Chennai newbie - Help

[pvrk_usa]

I am returning to Chennai after 12 years in US. But I hardly know Chnnai as I rarely vistied it when I lived in India. My only knowledge is T. Nagar and Saravana Bhavan:( . My new job is going to be in TIDEL park in Taramani (whereever that is :-) ).
I would appreciate comments from Channai pros on the following:
1) Good areas to live ? With my limited knowlede, I am thinking Adyar. What kind of rent I need pay for a flat/hose with decent amenities for NRI kids (Hopefully 2000 Sqft, if I can afford that). Any other areas I should consider?.
2) Suggested schools considering the Taramani location. My kids have no knowledge of Tamil so, I am thinking it should be very cosmopolitan

[kumudam]

I am returning to Chennai after 12 years in US. But I hardly know Chnnai as I rarely vistied it when I lived in India. My only knowledge is T. Nagar and Saravana Bhavan:( . My new job is going to be in TIDEL park in Taramani (whereever that is :-) ).
I would appreciate comments from Channai pros on the following:
1) Good areas to live ? With my limited knowlede, I am thinking Adyar. What kind of rent I need pay for a flat/hose with decent amenities for NRI kids (Hopefully 2000 Sqft, if I can afford that). Any other areas I should consider?.
2) Suggested schools considering the Taramani location. My kids have no knowledge of Tamil so, I am thinking it should be very cosmopolitan[/quote]

----------------------------------
1) Adyar is a good area with lots of good school, but the rent for a 14 year old apt comes to around 10,000 to 12,000...you can also consider velachery which is also close to taramani....where the rent of a brand new apt with the aminities like gym, play area, reserver car park comes to around 30,000 to 35,000. i have no idea about school in this area....

[r2ichennai2007]

hello,
I will send a private message. I work at TIDEL park too. I can provide you some insights.

[RRK]

hello,
I will send a private message. I work at TIDEL park too. I can provide you some insights.[/quote]

PM is good to share some pvt info.
If there is any thing that is non-private pls help by sharing with others.

TIA

[VWbuggy78]

Just be aware that when ads quote, say 2000 sqft, the actual carpet area may be 1200 - 1400. To get US equivalent 2ksqft, you should ask for apartments of 3k sqft (which are rare). In some instances, you may find two apartments co-joined into one - those may be the only options.

For 3k super built area (which includes common areas such as lobby, parking etc), the going rent ranges from 10 - 30 Rs per sqft depending on how old it is. Based on actual carpet area, you are looking at 15 - 45 Rs per sqft.

There are many high rise apartment complexes along Velachery bypass road (about 6km from Tidel). But most of these rarely have carpet area of over 1000 sqft per apartment (and 2k sqft if co-joined).

One issue to consider is the school if you have kids. If school is not an issue, you can even live in Neelangarai, where the homes are much better

[poofygoogle]

We just moved to Adyar and we are paying 24K for a brand new 3 bedroom 3 bath 1550 sq ft apartment in a prime area. We moved abt 2 mos. back.

[pvrk_usa]

VWbuggy78, Thanks for the tip. I am not aware of it.

r2ichennai2007, I will await your email and share public info with members after our discussions.

poofygoogle, Can you elaborate on your experinces in house search. Like Independent houses/floors vs flat, what are your common observations during search and anything inparticular that made you choose this apartment compared to others. (I hope it is not too personal, I am just trying to get insights on what to look for and what to watch for etc. Also, please let me know if there are any other flats available in that complex)

[poofygoogle]

pvrk

We did not want to go for independent houses at least initially due to security issues. We also felt new flats will have lesser maintenace and is more comfortable. The flat we moved in has all the woodwork and looks very spacious. There are 4 flats in one block which is what we wanted. Not too crowded but not too alone either.

All flats in our complex is full but I think our neighbour was planning to rent a duplex apt house BRAND NEW 1800 sq ft or so. It could be within 25-30K since ours is 24K per month. if you are very interested I can check with them.

[VWbuggy78]

We live in an independent home. Security is usually not an issue. But maintenance is. In retrospect, we wish we had fewer things/wants and were able to squeeze into a smaller flat.

When we moved from the US, we assumed the worst case scenario that India will be unlivable. So we went through all our daily chores and made sure we took them along - to the extent that we miss India's comforts when we travel in the US.

The cons of a home:
- Not much community life.
- All maintenance is your responsibility.

The advantages of a home are:
- Abundant space. We have a full fledged home gym which is a pure luxury. And a lazy person like me will not work out otherwise
- Separate office space for each of us.
- Car parking for two or more cars inside the compound
- Can hold parties/gatherings as we did in the US
- On a per sqft basis, the home is less expensive.

[pvrk_usa]

pvrk

We did not want to go for independent houses at least initially due to security issues. We also felt new flats will have lesser maintenace and is more comfortable. The flat we moved in has all the woodwork and looks very spacious. There are 4 flats in one block which is what we wanted. Not too crowded but not too alone either.

All flats in our complex is full but I think our neighbour was planning to rent a duplex apt house BRAND NEW 1800 sq ft or so. It could be within 25-30K since ours is 24K per month. if you are very interested I can check with them.[/quote]

Thank you. Yes, I would be very intereted. Please email me the details at pvrk_usa/at yahoo

PVRK