How much money do you need to Return to India (R2I)?

Many of us decide to go to US to earn money. However, after being in US for a few years, we find it difficult to decide "How much money is enough to settle in India?". Yes! the cost of living in India has gone up significantly in the last decade.  So, you may be wondering "How much money should I have to Return to India (R2I)?" The right answer is "It depends".

I've made an attempt to capture the cost of living in Chennai (as of 2009). The expenses have of course, sky rocketed. Given below are the approximate expenses for a 5 members family (Husband, wife, kid, grand parents), leading a comfortable (but, not luxurious) life.

Settling costs (Rs. 60 Lakhs - Rs. 1.15 Crore)

Own House         - Rs. 50 lakhs - 1 crore 
                    (depending upon the location. These days, you can find great deals on real estates and rental properties in online websites such as Magic Bricks & MyDeals India)
Car               - Rs. 7 - 13 lakhs
Furnishing        - Rs. 3 lakh 
                    (bed, TV, refrigerator, A/C etc.,)

Monthly Expenses (~ Rs.27K per month)

Groceries                - Rs.8K
Vegetables/Fruits        - Rs.3K
Electricity              - Rs.1K
Gas Cylinders            - Rs.1K
Petrol/Diesel            - Rs.2K
Doctor Visits/Medicine   - Rs.1K
TV/Phone/Mobile/Internet - Rs.3K
Dining out               - Rs.3K
Recreation/Entertainment - Rs.3K 
Wedding/Other Gifts/Toys - Rs.2K
       
Yearly Expenses (~ Rs. 80K per year)

Dresses for the family   - Rs.20K
Travel/Sightseeing       - Rs.25K
School expenses          - Rs.35K - 50K, per kid
                          

Note

- The above expenses do not include insurance payments, service/maintenance of items (car, A/C, refrigerator, washer etc.,). I'll update them when I get more details.

- In case you've decided to rent a house - renting a 3BHK house costs anywhere from 15K - 25K depending on the locality/facilities etc.,

- Some schools charge up to Rs.1 Lakh donation during the initial admission (Also read: Getting KG admission for a kid in school - the math behind it)

The money that you may need to settle in India is very subjective. It depends on your family size, life style, spending pattern, city in which you want to live etc., If you have spent 6 - 10 years in US and invested your savings wisely, you should be able to settle in India, very comfortably. At the end of the day, there is no end to the need for more money.

Related posts:


R2I Checklist
R2I - List of things to pack/bring from US
US to India Money Transfer Strategies
Cost to Company (CTC) - Peeling the Onion

Sunday - a day of mass murders in India

It is 4th of Oct, 2009. 2 days after the world celebrated Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. I stepped out of my house for my early morning walk. There is a meat shop near my house. The shop had a few skinned & decapitated goats hanging in the front. A huge truck was unloading carts of chicken into the shop. Each cart (of 5 ft x 5 ft size) carried about 10 chicken. There were about 15 carts. The chicken were closely packed and some of them were already half dead.There were flies buzzing all around the shop. Anyone who crosses the shop couldn't avoid staring at the dirty look of the shop and the bad small that comes out of it. Despite all of this, the shop was very crowded - with people who are buying chicken/mutton for their Sunday meal. This is a very common scene in India, on Sundays. Sunday is a day of mass murdering of goats/chicken in India.

The workers in the meat shop are not educated about cruelty to animals. Chicken are kept in small carts until their D-day arrives. Those poor creatures hardly find space to even stand comfortably inside those carts. Finally, the workers kill them by twisting their neck or by chopping-off their head. Even a prisoner with death sentence is treated properly in this world. Doctors ensure that the prisoner is in good health before being sentenced. However, these little creatures aren't treated properly. They haven't committed any crimes. They haven't done harm to others. But, they are killed in large volumes to satisfy the appetite of humans, who are higher-up in the food chain.

People also don't care about hygiene. The place in which these little creatures are kept is so untidy and unpleasant. There is always flies & crows surrounding them. The meat shop owners even preserve some of the unsold meat to sell in the next day. Buyers cannot ensure that the meat is of high quality. It is quite easy for people to get sick by consuming such meat. Also, this unhygienic environment is not good for the workers in the meat shop. Look at the short Youtube video below, to see the things in action:



The nation praises Gandhiji for his acts. But, somehow, the nation fails to recognize the importance of adopting vegetarian diet. Becoming a vegetarian is not tough, at all. I've successfully adopted vegetarian diet for nearly 10 years, now. I'm very active & healthy. I can proudly say that I haven't had any major illness/disease.

If you want to lead a healthy life... If you are against cruelty to animals... BE A VEGETARIAN !!!

Related post:

Why am I a Vegan?

R2I - List of things to pack/bring from US

Most of us would've landed in US with just 2 suitcases and a hand luggage. But, over a period of time, we would've accumulated a number of things. It is absolutely not possible to bring ALL the items back to India. So, you have to now make the hard decision of choosing the items that you want to bring back from US. For the folks with kids, the problem increases in magnitude. Are you confused about what to bring & what not to bring? This blog post is aimed at helping you to decide the items that you may want to bring back from US. Hopefully, you should be able to prepare a list of things/items to be shipped to India, after reading this post.

• Kids' stuff - Your kid's favorite toys, books, artwork, dresses etc., It is going to be very tough for the kids to cope up with this HUGE change (of moving to India). So, you should make sure that you bring all their 'favorite' items. For example, we brought all of my daughter's favorite toys. However, she still longs for some of the other toys that she played with, during her days in US. She recollects them, especially when we see some of our old pictures/videos.
  

• Mementos - Things such as souvenirs, gifts, prizes, greeting cards, photos etc., These are some of the things that you cannot 'purchase' after coming back to India. So, I would highly recommend you to bring them back.

• Electrical/Electronic Items - Almost all the electronic items are available in India, these days - including flat panel TVs, dish washer, microwave ovens etc., The price of electrical/electronic goods are higher when compared to their prices in US. There is atleast 10 - 20% difference in the price. So, use your discretion when deciding to bring electrical/electronic items from US. You can definitely bring back small items such as MP3 players, laptops, cameras, camcorders, DVD players, external HDD and music systems. You don't have to bring items such as TV, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, fans etc.,  (Also read: Goods in US market - lots of options & cheaper price)

• Kitchen items - All types of utensils are available in India (in fact, most of the utensils that we used in US are the ones that we bought from India). High quality Teflon coated frying pans/utensils are still pricey in India. You may bring some of them if you like. However, if you are going to permanently settle in India, you have to buy them locally anyways after sometime. So, I would highly recommend to buy kitchen items locally & get used to them :)

• Furniture - Wooden furniture are very cheap in India, when compared to their price in US. Moreover, you get wonderfully (& custom) designed furniture in India. You don't have to bring your beds/mattresses, as you can buy them locally here. If you are going to live with your parents, then most of the household items may already be there in your parents' place.  You may have to consult them before deciding what to bring and what not to bring. (Also read: Nilkamal's @home - Not designed for me)

• Dresses - Bring back all of your high quality dress items from US. Though most of the dresses that we buy in US are 'Made in India', there is definitely a difference in the quality between "what we get in India" vs. "what is shipped to US".

• Documents - Bring all of your educational/work/tax/stocks/bank/property/401k/legal documents back from US. Don't miss items such as your kid's birth certificate, medical documents, PIO card, school certificates etc., I would highly recommend you to convert most of the documents to digitized format (i.e., scan them and burn it in a DVD). That way, you can reduce some weight. Do carry a list of your friend's contact numbers & other important contact numbers in hard copy.

• IP Phone - Get a subscription to an IP based phone service (such as Vonage, Skype, Magic Jack etc.,). I have personally found that Skype works well - it is cheap and the call quality is also great. You can use it like your regular phone - if you have bought a Skype compatible IP phone. (Also read: IP Phone - Magic Jack vs Vonage vs Skype)

• Books - If you have bought some books in US, you can definitely bring them back. You may not get all those books in Indian market. (Also read: American library in US consulate - for history lovers)

• Car - Most of the folks sell their Car/Vans before leaving US. The cars that we use in US may not be suited for Indian roads & traffic. I learned that the cars with Left Hand Side driver seat are banned in India. (Note: There is a huge difference in the price of cars in US & India. If you are buying an imported car, the price is way too high. For example, the cost of a Honda Civic in India is about Rs. 13 Lakhs (~$26K))

You may have to clean-up and sell/donate a lot of items, during this process. You can use craigslist for selling your items to local people - so that, people will come to your home to pickup items & you don't have to ship them. You can donate your unwanted items that are in good condition, to Goodwill. You get tax exemption for the amount that you donated, if you get a receipt from the Goodwill store.

Related posts:

Return to India - 25 things to do
Things to take care of, after R2I
10 things to know if you are Returning to India

Foliage trip - New Hampshire & Vermont (Fall Colors)

New Hampshire

1) White Mountains Places to See

http://www.new-england-vacations-guide.com/white-mountains.html

http://www.visitnh.gov/why-new-hampshire/exploring-the-great-outdoors/waterfalls.aspx

http://www.visitwhitemountains.com/things-to-do/attractions/default.aspx

Address: 200 Kancamagus Highway, North Woodstock NH

2) Mount Washington

            This is in White Mountains Region

3) Kancamagus Scenic Byway

            http://gonewengland.about.com/od/nhsightseeing/a/aakancamagus.htm

4) Rocky Gorge Scenic Area

            Located along the Byway, 9 miles west of Conway.

            This is part of the Kancamagus Scenic Byway

5) Flume Gorge

This is in Franconia Notch State Park

Vermont

1) The Green Mountains

Green Mountain National Forest
231 North Main Street, Rutland, VT 05701

2) Jenne Farm

The Jenne Farm is in central Vermont, about a 15 minutes drive south of Woodstock on Route 106. If you are driving south on 106, go through South Woodstock, then follow the road up Reading Hill. After it crests and you start to go down, slow down and look for a small sign on the right hand side. (There will also be a sign for the Jenne Farm Road) See our road map of the area.

3) Woodstock

            Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP

5302 River Rd, Woodstock, VT - (802) 457-2355 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (802) 457-2355      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (802) 457-2355      end_of_the_skype_highlighting‎

(Billings Farm & Museum)

4) Quechee Gorge

Route 4, Quechee, VT 05059 (Quechee State Park)

5) Ascutney State Park

1826 Black Mt. Road , Windsor, VT, 05089, Phone: 802-674-2060

For Foliage Reports

http://www.1-800-vermont.com/seasons/report.asp

http://www.foliage-vermont.com/

Also read:


My personal trip experiences
How do you plan a sightseeing trip in US? 
Tips to get good deals on flight, hotel and car  

A day at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur

We went to Vandalur Zoo, in Chennai on Oct 2nd (Gandhi Jayanthi holiday). The main objective of the trip was to show my daughter, all the animals in 'action'. We left home at about 9 am and took a train to Vandalur, from the Nungambakkam Railway Station. The train reached Vandalur station in about an hour. The zoo is about 0.5Km from the Vandalur station. We came out of the station and took an auto-rickshaw. We reached the Arignar Anna Zoological Park (aka Vandalur Zoo), at about 10.30 am. The entry fee was Rs.20 per adult and Rs.25 for a still camera (& a whopping Rs.150 for a camcorder. Thank God ! We didn't carry one :)).

The zoo has a very good collection of animals, birds & reptiles (including the high profiled ones such as Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Hippo, Giraffe, Zebra, Panther, Crocodiles, and Snakes). All the children, including my 3 year old daughter, were all very excited to see the animals in 'action'.

I was quite amazed by the improvement in the infrastructure inside the Vandalur zoo. I had visited the zoo, 15 years back, with my friend. I still remember that my friend/I had to walk a lot to find a bench to sit & have our lunch. Now, there are wonderfully covered rest areas, all around the zoo. They have good drinking water facilities and rest rooms also. The rest rooms are also relatively clean (when compared to other public rest rooms) with adequate sources for water. There are trash bins located along the roads/exhibits. There are proper roads & sign boards everywhere. They've also improved the walkways around the exhibits. There is still some infrastructure projects that are in progress. The authorities have made sure that there are no plastic bags or papers flying around. They've strictly restricted the use of plastic items inside the zoo. I also see sign boards that 'warn' people against teasing/feeding animals.

The zoo also has buses ('safaris') that take people around. They also have motor vehicles that take people around in groups. In addition, there are bikes (bicycles) that you can rent for Rs.20 per hour. There is only one restaurant (run by Tamilnadu Tourism Development Corporation) near the entrance. There is an ice cream shop & a snack bar inside the zoo. There was an awesome turnout on Oct 2nd (because of the public holiday). I'm not sure how crowded it will be during the regular days. They have a park with
kids' play structures near the entrance. You can spend the whole day in the park, if you have kids. I'm still wondering why they haven't commercialized the place yet - with rides, restaurants, small theatres showing animal movies, & other paid services.

We were completely exhausted by the time we stepped out. We took a bus to the Vandalur train station & got back to Nungambakkam by train. Overall, we enjoyed our short trip to Arignar Anna Zoological Park (Vandalur Zoo). I would highly recommend this place to anyone who visits Chennai, with kids.

Also read:  

Mahabalipuram, Muttukadu & Crocodile Park - A visit to ECR attractions 
Anna Tower Park - A boon for Anna Nagar residents

Unnai Pol Oruvan - Short 'n sweet

I happened to watch this movie during my trip to Tuticorin. I watched this movie in Raja Complex theatre. They were selling Rs. 12.50 tickets for Rs. 70 at the ticket counter itself. The theatre was also in a pathetic condition. Fortunately, I had gotten tickets for the 'box' which had A/C. I don't know if the movie is really worth the Rs. 70 that I spent. But, the movie is good.

I think they would've shot the whole movie in just a week's time. There are hardly 20 or 25 different locations in the entire movie. Kamal's role in this movie is very small. Mohan Lal's role is also very small. The new entrants Ganesh Venkatram and one more police officer have good roles in the movie. I think they also acted very well. They didn't appear to be 'junior' actors on the screen.

This is a very short movie (just 2 hours). Kuddos to the screen play writer. The movie retains its pace till the end. The story moves very fast. People would've guessed towards the end 'What Kamal was trying to do'. So, the last 30 minutes were a bit 'dragging'. There are no songs (or the theatre in which I watched the movie, stripped off all the songs). I didn't miss the songs, anyway. Also, there is no comedy track.

I believe this is a very low budget movie. May be, they would've spent the most money for paying, Kamal & Mohan Lal. Any ticket that you buy for more than Rs.50/- is not worth it. I would in fact, recommend watching the movie in a DVD. Coincidentally, this is the first movie that my daughter watched in a theatre.

Is it a good movie? Yes! Is it an 'entertainer'? Definitely NOT!

100th blog - first milestone

 It is approximately 2 years since I launched this blog. It started out as a diary ... but today, it has much more valuable information. On an average, I spend about 30 minutes to write a blog (concept -> writing -> formatting -> posting). I've spent nearly 2 full days of my life (50 hours) developing these 100 blog posts. I'm happy that I got an opportunity to explore & learn a lot of things, along the way. Blogging has become a habit, these days. I enjoy the process of assimilating my thoughts and presenting them in a short blog. My most happiest moments of blogging are when I hear from folks that "they find some of these posts, very useful".

I've tried to cover a diverse set of topics - ranging from my US travel experiences, to Stock trading strategies to R2I/Post R2I life experiences. There is growing interest in the community for the R2I blogs. Thanks to Google Analytics - I can keep track of what people like & what people don't like.
You get instant (actually not instant, but in a week or so) feedback.

Blogging is definitely fun. If you have spare time, I would definitely encourage you to start blogging. Google has made it very simple for enthusiasts to kick start a blog. It takes only minutes to launch your blog. Blogging helps you to polish your writing skills. You'll feel good when you look at some of your old blog entries.

I've enjoyed the ride so far. I'm hoping that my life will be filled with interesting things, that I can cherish and share with others. I'm continuing my blogging journey. See you at the next milestone. Until then, have fun reading my blogs. Don't forget to leave your comments. I definitely value them.