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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2009 18:17:50 GMT
Once in a while it crosses my mind.
It would be a completely different kind of life style. Not having to cook or clean for myself and my family sound so tempting. I don't know if I could handle the heat in the summer months though.
Maybe I should stick to my original plan of just spending the winters there....
A quick question for those who might find this subject interesting. Would you ever consider emigrating to India ( or other developing country)? Would it be possible or feasible for you? Either now or in the future some time?
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Post by spindrift on Aug 10, 2009 18:55:05 GMT
My Indian friend who lives in Goa emigrated there some 3 years ago. She thought she would easily find people to cook and clean for her. She was wrong. She eventually induced two sisters to clean for her. They were straight out of their village in the back of beyonds and had no idea how to deal with taps, electricity or anything else. She painstakingly trained them as best she could. They couldn't learn and she was constantly engaged with them. There was no peace. After 6 months they disappeared to their village for a wedding and never returned. She now has a little cleaner (I met her) who is fairly disadvantaged but unlikely to run away as she lives nearby with her child. She also had to the 'trained' to clean. There was never any hope of employing a cook which was something my girlfriend yearned for. So far she has lost about 3 stone in weight simply because she hates cooking, the market is far away and she can't be bothered most of the time. I often dream of spending several months every year in India. I'd hire a house and be free to roam around. I advise you to only think of spending winters there 
This is her house in Goa. It's for sale. Anyone want it?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2009 19:15:14 GMT
Beautiful, but India is not yet on my list of places to live, as much as I was attracted to Pondicherry.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2009 20:13:14 GMT
That's a lovely house, Sprindrift. Is your friend moving away somewhere else?
I think you are right, in that, in all honesty, I can only imagine spending the winters there. Biggest reason being that I have family here, (in Canada), even as my kids get older, I still want to be around, at least for part of the year.
I'd consider renting a place in Goa, it seems like a really nice area to be. If in Northern India, I wouldn't really need to, seeing as I already have a family residence there, and my sisters that have holiday homes there, which I can use whenever I want. (I know, I'm spolit in that way). As you know one of my sisters lives in India permanently anyway.
It never crossed my mind that one might need to train a cleaner, cook or gardener even. But I can see that if they are not familiar with electricity/appliances, there would be no other choice.
Spindrift, you know that I don't really enjoy cooking, although I can do it and do! In that way I'm much like your friend. As for bargaining at the market, I wouldn't have a clue, although that is something one learns as they go along I guess...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2009 20:15:01 GMT
Kerouac, just wondering why would you not consider living in India? Are there any specific reasons? I know for me, the summers would be too hot, to live all year around there..
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Post by spindrift on Aug 10, 2009 20:24:04 GMT
Deyana - my friend is leaving beautiful and green Goa to go north and live near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Rann of Kutch is not far away. These are salt marshes and the whole area is subject to blistering heat. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rann_of_Kutch |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2009 20:28:51 GMT
My opinion has more to do with red tape and the 'Indian way' of doing a lot of things. Since it is a very powerful country, soon to be the most populous in the world and maybe someday the most powerful, it has absolutely no reason to cater to my own 'Western' desires or even to pay attention to them.
Also there is a factor of political instability that might deter me. Not the government, since it is a well-established democracy, but the splinter factions with a terrorist agenda. As we all know, that can happen anywhere these days, but due to the high population, there are a lot more 'splinters' in India than most places.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2009 22:22:21 GMT
Spindrift, that's not far from where I was born. Any idea why your friend would make such a move?
Kerouac, I can understand about the splinter factions, they have come to be in the forefront quite a bit lately. There has always been something, some kind of inner conflict happening somewhere in the country, but on the whole it seems to chug along Okay. In a way, these things make it even more interesting for me. I still remember when the Taj Hotel was taken over by terrorists in Mumbai, I wanted to be there so bad, to see for myself what was happening. these kind of events don't sway my ideas of wanting to spend more time there.
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Post by hwinpp on Aug 11, 2009 10:41:10 GMT
Why would you go to Goa? Is it the coast that attracts you?
I can imagine staying in Cambodia for the rest of my life. But it would depend on a couple of things. Right now it isn't sure which direction the country is going to take politically so I'm biding my time before really committing myself.
If I moved to India I think I'd go for a hill station in the south. I like the food better than in the north ;D
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2009 12:57:28 GMT
hwinpp, It's just that I've heard so much about Goa. Although some do say that's it's overrun by tourists now....
The food is more spicy in the South isn't it? Has it been a long time since you were last there? I'd like to spend around 3 months or so just traveling around India, have been trying to plan the right time to do that for ages now. Image the photo opportunities!
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Post by spindrift on Aug 11, 2009 13:35:08 GMT
Deyana - my friend's sisters are moving to Gujarat because the husband of one of them is doing a lot of business in Ahemadebad.
As for Goa - until I went there last year I, also, thought the entire place would be ruined by cheap tourists. This is not the case. Sure, the northern beaches are full of them but that's mostly where they stay. The countryside, towns and villages and unspoilt and very beautiful.
The food is second to none.....the traffic is much better behaved than the rest of India (I wouldn't mind driving there) and the people very different as well.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2009 14:54:55 GMT
Spindrift, I'm sure it's knowing where to go. Sometimes those out of the way places are the best, one's that haven't been discovered by the tourists yet.
You would drive in Goa? It must be Okay then, I know there are places in India I wouldn't dream of driving, way too crazy. Check this one out!:
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Post by spindrift on Aug 11, 2009 17:06:41 GMT
Ha ha! At least the traffic keeps moving in that clip. Usually it's all jammed up with a ferocious amount of horn-blowing going on. The traffic in Goa is fine.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2009 17:58:00 GMT
As for places like Goa being 'overrun' with tourists, I do need a certain influx of outsiders to be happy. I grew up in a very provincial location where outsiders were looked upon with fear and loathing.
I would only settle in a place that welcomes and shows an interest in people from other regions or parts of the world.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2009 18:43:50 GMT
I have heard though, (and I'm not sure how true this is or not), that tourists come to Goa and leave a tremendous amount of rubbish behind, and have little consideration for the locals etc.
I know what you mean about feeling welcome, it's important, especially if you are going to be living there permanently. I'm a bit of a gypsy by heart really, I always felt that I don't really belong anywhere, but for my kids sake I have made this area our 'home' if you like.
Luckily, I do enjoy living here too, but most importantly it's a great place to raise kids. We were outsiders when we first came here, but we were never made to feel that way, and now we are just one of the crowd around here, it's great. I think maybe this place is unusual in some ways, especially when you think that most people here have lived here all their lives, and so did their their parents and grandparents etc. Even the streets are named after the ancestors of the people who live around us now.
I don't ever feel 'uncomfortable' living anywhere really, I've lived in over 40 places and I'm used to being 'the new kid on the block'.
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Post by spindrift on Aug 11, 2009 21:14:23 GMT
I don't remember seeing a lot of rubbish around Goa. Possibly there's a lot around the tourist beaches. I only spent a day at two resorts but didn't notice the filth. Usually there's piles of filth everywhere around India and Nepal. As I said above, Goa is very different from the rest of India....much nicer actually. There are no beggars for a start. Well, I didn't see any.
No slum conglomerations.
The southern beaches, on the border of Karnataka, were pristine and beautiful with few tourists - only two other tourists when I was there. It was very hot and nearing the monsoon. Ah, I loved the heat. It must have been 45 degrees. The only thing I could complain about was the danger of swimming, for unseen currents abound inshore and offshore, waiting to drag the unknowing into the depths. There are loads of drownings every year.
Deyana - I don't feel 'uncomfortable' living anywhere. Like you, I fit in nearly everywhere. It's handy to be like that!
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Post by hwinpp on Aug 12, 2009 9:58:58 GMT
Never been to Goa myself. It's probably just the reputation some of the beaches get that would put me off. In fact I haven't been back to India in eons. But I do have relatives from Goa, Bangalore and Madras I wouldn't go into the high mountains (like in SD's pictorials) but a nice quiet place with a temperate climate would do it for me. Foreigners would be a bonus if they opened restaurants. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2009 20:03:54 GMT
Well, you did say that the Indian side of Pondicherry could be of interest. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2009 20:20:35 GMT
Thanks for the link K. I've never seen that thread before. I really like the look of Ponicherry. It's always interesting to see countries that were once colonized and how that has changed them forever.
My own mother was the daughter of an Military officer. And she grew up amongst British children and families that were stationed at various points around India. She has some interesting tales to tell.
Not only the French, but also the British have left their mark in many ways in India. In Northern India, if you look back in history, there have been many other nationalities who have also passed through over the centuries...
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Post by hwinpp on Aug 19, 2009 8:08:08 GMT
Well, you did say that the Indian side of Pondicherry could be of interest. Yes, for a holiday. But for living in India I'd chose a place with seasons, at least a cool and a hot one |
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Post by auntieannie on Aug 21, 2009 19:33:37 GMT
I would love to live in either the Bangalore I saw in 1995 & 1997 or in the Malabar mountains. When I visited, I met a Swiss former engineer who'd been travelling around the world for work a lot and when he got multiple sclerosis, they tried to park him in a protected flat in Switzerland where he became extremely depressed. Since he'd experienced life in India and other similar countries beforehand, he decided to move there where, with his pension he could live in a large house in a leafy suburb, with his ladyfriend and employ a cook, a carer and a driver.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2009 20:03:23 GMT
Good for him, annie. There is something about India that just touches you I think. And if you have the experience of living there for any length of time, it can be hard to adapt to living in the 'West' again.
I know that when we first moved to the UK, most of the other Indian people around me, who had only recently moved there also, found it really hard to adapt. Not only that, but they missed and reminiscence about the 'old country' for as long as I can remember. It's not a surprise that some of those people eventually moved back to India, or spend part of the year there.
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Post by spindrift on Jan 2, 2012 18:15:28 GMT
A friend of mine will soon be leaving the state of Gujarat for Pune near Mumbai. Does anyone know anything about Pune? She thinks that this town might suit me too.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2012 18:19:07 GMT
I have never been there, but I remember hearing good things about it.
I had completely forgotten this fascinating thread, at least fascinating for those of us who dream of a completely different rhythm to our lives.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 17:41:20 GMT
Me too. Can't believe I started this one way back 2009.
Actually it makes me feel sad, because I just read through hwinpp's comments. He certainly made a big impact on many of us from the time we knew him on here. His goodness shines though each and every time.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 17:50:01 GMT
And now that the thread has come up again, it makes me think how quickly our attitudes about certain countries can change. India is coming up so fast on the economic scale (unfortunately not the majority of Indians but plenty of them anyway) that a lifestyle we never imagined there is now possible. However, I would still have some worries about political stability if I were considering a move to such a place.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2012 22:27:28 GMT
India is certainly coming along in leaps and bounds. Many millions of people are now classified as middle class. However the problem of poverty has not been completely eradicated, that will still take time. The government has put forward many measures to help the poor of the country, but unfortunately the help doesn't always get to those that need it the most. There are various reasons for this, that hopefully will be corrected as time goes on.
K. I agree in that India's politics are complicated to say the least.
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Post by anshjain97 on Jan 7, 2013 15:27:56 GMT
but unfortunately the help doesn't always get to those that need it the most. There are various reasons for this, that hopefully will be corrected as time goes on. Indeed- such as that scandal where Delhi politicians gobbled up the money meant to build houses for the poor. India has lots of issues- the lack of transparency makes it difficult to see when these issues might be rectified. Bangalore is not a bad place to live in. Real estate still hasn't reached Mumbai price levels and lots of new projects are coming up: gated communities so safe (relatively). Weather is generally mild expect for around 2-3 months of the year. Lots to do here for an urbanite. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2013 15:47:02 GMT
Yes, exactly, ansh. I still remember reading how funds that were directed towards the poor went to improve infrastructure for the Commonwealth Olympics a couple of years back. I don't know how much truth was in that. It's hard to tell when we are not really involved in the day to day running of the program.
India is coming along in leaps and bounds, but of course a lot has to (and must) change. Mostly in improving the lives of the many poor.
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Post by anshjain97 on Jan 11, 2013 13:18:24 GMT
Agree- and it's probably happening, bit by bit. Corruption slows down things. And virtually any new scheme/project implemented makes for siphoning of public funds...Things could improve, but by when?
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