School curriculum - ICSE or CBSE or State syllabus?

If you are planning for R2I and have school going kids, one of the major questions in your mind would be about school - which school I should choose? Other major decision about where you are going to stay rides on this choice as well since you don't want kids to commute long distance everyday. On the top of that, there is another variable that you need to be aware of - which curriculum the school is offering. Mainly two things to choose from - ICSE versus CBSE. State syllabus may not be of a big concern since you don't see that getting offered in private schools and you wouldn't be considering a government school anyway (if you are, you have serious homework to do, before you can do R2I!). Let me expand a bit more on what ICSE and CBSE offer, which might help you in making the choice...

ICSE(Indian Certificate of Secondary Education):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Certificate_of_Secondary_Education
http://cisce.azurewebsites.net/icse_X_Syllabus.aspx
To quote from wikipedia: "The subjects that are offered are divided into three groups. Group I includes Compulsory Subjects - English, History , Civics & Geography, and Indian Language, Group II which includes any two from Mathematics, Science, Environmental Science, Computer Science, Agricultural Science, Commercial Studies, Technical Drawing, A Modern Foreign Language, A Classical Language and Economics, and Group III has any one from Computer Applications, Economic Applications, Commercial Applications, Art, Performing Arts, Home Science, Cookery, Fashion Designing, Physical Education, Technical Drawing Applications, Yoga, and Environmental Applications. "

There will be multiple tests and internal assessments. Marks are given for the final exam and internal assessments. For smaller grades like, only letter grades are assigned. Some of the extra activities like swimming are offered in some schools, based on the facilites available. In general, there is enough focus on basic subjects like Maths, Science and additional focus is given on language. It is common to find langauge like French being offered, which makes the transition easy for kids doing R2I.

CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education):
There is no point repeating the details here. Your best source is the CBSE website: http://cbse.nic.in/welcome.htm

Fortunately, if you are considering your kids to pursue professional career(which may or may not happen since kids choose these days versus parents!), the core subjects are offered both on ICSE and CBSE. However, the 'claim' is that CBSE syllabus is 'closer' to entrance exams since these papers are set based on CBSE syllabus. I haven't validated this myself but that is the 'claim' at least. Another factor that might offset this is - invariably you will be sending the kids to some professional training course outside of school(like FITJEE, BASE or Aaakash etc in Bangalore), to get some focussed learning for entrance exams.

You might be thinking you will start with some school and decide about settling on a school once you are here, say in 2-3 years. Unfortunately, that doesn't work well. As-is, it is a big move for kids from the safety net of US environment. Once they are here, they re-build their friend's circle and that provides the cushion on day-2-day basis. It takes a good 1-2 years for that and even here, kids are shuffled in each year. Asking them to move to a different school as they build their friend circle and re-do all of that in a different school is a hard thing to do and you should avoid that, if possible. Hence, the initial choice of school is a crucial decision and can make or break your R2I decision - you don't want to be in a situation where you have to pull the kids forcefully everyday out of home to school!

Wishing all the readers a very happy new year 2014 ...

WISHING ALL THE READERS A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 !!!

If you are planning for R2I during this year, wishing you good luck for the move.

Very good to see new year starting with winds of change in India, with AAP holding power and showing that true Democracy prevails in India and change is possible.

Rain Water Recharge and Harvesting(RWH) In Bangalore

Since many of the people reading this blog might relocate and make Bangalore their home, want to spread this message in the R2I community - this is one area where I was able to contribute and tried to make some difference. Unfortunately, there is not much awareness in the general community about this ticking time bomb for Bangalore and as always government is least bothered, leaving people to handle this on their own. You can see lot of debate about turning the water from Western Ghat to Bangalore etc, which are mega-mega projects but not much about making Bangalore self-sufficient on water. Why? - since this is not where these politicians make money but with mega projects! BDA/BBMP mandates RWH for all constructions beyond 30x40 area sites but that is in the plan - nobody checks about implementation or proper maintenance once it is in the plan. For all the reasons you know, there may not be any rain water flowing into the RWH pits! 

Key point with RWH is proper implementation and doing it in mass scale so that not even a single drop of water is wasted. With the current state of 'growth' (if you can call it that, I would say 'mess' or 'unplanned expansion' is a better word!), reality is that Bangalore will need to depend on Borewell water and complete Kaveri water supply is a 'pipe-dream'!. Fortunately, during normal years, Bangalore gets good amount of rains and is more than enough for the populace. With more and more concrete, most of this water flows into lakes, which are fully chocked and polluted. Most of the larger size apartments have STP(Sewage Treatment Plants), which recycle most of the water and that reduces the need for fresh water greatly. However, many of the mega apartments with 300-1000 families depend on tanker water, which is disaster waiting to happen.

Doing community RWH is simple - in the rain water drains, dig a pit, say 3' or 4' wide. Depth depends on the type of soil, you need to go up to a depth where you get soil that can absorb water quickly. Bottom is left open for water absorption and cement rings are used to cover the side walls. Between the cement rings and mud, granite stones(Jelly) are packed so that there is a 'breathing' gap for water to seep in. Top is covered with a removable slab, which can be opened up for cleaning of sludge every few years. 2 concrete mesh filters are placed - one right next to the pit with a pipe to feed the water to the pit and covered with small granite rocks to filter out debries. Another one is placed 5' away up on the drain, again covered with granite stones to filter out large debries like leaves etc.

Some people plaster the cement ring walls and bottom as well so that they can collect rain water and re-use for non-potable purpose. This is good for rain water collected from roof tops but not rain water drains. A good filter needs to be used in case of reuse of rain water. Also, it is necessary that the water doesn't get contaminated with construction dust or bird droppings etc in these cases. Also, water from first few rains are not used but left out. I have seen people going to elaborate level, where water from roof top is fed to a syntax tank (for gardening purpose, without the use of a pump), overflow fed to a collection sump, overflow from collection sump fed to a harvesting pit for ground absorption.

If you go with 3' rings, it would cost you around Rs. 1000-1500/feet. For community level pits, it is better to go to a depth of 15-20' and 4' rings. A 20' deep, 4' wide pit would cost around 25K, which is not at a lot for the value you are getting out of it. 

Some of the useful websites with information on RWH:http://bwssb.org/rain-water-harvestingrwh-3/
http://www.rainwaterclub.org/

There is a theme park as well, maintained by BWSSB: http://bwssb.org/theme-park-maintained-with-rain-water-harvesting-9/

Please feel free to drop an e-mail if you are involved in this effort, need contact information for some RWH contractors or need more information.

UPDATED: R2I - what are the things to take to India?

Here is the revised list of items that you might want to consider, based on my 2 years of R2I experience. Some of these might strange but it is true that these are hard to get here:
- Large size LED/LCD TVs(42 - 55" or larger): Price of LED TVs hasn't come down much in India and they are worth it, from cost saving point of view. I believe these are not free anymore from custom point of view (earlier, you could bring one, without duty) but even then these would be worth it. You are looking at 3 lakhs+ for a 55" LED 3D TV here, which is in the range of $4600+. No need to worry much about 110V or PAL signal, since you can get a good voltage converter and HDMI signal converters.
(see my earlier post: Looking back: Items brought back versus left behind)

- Specific electronic items like iPADs/iPODs, headsets, modems (if you can get a 220v, that is better), voltage converters, good car Sterio add-ons. As far as cell phones are concerned, if you a iPhone fan, you can bring one but this unlocking business becomes an issue + I think Andriod phones have caught up or even have exceeded in feature set. A good Samsung Andriod phone will offset you only by 12-20K or so. Better avoid digital clocks since they get reset whenever there is a power cut.

- Leather sofas & furniture

- Good display/showcases: Again, you have to custom order, which costs a lot or you have to do lot of search to get a good one.

- Good copper bottom vessels: Hard to get good quality ones or they are expensive

- Spring mattress: You can get the frame done here but if your kids like spring mattresses, worth bringing them since you don't get them here.

- Branded items like Shampoo etc: You do get most of the items these days but not some specific brands.

- Some simple items like shower caps(surprised? yes, it is hard to get good ones here since not many people use shower!). 

- Good supply of specific medicines like Ibuprofen, Claritin etc - Costco is your friend for these items! And, if your kids are 'Mac & Cheese' friendly, get few Costco boxes of those since we are yet to find that here!

- Cloths like Jeans/pants (mens shirts is not an issue), kids dresses, swimming trunks/goggles, shoes etc - you can get most of these here but good quality one cost a lot

- Bags, backpacks

- Good large picture frames- you can get lot of values from places like thrift stores.

Things you can avoid:
- Bedsheets, rugs etc: You get good quality ones in India itself, Ok to carry what you already have but no reason to buy new ones.
- Toys: Most of the american branded ones are available in India itself.
- Heavy items like treadmill, refrigerators, washing machines etc: Voltage conversion + service is an issue. All of these are available in India now, at a bit higher price but you have local service + no issue of voltage conversions.
- Things like kids stationary items, books etc: For books, there are good pay & borrow libraries like JustBooks. Staples is there in many places for stationary items.

Hope ths list helps with the important decision that you need to make prior to move, If you still have questions on specific items, post a question and will try to help you out....

Planning R2I - should I 'burn the bridges'?

This is one of the common question/debate that most of the R2I prospects have - should I close-off everything before I move to India?

As my heading suggests, that will be 'burning the bridges', which as the common knowledge says is not a very good idea :-)





Several factors to consider here:

• You never know where the kids are going to be - they may come back to US (or other country) for further studies and having some funds in US can really be of help.
• Change in government policies: You might have heard that recently Indian government reduced the limit of outflow of Indian funds from $200,000 to $75,000 or so. That is not a good sign. Governments can be fickle and if you transfer entire funds from US(or other country) to India, you might have problem when you need those funds back in the foreign country.
• You might have to move back for job purpose. Having some funds there will make it easier for you to setup.
• After all, you or family may not like to stay in India after trying for few years. Going thru' the currency conversion, you will loose some funds in conversion.

List can go on and I know, it is easier said than done - real estate in India is a major cost factor and you need sufficient funds to have something of your own. Hence, it is a delicate balance and only you can make the call about how much you need in India to have a comfortable living. 

In summary, don't burn the bridges - don't rush and move all of your assets to India and close all your links in foreign country. Instead, do that in stages after getting a taste of R2I. For ex, keep a bank account, some funds invested, transfer only needed funds and do further transfers as needed, if you are closer to getting a US citizenship, complete that process before you move etc...

R2I In 2014? Best to start planning now ...

I covered this topic around the same time last year. What you should be doing now for R2I in 2014 is not going to be much different from what I summarized during last year, however, a recap would help those thinking about it!

If you have not read that post, here it is again: http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2012/12/r2i-in-2013-what-you-should-be-doing-now.html

Main item to look into right now is the school planning - this one takes a good amount of time and a crucial factor for success of R2I. Choice of school decides where you stay, whether kids are going to be Ok after R2I etc. If your kids are already grown up(say, above grade 6), my suggestion is to go for a international school - these kids can take a while to settle down and their friend circle makes the difference in the world for them. You might need to make a short trip to visit/shortlist the schools, understand the paperwork needed, tests to be taken, costs etc.

If your kids are smaller, they can adopt to their surroundings quicker. Hence, school choice is not that big of a deal. However, to note, there is a good race to get into good schools and they can fill up fast. Hence, you need to get in-touch with school folks asap.

Also, other factor is - if you own a home, you need to plan to sell/rent etc. This can be time consuming as well and needs good prep-work. Doing these things at last minute can cost you $$$.

If you are still debating, settle the debate. Possibly my post on R2I decision assessment would be of help:
http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2011/12/r2i-or-nr2i-not-to-r2i-dilemma-take.html

Good luck with your R2I efforts ...

News article: Housing slump: Realty market in India crumbles

This is a good read for a prospective R2I. Seems like there is a going to be a dip - with the rupee value versus dollar, there might be a good chance to get into something. For the first time, I am seeing buyer referrals being offered from builders now...

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/357271/housing-slump-realty-market-india.html

TOI article - Startups rise and shine in Bangalore ...

This is a good read for any of the prospective R2Is, who are thinking of coming to Bangalore and doing their own start-up. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/software-services/Startups-rise-and-shine-in-Bangalore/articleshow/22309538.cms

I couldn't agree more on this line in the article: "Mukund Mohan, CEO in-residence at Microsoft Ventures - The city attracts good talent because of great weather, job options, and a cosmopolitan and welcoming culture."

I have heard lot about 'outsiders taking over Bangalore'. But, as the article says, that only does good to the place. As US has proven, it gains top talent by welcoming others to come over and by providing an environment to thrive and in-turn thrives itself. Sure, Bangalore has ways to go in providing the right environment, infrastructure but just having the talent pool here creates an ecosystem around that which is beneficial to the local populace as well.

South India trip ...

What are some of the things R2Is do once they are back? Visit all over India! Every weekend was pretty much a travel weekend when you are outside of India and you try to do the same here. Not surprisingly, we have seen much more outside of India than what we have seen here. 

Once you travel in India, it amazes how travel friendly things have been made outside of India. We have ways to go before we can get there but as we experienced during this week-long trip, things are changing. You do have access to nicer hotels, much cleaner restaurants, much more improved highways etc. Sadly, most of the towns are still dirty, congested and don't seem to change :-(

Some pics from the south India trip. Special mention of Nirmala Travels, using which we traveled - highly recommended for this type of trip, even with kids. When you travel in group, you don't get much time for shopping etc but they manage to cover so many places and know the places inside out. If you do it by yourself, it would easily take a day/place (South India trip is heavy on temples) - language is an issue, long queues in temples, getting around, food etc can become a challenge. Hence, these folks are worth the money. Something you should consider even if you are visiting for a vacation. Routine was - early wake-up, early to bed! Unfortunately, these places are not 'camera friendly' since cameras are not allowed in most of the places.

We visited Vellore Golden temple, Kanchipuram, Trichi, Maduri, Rameshwaram, Tanjavore, Kanyakumari, Kaladi (Kerala), Thiruvanathapuram(Kerala) in 7 days.  

Rock Ganesha - Tanjavur

Brahadeeshwara Temple, Tanjavur

Meenskshi Temple, Madurai

Majestic Pillars and roof paintings

Sound pillars

Looks like any US highway, isn't it? Highway that runs along eastern corridor

Sunrise in Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari Vivekananda Memorial

Kaladi where Adi Shankara was born

Only in Kerala!

Wish you all a happy Independence day ...

Service in India is improving ...

We are used to here stories about bad customer service in India, on a daily basis. Especially after experiencing the service level in the western world (even though queues are quite long in Walmart for returning items!), you don't expect much and use the 'buyer be aware' approach always.

And, you vent about it in web sites when you get bad service and you are helpless. So, it is very rare that you post about the good service that you got. Experienced such a case recently and it was a good feeling.

Brought a showcase from Nesta furniture after a long search. Hint: if you are doing R2I and have a good showcase that you want to keep, by all means do, it is worth it -- a teak showcase can offset you by Rs. 40,000 - 50,000, that is $900 for you!. Custom made ones are even more expensive. It is hard to get simpler/cheaper ones in the regular furniture stores. 




You can get crockery showcase type ones but we were looking for a simpler one, for the living room. This is also called bar unit.


We went for the showcase at Nesta - the model looked good and sturdy. Was delivered the next day. However, when they opened the package, glass door was broken. So, assemblers put the work on halt (yes, you don't do the assembly here, like the Ikea's of the world) and said they will come back with a new one. So, the headache started. They did come back the next day, assembled it again with new door glass. But, the hinges were different and the door was shaky since hinges were fitted in incorrect place. You might be thinking - yes, that is the Indian service but...

When checked again, saw that the corner of the glass was cracked. Without much of replacement, called the store - to my surprise, the person said they will do something about it. I said I will visit the store next day and I did. Made sure I take the pictures as well(and ready for hard talk!). To my surprise, they asked me whether I am happy with the one in the store. Since it was exactly the same as the one we were looking for, I said 'yes'. It was delivered with 3 days, assembled and we had exactly what we wanted!

Unlike other stores, Nesta people were ready for the replacement, just over the phone. I liked that. And, I am making sure I am posting on that in a public forum. Hope to have more such experiences in the coming days ...

Reader's question - what are the housing options on R2I?

I have received this question from several readers. I have listed the options a few times before but didn't provide a consolidated list. Let me write a summarized list of options. 

Hope you will find it useful. Drop a comment if so ...

Of course, when it comes to real estate, it is location, location, location - the option which you pick mainly depends on location. Most of the other factors like budget etc depend on this as well.

Option #1: Buying an already constructed villa/home in a gated community
This is the best option of all, if you can afford it - this is the only place where you can get some piece of mind, a place to walk/jog, cleaner air, place for kids to roam around freely, gym, tennis courts,  swimming pools etc. Also, in most cases, you have full control on modifications (including exteriors. (Unfortunately, few of the builders are taking the western way, where external modifications are not allowed, hanging of cloths to dry are not allowed, no balconies etc). Most of these villas are owned by well educated families and there is a good interaction within home owners association. Hence, the closest you can get to a US/Western style of living. If you are going for a villa/independent home, certainly consider a gated community - you can afford to lock the home away and stay away for few days outside without much headache.

There could be issues here as well - many of these communities depend on tanker water, which is a main issue. Cost is another factor - a good villa in a good location (close to IT parks) can cost upwards of 2 crores. Also, you need to like the style of the house - these days villa builders are using standard styles but in many gated communities, custom building is still the choice. In-addition, there are no disclosures - it is a buyer beware of situation. Get a good known plumber/architect to evaluate the house before you make the purchase decision.

Option #2: Buying an empty site in a gated community and construct a villa/home
This is similar to Option #1 but with the overhead of dealing with construction, which is not an easy task, let me say in-advance. Dealing with contractors, labors may not be your piece of cake but reward is the cost savings - cost savings versus buying a already constructed home could be significant + you are getting a house of your choice. For ex, if only one person is working in the house hold, other person can take care of the construction. Getting a good custom house on a 60x40 site can take up to 1.5 years to 2 years - no kidding!. Issue here is - plot based developments are happening at a good distance from work locations and in suburbs. It could take few years before the place is 'developed' and livable. The plots within the city are quite expensive and you would see very few. For ex, the per sq.ft cost would be in the range of Rs. 4000-5000, which means you are shelling out close to a crore just for the land (assuming 60x40 plot area).

(However, to note, there is no real concept of  'gated community' -- this can work as long as it works. For ex, the site owner next to the gated community may not have access road and may ask to open up the road to get access. The gated community will be forced to provide access in such cases.)

Option #3: Buying an already constructed home outside of the gated community
This could work if you are buying in a good locality but don't do the mistake of buying in a sparsely built area - it would be too risky. I have seen the experience of a friend whose new house was broken into twice in a newer area and they were out during day! You could possibly save a bit with this option but security is a major hassle - you need to depend on friends or employ services of security agency if you are leaving the house unoccupied for few days. Only reason you could opt for this is - house in an area where there is Kaveri water supply.

Option #4: Buying a plot outside of gated communities and construct
All of the issues in option #2 and option #3 apply here as well. Also, the plots in good localities are quite expensive. But, if you prefer an independent home, this is still an option.

Option #5: Buying an already constructed apartment unit
This option is not the best in my opinion but could work well if you are new to Bangalore or don't have much friend/family circle here. It is easy to make friends and kids will have lot of company. However, go only with a reputed builder like Prestige, Sobha, Mantri, DLF etc. Construction quality can vary a lot and can give you a lot of headache. As I mentioned in option #1, there are no disclosures from sellers here. For ex, it could be that the bathroom roof is leaking and the seller is not able to get it fixed from the owner who stays above him or there might be some issues with the home owners association etc. Do get the meeting minutes from the association before you make the buy decision. Also, try to get in-touch with somebody who is living there and get feedback. However, you pay a premium for this option - compared to buying a unit pre-construction, this could offset you by 10-20 lakhs, depending on the size of the unit.

Option #6: Booking an apartment in a upcoming project
If you have time, this is a better option than #5 - this will save some money for you and you will have some customization options as well. The wait could be easily in the range of 2 years but you could get an unit closer to work location. You could possibly rent an apartment unit until construction is complete and then make the move. Here also, go with a reputed builder. Many of the large projects can run into hurdles and may stop work, delay the projects etc. 

See my related posts:
http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2013/01/bangalore-real-estate-should-i-invest.html
http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2013/01/investing-in-bangalore-real-estate.html
http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2013/01/investing-in-bangalore-real-estate_24.html

It's raining, it's pouring ...

Yes, it is raining good this year in Bangalore compared to the last year - and that is a good news for water thirsty Bangalore ...

Some pics for those who miss Bangalore rains ...

R2I irritants ...

Ok, let's look into what are the irritants for R2Is, as I mentioned in my last blog entry. Several things can be irritants once you R2I, specially those things which can't be changed easily ...

One thing that always bothers you is how much care is taken about surroundings in western countries and how much it is disregarded here. Fact is that these things are unlikely to change in the near term. Worst thing is our country has all the potential to address these issues - we have educated people, there is enough money in the system but we don't see things changing.  Unfortunately unqualified people are ruling and government intervention is required to make these changes - view of nice getting filled up with dirt, trash, without any regard to the fact that these are the critical water resources irritates you.

When it comes to service, things are improving but it is still bad - for ex, you don't see people lining up in a bank or post office and see 5 people standing right next to the service table. And the banks don't enforce this, which can be done so easily. So, you have to rush even though you don't want to do it. Also, if you buy something, sellers are nice until you buy them. Once you bought it, you are on your own. 

When it comes to public sector, there can be lot of irritants - unfortunately, political system doesn't have the will to address these issues. When the average worth of an MLA is 10 Crore Rs, why would they have public interest to serve people?. They just need power and want to enjoy their term. Again, case of where there is a potential for things to get fixed but there is no will and that bothers you.

There are many other small things which I had listed - lack of footpaths makes it hard to walk in any place. Noise on roads is irritating but you get used to it. Driving habits of people drives you bit crazy since following rules is the last priority(I have heard Bangalore is much more civilized when it comes to this and places like New Delhi can be really bad).  You may be right but that hardly matters.

Overall, main irritant is - you see that there is a potential for things to change but they don't happen. What disappoints is - Bangalore is a city with high number of educated population but it is hard for them to change things. However, you do see ray of hopes like people in localities getting together to clean up the lakes, clean up the footpaths etc. But, these are drops in the ocean. What we need is some major surgery to fix things from a right administration - and you know that won't happen in the near future!

Reader's question - do you regret your R2I decision?

There was a question from one of the readers - "do you regret your R2I decision, now having made the R2I?". Thought this will be a very relevant question for many of the folks thinking about R2I. So, some thoughts on this ...

One of my friend's said while I was in US - "if you are 95% sure that you want to be back in India, don't come back"! That's very true - you need to be 99% sure that you want to be here to make the R2I. Reasons being several - there are somethings that you can't simply get here and those are out of your control. Examples being, nice parks, footpaths, nice roads where you don't need to worry about commute, discipline and order in things etc. There is no way these things can change in the near term, read, in your lifetime :-).

From my personal point of view, do I regret the R2I decision? Absolutely not, from my point of view. However, your 'mileage' may vary, as I mention below.

However, as I mentioned in my initial blog entries, R2I is a very personal decision. I was 100% sure that this is something I want to do and something that would be good for the kids. In that light, I enjoy things which were not available earlier like frequent visits to parents, kids mingling with cousins and family, Indian food, "feel of at home" etc. Fortunately, kids have adjusted to the Indian climate and don't fall sick as often. We do take precautions like avoiding road side food, not drinking water outside except bottled water etc. Also, the US style malls are abundant in Bangalore there days, which give access to latest movies, bowling, pizza, berger etc - to keep the kids connected to US.

However, same thing may not be true for lots of families or even for your family members. Dealing with the chaos here may seem like a headache for lots of people and knowing the problems will persist, may become a ongoing pain.

In summary, one person's enjoyment of R2I may not be true for another person - it all depends on your perspective and what you want out of R2I. If staying in India is the strong reason, it is very likely that you will enjoy the R2I and make it work for you.

So, no regrets? No - there are but more of irritants and I will cover those in my next post.

If you are still in-doubt, take this assessment I posted a while back and access yourself to see what factors drive your R2I decision. These are the factors that drive your R2I stay here in India as well once you are here...
http://r2idiaries.blogspot.in/2011/12/r2i-or-nr2i-not-to-r2i-dilemma-take.htm