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How much would it cost for an American expat to retain his/her middle-class existence in Mumbai? Delhi? Kolkata? Hyderabad? Bangalore? Would it be as costly as living in LA, the Bay Area, NYC or Boston, or closer to living in inland New England? In terms of real estate, groceries, appliances, tech...
USD 1500/month will offer you a wonderful life in India.I make sure this for you. As this money could be a normal India family half years' income.
I kind of disagree. Have you managed to sustain a middle class lifestyle in USD 1,500 in any of the metros in India? I would be really shocked if you said yes.
USD 1,500 is good, if you're not paying rent. Rentals in Mumbai (I speak for Mumbai since i live here currently) could be about USD 2000 per month, if you wish to live in good areas (Lower Parel, Worli, Santacruz, Prabhadevi) that are close to the CBD.
Most of the expats in Mumbai live in the South, or in an area called Bandra which is a little to the North; but rentals in these areas here are really sky rocketing.
I have lived in India for the past 8 months. We are in India currently for my fiance's job. He's a pilot and is flying a corporate gig. We've had the opportunity to travel quite a bit throughout the country and have visited most of the metro areas. We are based in Chennai which generally runs cheaper than Delhi or Mumbai. His company also pays for our housing so thats one less thing to worry about. We would have to try very hard to spend 1500USD a month here in Chennai. We live very comfortably and enjoy any luxury we desire, although we're fairly simple people so it doesn't take much for us We go out to eat a couple times a week. 6USD gets more than enough food for the two of us to eat at a nice restauraunt. Drinks in bars or coffee shops are extremely cheap. Usually under 2USD. Housewares are very affordable but like any place you need to shop in the right places. I know rent can get pretty high in Mumbai and Delhi but thats to be expected in a major metro area. Delhi and Mumbai are also very forward in development and modern culture so the younger crowd prefers to live there. I'd say if you were spending 2000USD a month on rent alone you'd be living in a pretty elaborate apartment complex. I know you could find a place, definitely for under 1000USD a month and be very comfortable and satisfied. I've learned a valuable lesson here in India. As Americans we have a warped belief that in order for something to be good it must be really expensive. India has taught me the real value of a lot of goods. Its amazing how markets will jack up the prices on so many things, JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN. Do you know anyone else living in India at the moment? Any contacts in Delhi or Mumbai. If you need anymore information feel free to ask. I could recommend the apartment complexes that our company provides housing for in Delhi and Mumbai. It may get you started on your housing hunt. Here's a little hint about Delhi.... When we live in Delhi from time to time we live in a very nice flat in the Dwarka Sector. The Dwarka Sector is a fairly new residential area of the city. Its towards the outskirts of the city so its very quiet, peaceful. Quiet is hard to come by in India with so many people stuffed into one place. Its loud all the time! The metro (subway) runs right through Dwarka as well so its easy to hop the train and ride into the city quickly. A metro token is about 40 cents. Well hope this helps a little..
added note... my boyfriend told me that our rent in Chennai is about 600USD a month. Also the flats in Delhi run about 600USD a month as well. He also noted you could live in a hotel for a dollar a day as long as you don't have high living standards. It'd be like camping with four walls and a hole for a toilet. Ha!
A rough estimate using PPP is about 1:4, meaning the US is about 4 times as expensive as India. Of course this does not apply to all things but mostly services, food, rent etc. A 1 bd apartment rental in Bangalore would run about Rs. 20,000/month ($400) in a great area, you can find cheaper though in less expensive neighborhoods.
India used to be VERY cheap, but inflation is at 10-11% a year and prices have skyrocketed over the last decade primarily due to IT capital from US companies. But still things can be cheap, I used to eat lunch, a delicious vadaa sambar and coffee when I was in Bangalore for $1 and this was in Jan this year.
Exactly. K374 is right. People talk about prices have skyrocketed and blablabla and they have from an Indian viewpoint because they've grown up there. But from an American standpoint its so CHEAP! Haha. We just had a wonderful dinner of egg bryani, chicken 65, chicken tikka, veg raita and a liter of auqafina water for 300 rupees (roughly 6 bucks American). *sigh* I love it here.
How much would it cost for an American expat to retain his/her middle-class existence in Mumbai? Delhi? Kolkata? Hyderabad? Bangalore? Would it be as costly as living in LA, the Bay Area, NYC or Boston, or closer to living in inland New England? In terms of real estate, groceries, appliances, tech...
Generally, American expats don't live middle-class lives abroad. You'd be perceived to be wealthy by the mass majority of Indians, even if you thought you were living a middle-class life there.
You'd live very well.
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We go out to eat a couple times a week. 6USD gets more than enough food for the two of us to eat at a nice restauraunt. Drinks in bars or coffee shops are extremely cheap. Usually under 2USD. Housewares are very affordable but like any place you need to shop in the right places. I know rent can get pretty high in Mumbai and Delhi but thats to be expected in a major metro area. Delhi and Mumbai are also very forward in development and modern culture so the younger crowd prefers to live there. I'd say if you were spending 2000USD a month on rent alone you'd be living in a pretty elaborate apartment complex. I know you could find a place, definitely for under 1000USD a month and be very comfortable and satisfied. I've learned a valuable lesson here in India. As Americans we have a warped belief that in order for something to be good it must be really expensive. India has taught me the real value of a lot of goods. Its amazing how markets will jack up the prices on so many things, JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN. Do you know anyone else living in India at the moment? Any contacts in Delhi or Mumbai. If you need anymore information feel free to ask. I could recommend the apartment complexes that our company provides housing for in Delhi and Mumbai. It may get you started on your housing hunt. Here's a little hint about Delhi.... When we live in Delhi from time to time we live in a very nice flat in the Dwarka Sector. The Dwarka Sector is a fairly new residential area of the city. Its towards the outskirts of the city so its very quiet, peaceful. Quiet is hard to come by in India with so many people stuffed into one place. Its loud all the time! The metro (subway) runs right through Dwarka as well so its easy to hop the train and ride into the city quickly. A metro token is about 40 cents. Well hope this helps a little..
and this was in Jan this year.
