Need to decide for or against Bangalore soon!

hi,

I've been offered a new job in Bangalore by my boss who assures me it's a great opportunity. I think he's right, but I need advice.
First the salary: I am getting paid around $170,000 here in Chicago and my boss says I will keep my salary. I assume this is more than enough in Bangalore, however I don't just want to live well, I also want to save during my time there. So question is, how much would it cost to live in a nice part of town in a 3/4 bedroom house? I'd love to have a swimming pool and almost certainly want a garden. We have a little baby so I need to think about him too.
I have been told I'll need to buy a car and get a driver.
for information my job will be near the Bellandur Lake. Hope it helps.

Do you think my wife will be able to work there?

I like cycling, will I be able to? perhaps in part on a mountain bike?

would really appreciate your help. I've got a million questions and I need to get an answer to my boss soon. I told him I was really not sure and he might consider someone else.

Thanks!

Raj.

please please please give me some information! :)
By the way, what are the taxes like in Bangalore? and also how much vacations does one get? how many public vacations are there?

Bangalore offers you the best lifestyle in all the metros in India and more importantly, people are cosmopolitan unlike cities like Mumbai and Delhi where crime rates are soaring and people are just uncouth.

There are 15-20 public holidays in a year. Apart from those, there might be the odd holidays. Taxes are mostly similar as those applicable for salaried employees in India.

Thank you. And  can you tell me what taxes I should expect to pay in India. Thanks

There is a Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty between USA and India.
You will have to check with your accountant on this one.

Hi, You can enjoy your life in Bangalore. There are so many places to visit. And the main thing in Bangalore, you can see so many good shopping malls, where your shopping can be made easy.

Well ,I worked in Bangalore for two years before moving to Europe. In $170000 which is equivalent to 10359800 rupees is more then enough to live a royal life in India as Cost of living is India is  way to cheaper, so you can buy anything to everything in that salary as on an average a engineer gets around 600000 rupees or $9845 per annum.

I was staying in M.G road a 3 bedroom arraprtment and was paying 30000 rupees or 490$ per month, Since you will be staying in Bellendur which is little far from city center so you can expect little less rent in comparison but again it depends on personal prefrence of house which u take but usually a good home with a Garden will  not be less then 50000 rupees or $820.


For everything including rent, Swimming ,Baby care, Partying etc you can expect an cost between 100000 - 150000 rupees or $1640 -2460.

Buying a car depends on your personal Choice they start from 400000 rupees or $6563 onwards. Keeping a Driver for car is not expensive and would cost you around 8000 rupees /month or $130

There r lot of cycling groups in Bangalore and you can join one and be a part of it but unfortunately if you are thinking to ride your bike on mountains then u will not be able to find one within a radius of 200km as Bangalore is a plain city.

If you want to save money then you should definelty go for it but prepare yourself for too much of crowd and terrific traffic which u would have never seen in your life.

Incase you have more questions feel free to ask me.


Regards,
Akshat

ok thanks all, very useful information. We're thinking of staying in Indira Nagar. Anybody knows it? what can you get and at what price?

Hello Chicago Raj,

I hope you are doing good.

Bangalore offers you the best atmosphere, don't give up this chance, come and enjoy this weather and culture. What ever you are getting till now that salary is more than enough to live in Bangalore, with that you can lead a luxury life. And coming to Bellandur its inside the city, so you no need to worry here, but little bit problem you will face with traffic.

Thank you.

Hi ChicagoRaj,

Just saw your post on this forum.I have live in Bangalore for few years.Answering your question regarding the lifestyle in Bangalore.It all depends on how much you are willing to spend.Its a very cosmopolitan city with a lot of floating population.You will find people from all over india settled there and you will be surprised to see that its difficult finding a kanadiga in the crowd,say in a team of 10, you will find just one to two kanadiga.

Traffic is a big time problem in bangalore.You might wonder that this might be the case in all metro cities in India.But in Bangalore the traffic does not move.If you stay withing 1-2 km radius, you can save yourself some time.
Cycling is not possible on the bangalore roads.In the peak hours ,espc in the ring roads(there are two ring roads in bangalore),two wheelers will be driving on the pavement,with no space for pedestrian to walk.I was in for a shock when i saw this for the first time :-)

Find a residence,which is close to a school and to your workplace.And look out for gated communities, which have swimming pool, and club house.A 3 bedroom will easily have a rent of 18-25K INR. Please check the water availability in bangalore.Many socities buy water in tankers.Ask them specifically if there will be water supply 24 hours.And check with the association office as well.

If you are a frequent traveler,the journey to the airport on road will be minimum 2 hours.

Climate wise,the weather is dry and does not sweat. Dont get carried away when someone says 'Bangalore weather is good'.This statement will hold good in the 1980s, but not now.

Check out sulekha.com and other rental websites to know how much rent you will be paying.Check google maps to see what is facilities close to your residence.

Please dont think that I am giving a negative feedback to you.This is a actual scenario there.

regards,
RK

Hi

I saw your post and wanted to let you know that we had lived in the US for many years and then I was offered an expat job in Bangalore. I moved there with family and headed up sales ops in a major software MNC.  Did that for three years and then joined another very large (200K+ folks) MNC in the Software services space.  Did that for three years and last year came back to the US.

[moderated]

Regards

RJ

HI RJ > i invite you to give useful informations on the forum. that will definitely help many members here. ;)
ps: if you want to advertise, please have a look at the advertising page: https://www.expat.com/en/advertisement.html

Thank you.

[sorry for the off topic]

Hi Christina:

How can he contact me ?  I was willing to put up information in your business directory, but how does ChicagoRaj contact me if I want provide him with as an advisory service?

Thanks

RJ

Hi ChicagoRaj:

I wrote a reply including how you can con contact me but a part of it got moderated.  But let me advice you that it is not just about the years in Bangalore.  Yes the money you will get is significantly more than you will need.  But there are MAJOR issues that someone who has lived in the US will find find hard to tolerate.  For e.g.,  every lake in Bangalore is terribly polluted up to 600 times the allowable levels of chromium lead and mercury.  This same water is used in the vegetable fields and so every vegetable you buy tomatoes etc come with a healthy dose of these chemicals.  And the Bellandur lake stinks to the high heavens...this is reality.

In addition, think of the round trip.  If you ever decide to come back to the US, you can fall off the cliff as most of your promoters who sent you to India may have moved on and your position may not be there.  Also if you are moving jobs to India those in the US operation will not love you (putting it mildly)!!  I am not saying go/dont go, just giving you another POV.

Hi ChicagoRaj,

What did you decide at the end of the day? I'm also being offered an expat assignment in Bangalore, and I'm wondering what should I be looking for. I would be bringing my wife and two daughters. Any recommendations on schools? Neighborhoods to live or stay away from?

Thanks.

hi,

I've not decided to move there yet. I am still thinking about it, I think if I decide to move there it will be in December.
Thanks all the for answers, it's been helpful.

Raj

hi
I am from rajasthan and currently living in delhi want to relocate in bangalore and I am searching for a job. if any one know about  oppurtunity for an marketing and sales guy than please inform me.
thanks

Hi ChicagoRaj,

At the end of the day, if you got the dough sufficient for a city's up-class lifestyle, then any civilized and developed city will be good enough.
You are safe that way in Bangalore.
I'm looking to move to another corporate soon coz Bangalore just is so freaking high in terms of expenses when it comes to healthcare, fuel and taxes.
Everybody here is out to rip you off!

Just be wary coz people will twist you and overcharge if you are not alert enough!

Nash