Bangalorebrouhaha’s Weblog

Picking a place to live in Bangalore is going to be one of your greatest challenges!  Relocation companies seem to be almost useless in helping out in this search.  They have unrealistic limits, their own priorities and very little interest in helping you find the place you will be happiest in.  They limit the number of properties they will show you, the agents they will work with, the amount of time they will spend with you.  You need to take charge of your search.  I would recommend that you focus on a few very important factors as you will probably not find someplace that fits all of your requirements.

I suggest focussing on safety, location, facilities, lifestyle and rent. 

In terms of safety the highest level can probably be found in a gated community or in an apartment facility.  If you choose to live in an independent house you might want to arrange to have your own security guard hired to sit outside.  That is what a lot of Indian families do!  In a gated community there is usually a security company that is responsible for monitoring who is entering and leaving the compound.   They also patrol the roads during the night, keep out stray (wild) dogs and in general monitor the situation.  Some neighborhoods have more security than others.  One of the larger gated communities has instituted checking all incoming vehicles for bombs!  Some other communities are more laid back. 

Location, location, location!  It is the mantra for real estate in the United States and should be a prime focus of your search in Bangalore.  Traffic in Bangalore can be mind-boggling!  A simple comute can turn into a two-hour journey.  You want to make sure that your home is not too far from your office.  You also need to check the bus routes for your child’s school and find out how long they will have to ride the bus.  My older child is on the bus for over an hour each way – and this is a relatively good commute!  You also need to look at the intersections you need to go through to get from your neighborhood to anyplace you will go on a regular basis.  For example, the intersection at Marathalli is notoriously terrible.  Therefore if you will be working closer in to town you need to take that into consideration before you decide to live in the Whitefield area.

Facilities vary widely between neighborhoods.  Most gated communities will offer a pool, small gym, a party room.  The larger communities may also have a library, squash court, badmiton courts, basketball, children’s park and spa facilities.  The largest also have grocery shops, movie rental stores and very lovely restaurants and club houses.  All this comes at a price.  You need to ask when you rent a home whether or not a club membership comes with the rent or if it will be an expensive add on. 

You need to think about what type of lifestyle you want for yourself and your family during your time in Bangalore.  If you really want the “Indian experience” you may want to live closer in to downtown or in an independent villa in an older established neighborhood.  In those places you will be more in the middle of Indian daily life.  You may make more Indian friends and be witness to more holidays and traditions.  If you want to live more of a international expat life you should look at the gated communities.  They can offer a great experience to meet families from all over the world who are also in Bangalore on a temporary basis.  Many Indian families have left the more expensive neighborhoods in order to rent the houses out to expats.  Of course, you can find gated communities in which you get the benefits of an enclosed community but you also get to experience lots of India.  It is up to you to talk to people living in the neighborhood an to try and figure out if you will be happy there.

Rents in Bangalore are extraordinary!  If you want to live in a house with facilities comparable to what you may have lived in in Europe or the US you will end up paying much more in rent that you can imagine.  You need to remember that for many expats the rent is being paid by their company.  So while and individual may balk at paying $10,000 per month rent, companies are paying it on a regular basis!  That is, of course the high end.  Depending on the neighborhood and the size of the house, you can expect to pay $2,000 for a small 2,300 square foot 3-bedroom house in a nice quite gated community.  That rent also gets you 24-hour back up power (important when we can have power cuts many times a day), private water supply (again important when some areas have no government water for days on end), security, maintenance, etc.

You should also keep in mind that the higher end neighborhoods also end up having higher prices for many of the other services.  For example, a driver in one neighborhood might accept Rs 6000/month while a driver in a more exclusive neighborhood might not accept less than Rs 10,000/month.  Maids and cooks are also known to expect much higher salaries to work in much pricier neighborhoods.  If this will all come out of your own pocket you should keep it in mind. 

Finally, don’t rely on your relocation company to find you the right house.  You should try and contact a real estate agent who is independent from the reclocation company.  Do your homework and know the neighborhoods that fit your requirements.  Check out available rental listings online.  The responsibility for finding a home you love rests with you!