R2I - Navi Mumbai - vishwaGhar

vishwaGhar · Post by **vishwaGhar** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:24 am

Household help and Drivers
Househelp help is still acquired the old fashioned way i.e. through your network of acquaintances. Sorry, there are still no "Merry Maids" type of outfits here though there are some businesses along similar lines that are starting up at least in the major cities. You have the option of getting a background check and registration done with your local police station for that added piece of mind if you so desire. Typical costs for household help range from Rs. 400 to Rs. 1500 per month depending on the amount of work and the frequency.

Drivers are also identified the old fashioned way. Typical costs range from Rs. 5000 - Rs. 7000 per month depending on the city, the type of car and the experience level of the driver for 10 hours of work per day Monday thru Saturday. Drivers also expect 1 months' salary as a Diwali bonus (if they last long enough :) ) Your driver can also double up as an "errand boy" when you need to get things done while you are busy slogging it out in the office.

Your watchman will be more than happy to wash the car every day for Rs. 200 - Rs. 300 per month depending on the size of the car.

Car, Home and Health Insurance
Since there is not much to describe here, I will just highlight some of the differences between what you are used to in the US and what you get here.

a. Car Insurance: Even though the coverages are similar to what you get in the US, one key difference is that in India it is still difficult to recover damages when the other party is at fault. As a result of this, you end up claiming everything on your own policy. On the positive side, there does not seem to be a points system in place so your insurance premium does not shoot up when you are involved in an accident.

b. Home Insurance: There seem to be 2 types of policies that are available - structure and contents. The "structure" policy covers you when your home is damaged by everything from fire to earthquakes with most companies not covering "terrorism". The "contents" policy covers all the items inside the home for losses due to theft, fire, etc. If you are living in a flat, it is more cost effective to get the "structure" part handled through your society with a policy for the whole building. For the "contents" part most flat owners buy individual policies - cost being dependent on the value of the items you are covering.

c. Health Insurance: The health insurance policies in India do not cover regular doctor's visits, OPD charges, etc. Blood tests, X-rays, MRI, drugs, etc. are covered only if you are hospitalized. The policies that are available here are similar to the "major medical" policies in the US. Most policies will provide "cashless" transactions at hospitals that are "within their network". If you are working for a company, you will have the option of subscribing through your company's group policy for you + spouse + children + parents. You may also have the option of buying additonal coverage by paying some extra premium. The medical expenses that are not covered by the policies are tax deductible up to certain limits, so make sure you keep the prescriptions and receipts handy at tax time.

Doctors and Medical Care
The best way to find good, reliable doctors seems to be to find them by plain word of mouth. Friends, relatives, neighbours and colleagues are a good source of information. Once you have zeroed in on your list of doctors, you can check their credentials online for peace of mind. Here's a link to one of my posts that talks about this:
http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/showthread.php/17633-Find-out-your-doctor-s-credentials?p=268600

Regular doctor's visits cost from Rs. 100 to Rs. 250 per visit. Specialists - especially ones affiliated with hospitals - charge more typically between Rs. 350 to Rs. 650 based on their area of specialization.

Hospitalization tends to get very expensive with major surgeries costing Rs. 1 Lakh and upwards depending on the type of surgery and the hospital to which you are admitted. Getting a health insurance policy that covers hospitalization is highly recommended. The quality of most medium to high-end hospitals is now comparable to the ones in the West.

That's all I can think of for now. Feel free to point out areas that I may have missed out so I can cover them in subsequent posts.

navi · Post by **navi** » Tue Mar 16, 2010 7:02 am

I am planning my return home to navi mumbai (kharghar) as well with my family but so far I have not found a job that got my attention as interesting enough to apply. can you share some good IT company names around navi mumbai?

vishwaGhar · Post by **vishwaGhar** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:18 pm

Hi navi,

There are several IT companies with offices in Navi Mumbai. The large ones that come to mind are Patni, Mastek, Hexaware, L&T Infotech, etc. There are several smaller ones too in the area. Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the best way is to leverage your network to find something suitable. Hiring was on hold for a long time, but it looks like it has started picking up in a "cautiously optimistic" fashion lately.

Please PM me some more info about your background and I can ask around to see if there is anything for someone with your experience.

HTH

Regards
vishwa

kitkat · Post by **kitkat** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:57 pm

Very informative posts. What are some of the good schools in Navi Mumbai for kids from US? I would like to move to Navi Mumbai too but not sure about schooling and other extra curricular activities available in that area.

vishwaGhar · Post by **vishwaGhar** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:21 am

kitkat;269775Very informative posts. What are some of the good schools in Navi Mumbai for kids from US? I would like to move to Navi Mumbai too but not sure about schooling and other extra curricular activities available in that area.

Hi kitkat,

There are several schools in Navi Mumbai depending on where you will be residing and the type of school you would like your child to attend. Here is a representative list:

Airoli: St. Xavier's, DAV, New Horizon
Koparkhairane: St. Mary's, North Point
Vashi: Fr. Agnel, St. Mary's, St. Lawrence, Avalon Heights, Goldcrest High (supposedly started by Vilasrao Deshmukh)
Sanpada: Seventh Day Adventist, Sadhu Vaswani International
Nerul/Seawoods: Ryan International, DPS, Apeejay
Kharghar: Ryan International

Most schools also have a school bus facility that can be availed of if you do not live near the school.

A lot of the schools have facilities for extra curricular activities either as a part of the curriculum or after hours. You will have to check with each school. Plus there are several private offerings for art, craft, music, dance, etc. For sports, there are 2 gymkhanas in Vashi and one in Nerul. There are rumors of golf courses being planned in Nerul/Seawoods and Kharghar (I will believe them when I see them in operation :) )

HTH

Regards
vishwa

gurusw · Post by **gurusw** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 9:25 pm

Hi vishwaGhar,

I am wondering which bank account did you keep in USA? (was it BofA, DCU,...)

Also how hard was it to get your daughter admitted in KG in the middle of the year? Were lot of schools entertaining you? Did you pay any donation? TIA.