeling?Have you heard about the place ?I have no idea about visa's etc but definately people are welcomed...Long back my neighbours house was vacant and there were three french people who stayed there for a month...Tensions relating to separate statehood is in progress but it has not yet gained momentum....it might in coming days...Work related again i have no clue...coz there is no work for us locals...but if you are planning to set a business that might help the locals...
Homes in Darjeeling usually dont have heat source as in the west so if you plan to satay you have to get it done...bringing your dog is not a problem...people tolerate dogs..its not like in west where the neighbours complain and the cops are there at your place...
Monsoon in darjeeling is a wet wet affair....personally i do not like it as it rains and rains and rains...
Yes english is widely spoken however Nepali is the mother tongue of the people....hindi is also understood...you should have no problem with english people are friendly enough to help...
Hope this helps.....

Sama

you do know that a westerner just can't "move" to India, don't you? tourist visas are only for 6 months at a time. americans are allowed 10 year visas but you can't stay for more than 6 months at a time, you have to leave after 180 days and get your visa renewed.

sorry, but it sounds like it...

it's rather amazing to me that you've never been to India before but you want to move there?
but hey, more power to you if you want to move to a country that you've never been to with very little money and no jobs.....

I'm sure IM's resident visa and "moving to India" experts will be here shortly to try to dissuade you...

__________________
My India, 2005-2008

edwardseco

Starting a business there is a huge topic in itself. There are some threads on property rights here that you should persue at length. One NRI friend of mine was told by a government official, why did you come back to start a business here when we already have too many people?

Better have a rainbird location for monsoon season. My brother in law loves that 24/7 drizzle/downpour, for me its claustrophobic.

Tropical island... visit first. Consider Costa Rica..

Sama

yes....one of my friends who lived in india in the '70s is going to retire in Costa Rica -- says it's like India was in the '70s

ashakasha

We chose Darjeeling as a strong possibility because 1) my husband is an avid trekker, 2)we are from Alaska and this seems the most suitable climate for us. 3)our dog is an alaskan breed and it would be good for her to live in a cooler climate 4) being aware that we will have to renew visas, we figure the location of Darjeeling allows for easily crossing borders to renew visa (our friends who lived in India for some 15 years said this is what many folks do).

Sama: I can't help but feel a little put off by the tone of your reply. Yes, I realize people can't just "move to India"- just like they can't just move to the USA- but they do. We've traveled a great deal, for long periods of time, overseas. And yes, we just went. We would like to have more time in India, so we figured why not just make a go of it and see if we can work it out.

Edwardseco: many internationals come to America and start businesses, including an increasing number of Indians...we also have too many people. So...don't really see a big difference.

I am in communication with a few of the schools there in Darjeeling..some elsewhere...we are thinking my husband could possibly arrange for a teaching position...or something of that nature...perhaps that will allow for a smoother transition.

I have to head off to work, but I would like to respond more. I appreciate the info- and even the feedback.

We are just adventurous people with a lot of faith- worse case scenario: it doesn't work out and we return home sooner than we would have liked...and WE FOLLOWED A DREAM AND WENT TO INDIA!! Or, maybe we die...such is life.

Good day, all :0)

ashakasha

P.S. we have already been to Costa Rica- and all over central and s. america...actually got married in Ven. awhile back- so, kinda like "been there, done that" Yes, it is awesome, but we are ready for something different.

Ciao!

nayan

If you think USA has too many people, wait till you come to India

Sama

don't be. as I said, more power to you. but if it was easy to pick up and move to India, I'd be there myself, and I've been to India three times already.

I suggest you read the threads about starting a business in India and the ex-pat forum.

and I really would not compare starting a business in the US with starting a business in India -- that's like comparing apples and oranges.

if you think my tone put you off, as I said, the resident "moving to India" experts will probably be here shortly to try to dissuade you....

Sama

mousourik

I don't understand why they should be discouraged so much ? Why can't we respond positively and try to solve their problems rather than ridiculing the efforts of two foreigners trying to settle in Darjeeling ?

nayan

Mousourik, have you gone through the posts in the goa property threads? or Darwish's posts about the agony and heart break he suffered trying to do the same thing?
We are not being discouraging..... merely trying to bring some reality check to some one who plans to settle in India without ever having seen India.

Sama

nayan.... to you.....

Passion for India to India Mike over... Foreigner buying property in India?

some of the posts in the above thread are relevant -- see post #17 -- even tho you did not say you would buy property...there are other threads but that was the first one I found....

as nayan said, just a reality check....I've done three trips to south india in the last three years, ashakasha, and my rose-colored glasses about india fell off a long time ago. since you've traveled extensively in south america, then maybe the poverty in india won't phase you a bit.

I was recently offered a good chunk of money to open a yoga shala. normally I would jump at the chance if someone offered me money to follow my dream, but knowing the reality of moving to india and trying to operate a business in an environment where I know very few people, and being a westerner, would not be the most realistic thing to do right now after spending only three months in india in three years.

my next trip to india will probably be for 6 months -- after that, who knows? I may take the money and run.

machadinha

The Goa property threads. They extend beyond property or Goa of course, but cover many facets from all possible angles of moving to anywhere in India as a non-Indian (they are also massive btw, for obvious reasons perhaps):

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

Ashakasha, I don't know when your friends lived there, but things are not as they used to be even a decade or two ago, by all accounts. (Just for instance, of late and after many what seemed to be rumors at first we're finally getting a steady trickle of reliable-sounding accounts in that the visa run which you seem to be thinking of is being clamped down on, and particularly in Nepal for that matter.) And if you think the gentle calls to realism you've received so far are off-putting, then as Sama said, wait till the people really in the know call in. I'm afraid you'll need a bit more of a thick skin than that to move to anywhere really. Did you live in South America? Travel is never the same. And South America may have given you a taste of being abroad or even in the "third world" <cough>, but it is not India, by any means.

I personally and like some others above don't understand why one would contemplate moving somewhere one doesn't know at all btw. India is hardly a difficult country to find out about; next best step is obviously to go check it out on a trip, preferably several. Would you suggest moving to Venezuela not knowing anything about the place? You're not alone, we get plenty of prospective expats like that here. I just find it hard to comprehend the concept, and one rarely hears back from them how they fared either. Maybe they don't find this site their "scene" or something. And at least those tend to be people with a guaranteed job and home ahead, I think I can understand maybe why they find this site not their thing, it tends to be more goofy or low-key than that.

And going in with an attitude of yes but "they" do "it" to "us" too ("it" being immigration, not really something that is "done" unto one another) doesn't bode very well for your chances at cultural or social acclimitization I'm afraid. We see such people come and go here, and they never seem to fare very well. More importantly, the immigrations officers and other such relevant people you'll find yourself dealing with are unlikely to be interested in your personal philosophical take on it. You can tell it to us, but try telling it to them -- and they'll be the ones you need, not us.

Finally, if you're intent on doing this, I'm sure you will anyway. So hopefully you'll just go in a little better prepared, as you seemed to be asking for. That's what a site like this is hopefully there for. There is a lot of existing information here already on all of your questions, so browse around some more.

ps How do you Alaskans if that is important manage in the North Carolinan summers and/or rains?

__________________
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

dzibead

Nobody's ridiculing them; just trying to inject a little reality into the situation.

The climate in Darjeeling is nothing like Alaska (I guess I should ask, "where in Alaska?" Barrow? Juneau? or ...?) Darjeeling is actually subtropical to temperate. As for the visas, if all your family members get 10-year tourist visas, which are available only to American citizens, you will not actually have to renew the visa each time you leave the country, but you will have to leave at least every 180 days. If you don't get 10-year visas, you will have to renew at the end of each visa period (typically no longer than one year if you don't have the 10-year kind), and renewal is by no means automatic for people who attempt to get multiple, back-to-back visas. As machadinha said above, the GOI is cracking down on this, and the website for the Indian High Commission in Kathmandu, which has historically been a popular destination for "visa runs" expressly says that repeated applications for tourist visas will not be entertained. Also, if you don't get a 10-year multiple entry visa, leaving and returning every 180 days is not simply a matter of crossing the border and coming back. You have to go someplace where you can renew the visa, i.e., some city with an Indian consular service. For Nepal, that means Kathmandu, which is not particularly close to Darjeeling. It also will probably take you a week to renew your visa in Kat - it's not like it is in the U.S., where you can walk into to an Indian consulate, drop off your application, and pick up your visa a few hours later.

You shouldn't have your nose out of joint. You'd be surprised at how many people come on to this site believing they can do just that, and it sounded as if that's what you intended, too. As for comparing what you want to do with people "just mov[ing] to the USA" - - so are you proposing to become illegal immigrants to India? Anyway, India's visa and immigration laws are not parallel to the U.S.'s, so it's a big mistake to assume that what people do re: the U.S. will carry over to what's possible in India. Based on what little info you provided so far, the only type of visa you will be eligible for is a tourist visa; India simply does not have the kind of immigration program the U.S. has, with lots of different categories of actual immigration visas. India is "visitor friendly" but it isn't "immigrant friendly".

"Internationals" on tourist visas do not come to the U.S. and start businesses - at least not legally. They can't. They can't even work legally if they are on tourist visas. And foreign nationals on tourist visas cannot work or operate businesses in India either. The fact that you "don't really see a big difference" indicates that you have a lot more "homework" to do before you jump into this move. I'm sorry if you're "put off" by this comment or my tone, but it's true.

If he could get a teaching position, he would qualify for an employment visa; you and your kid could then get the type "X" visa that's available to dependents of persons with employment visas. You would not be able to work (unless you got your own employment visa), but at least you could all stay in the country for the duration of the employment. Downside: if your husband loses his job, the visa terminates. You can't even just get a new job. The visa is co-extensive with the particular job/employer it was issued for. You also have to have the employment visa before entering India. If a person goes there on a tourist visa and then finds a possible job, s/he can't "convert" the tourist visa to an employment visa. The prospective employee ordinarily has to return to his country of citizenship and obtain the employment visa and his dependants do, too, so they can be issued the kind of "X" visa, a type of "immigration" visa, that's issued to dependents of persons who have employment visas.

Suggestion: read "The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai before you go.