Frankly, this was bit painful and don't think there is an ideal solution for this issue.
Since we were both working, there were multiple things that were to be taken care of - reasonable work distance for both of us (here reasonable means 30-45 minutes of driving distance from home), 30-45 minutes of distance to school for kids, a decent location etc. On the top of that, we got feedback about water supply issues in some areas and that was a consideration as well. Our initial choice was Marathhalli area, which had tons of apartment complexes and seemed closer to work and school. However, water consideration kicked in and this area has only borewell and tanker water supply. May be borewell water supply was ok - at least it is a controlled supply within the apartment complex but we just couldn't settle on Tanker water supply, whose source is unknown.
Did bunch of research on the internet and registered with several sites, few of those I have listed below:
-- 99acres
-- magicbricks
-- sulekha
All of these required an Indian contact number (I am surprised that they are not setup to directly handle relocation folks). e-mail can be provided but the rate of response of very poor. Didn't seem like most of the agents who have listings on these sites are setup to handle e-mails and deal with outside folks (have to note, once I got here, same thing turns around - with a Indian contact number, it was much easier to reach to these agents and get responses). One or two of the owners for whom I got the contact info wanted us to move within few weeks and that was not workable (one of the friend's suggested paying the advance and booking the apartment but without looking at the apartment, it becomes quite difficult to proceed- your family or friends may look at the place but their choice may not work for you).
In summary, without visiting India to rent an apartment/home, it was definitely difficult to settle on a place. However, to keep in mind, you need a place for initial settle down - so, even at the cost of a higher rent, go for a place that is closer to work/school. You won't be worrying too much about work and school commute etc and you can always change after a year (it is best to sign the lease agreement for a year, which is common in Bangalore). The initial comfort of you and family can make or break the decision to stay and having more overhear will get you frustrated, commute to work being a major frustration and overhead.
Also, apartment is the best choice for an initial move
We were pretty much settled on Marathhalli area but suggestions on availability of Kaveri water made us to change the location to HSR layout, the farthest south of Bangalore where Kaveri water has reached and reasonable distance from work/school (however, as we found out later on, Kaveri water availability at apartment was a myth). Contrary to what we knew about availability of apartments, it was fairly difficult to get one in this area during this time - availability during this time wasn't good, the one available were in a smaller complex etc.
Since we were both working, there were multiple things that were to be taken care of - reasonable work distance for both of us (here reasonable means 30-45 minutes of driving distance from home), 30-45 minutes of distance to school for kids, a decent location etc. On the top of that, we got feedback about water supply issues in some areas and that was a consideration as well. Our initial choice was Marathhalli area, which had tons of apartment complexes and seemed closer to work and school. However, water consideration kicked in and this area has only borewell and tanker water supply. May be borewell water supply was ok - at least it is a controlled supply within the apartment complex but we just couldn't settle on Tanker water supply, whose source is unknown.
Did bunch of research on the internet and registered with several sites, few of those I have listed below:
-- 99acres
-- magicbricks
-- sulekha
All of these required an Indian contact number (I am surprised that they are not setup to directly handle relocation folks). e-mail can be provided but the rate of response of very poor. Didn't seem like most of the agents who have listings on these sites are setup to handle e-mails and deal with outside folks (have to note, once I got here, same thing turns around - with a Indian contact number, it was much easier to reach to these agents and get responses). One or two of the owners for whom I got the contact info wanted us to move within few weeks and that was not workable (one of the friend's suggested paying the advance and booking the apartment but without looking at the apartment, it becomes quite difficult to proceed- your family or friends may look at the place but their choice may not work for you).
In summary, without visiting India to rent an apartment/home, it was definitely difficult to settle on a place. However, to keep in mind, you need a place for initial settle down - so, even at the cost of a higher rent, go for a place that is closer to work/school. You won't be worrying too much about work and school commute etc and you can always change after a year (it is best to sign the lease agreement for a year, which is common in Bangalore). The initial comfort of you and family can make or break the decision to stay and having more overhear will get you frustrated, commute to work being a major frustration and overhead.
Also, apartment is the best choice for an initial move
- With a decent apartment, security of the place is taken care and that is a one major thing not to worry about - you can afford to stay at your relative's or friend's place over a week-end or afford to leave town, until you get to know about the safety situation in your place.
- On the top of that, apartments provide many of the comforts that you are used to in US - like swimming pool, gym, party hall, tennis court, kids play area, friends for kids, possibility of a gas connection, 24 hr water and electricity, easy access to house maids, driver for your car - the basic needs are taken care immediately on the move. Compared this to a independent home, where all of these needs won't be met or will take time to establish. Needless to say, service industry in India is not very well established and everything takes time and repeated tries to get established - with an independent home, most likely you will be spending good amount of time to establish these basic amenities. Also, to note, independent homes are easier to get, your agent will show you a bunch but may not be ideal unless you are staying in a closed compound like a villa.
We were pretty much settled on Marathhalli area but suggestions on availability of Kaveri water made us to change the location to HSR layout, the farthest south of Bangalore where Kaveri water has reached and reasonable distance from work/school (however, as we found out later on, Kaveri water availability at apartment was a myth). Contrary to what we knew about availability of apartments, it was fairly difficult to get one in this area during this time - availability during this time wasn't good, the one available were in a smaller complex etc.
Appreciate your feedback and comments, please leave a comment if you found this post useful (or not!) ...
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