Where to live in hyderabad after R2I.

[kavitaekk]

:confused:

Hi everyone,

I have joined the R2I community few weeks back and highly impressed the way people are sharing their thoughts and experiences. I have been in US for 8 years and planning to move back to my hometown hyderabad in 2-3 years. Before moving back, I want to make sure my husband & I decide the location where we would be staying. We have purchased couple of plots in the past, but not interested to build anything in any one of them. Our plan is to buy a plot near to the IT job location and construct a home OR buy a house/apartment in a community.
Reading the various experiences, I am not sure what would be the best thing to do. Currently we are living in a townhouse in NJ. The main reason to buy a townhouse rather than a single family was to have a social network around us. In Hyderabad, since I have lot of network I feel that a independent house would be perfect. But my husband has not stayed in hyderabad (he was brought up in Maharastra since my father in law worked there. After retiring my inlaws have moved to hyderabad. So, the whole family on both sides are in hyderabad), his unfamilarity with the city and the culture, his stay in US around 15 years , I am not sure if independent house (not in a community) is a best idea.

Please advise.

[mahipalc]

Best thing to do would be to rent an apartment in a nice gated community. Live there for a year or so before building a house. Moving to a good community among like minded people takes care of half the R2I. A couple of such comminities are L&T, Myhome, Jayabheri etc. They all have 4 br flats with close to 3000 sft adn above sizes, so entertaining shouldnt be an issue.

[kavitaekk]

Thanks mahipalc. I like the idea to move to a apartment before construction a house. Any idea, what is the rent for these 4 bdr flat now?

[mahipalc]

Thanks mahipalc. I like the idea to move to a apartment before construction a house. Any idea, what is the rent for these 4 bdr flat now?

I know about L&t, it ranges from 25k to 30k + 4k maintenance. I think Myhome is slightly higher.

[KirKS]

Kavita -
A few pointers for you to make up your decision.

- Hyderabad is a very cosmopolitan & 'outsider' friendly city. Your husband wouldn't have any problem if he can manage basic Telugu words & good Hindi.
- Definitely live in an apartment. You can rent a 3 BR semi-furnished apartment easily for 15-25K range based on the area within the city. I did for 1 year after R2I and I was not from Andhra Pradesh originally.
- Most IT jobs are located in the center of the city (Begumpet, Ameerpet & surroundings) or south western or western areas (HITEC). There's very little in the northern parts of Secunderabad, eastern areas around Dilshuknagar or southern old city area. The most happening place for IT is in the south west to west corridor around the ring roads.
- In terms of life, if you want to live like among mostly Telugu folks, then center of the city (Srinagar colony, Jubilee hills, Somajiguda kind) are good. In real outer suburbs, there's hardly any 'local' culture as it's just like any gated community anywhere else in a metro. You pick what kind of lifestyle you need. If you have lots of relatives, then think about that also.
- But one thing is sure. Avoid anything more than 45 minutes of one way commute to work. Even with Hyderabad traffic better than most metros, it's after all India. Keep your presence on the road to the minimum.
- Go to an apartment complex or gated community where at least 60% of the flats are already occupied. Keep safety always at a higher level. By and large it's a very safe city, but you don't want to take chances.
- 4BR is rare and only at higher end places. The more higher end you go, the more alienated you become from the hustle & bustle of the 'regular' Hyderabad. Your choice.. Personally, I prefer to live right in the middle of lots of people, but some people prefer calm surroundings, even if a bit inconvenient to run quickly to buy that milk or curd packet.

Hope enough for you to start thinking about a location.

[kavitaekk]

Thanks KirKS for the detailed information. Few more questions based on your inputs...

Kavita -
A few pointers for you to make up your decision.

- Hyderabad is a very cosmopolitan & 'outsider' friendly city. Your husband wouldn't have any problem if he can manage basic Telugu words & good Hindi.
- Definitely live in an apartment. You can rent a 3 BR semi-furnished apartment easily for 15-25K range based on the area within the city. I did for 1 year after R2I and I was not from Andhra Pradesh originally.
3 Bedroom should be enough for my small family. We have a 7 month daughter. Planning to return to hyderabad when she is around 3 years old. Are you based in hyderabad now. Please suggest communities which are near to good schools
- Most IT jobs are located in the center of the city (Begumpet, Ameerpet & surroundings) or south western or western areas (HITEC). There's very little in the northern parts of Secunderabad, eastern areas around Dilshuknagar or southern old city area. The most happening place for IT is in the south west to west corridor around the ring roads.
- In terms of life, if you want to live like among mostly Telugu folks, then center of the city (Srinagar colony, Jubilee hills, Somajiguda kind) are good. In real outer suburbs, there's hardly any 'local' culture as it's just like any gated community anywhere else in a metro. You pick what kind of lifestyle you need. If you have lots of relatives, then think about that also.
Based on views & lifestyle, we dont want to confine to only telugu folks..
- But one thing is sure. Avoid anything more than 45 minutes of one way commute to work. Even with Hyderabad traffic better than most metros, it's after all India. Keep your presence on the road to the minimum.
Completely agree that the commute time should be less. We prefer to stay as near to the job location (like 1-2 kms away). Any suggestions which places might be good and economical.
- Go to an apartment complex or gated community where at least 60% of the flats are already occupied. Keep safety always at a higher level. By and large it's a very safe city, but you don't want to take chances.
- 4BR is rare and only at higher end places. The more higher end you go, the more alienated you become from the hustle & bustle of the 'regular' Hyderabad. Your choice.. Personally, I prefer to live right in the middle of lots of people, but some people prefer calm surroundings, even if a bit inconvenient to run quickly to buy that milk or curd packet.

Hope enough for you to start thinking about a location.

[mahipalc]

Kavita -
A few pointers for you to make up your decision.

- Hyderabad is a very cosmopolitan & 'outsider' friendly city. Your husband wouldn't have any problem if he can manage basic Telugu words & good Hindi.
- Definitely live in an apartment. You can rent a 3 BR semi-furnished apartment easily for 15-25K range based on the area within the city. I did for 1 year after R2I and I was not from Andhra Pradesh originally.
- Most IT jobs are located in the center of the city (Begumpet, Ameerpet & surroundings) or south western or western areas (HITEC). There's very little in the northern parts of Secunderabad, eastern areas around Dilshuknagar or southern old city area. The most happening place for IT is in the south west to west corridor around the ring roads.
- In terms of life, if you want to live like among mostly Telugu folks, then center of the city (Srinagar colony, Jubilee hills, Somajiguda kind) are good. In real outer suburbs, there's hardly any 'local' culture as it's just like any gated community anywhere else in a metro. You pick what kind of lifestyle you need. If you have lots of relatives, then think about that also.
- But one thing is sure. Avoid anything more than 45 minutes of one way commute to work. Even with Hyderabad traffic better than most metros, it's after all India. Keep your presence on the road to the minimum.
- Go to an apartment complex or gated community where at least 60% of the flats are already occupied. Keep safety always at a higher level. By and large it's a very safe city, but you don't want to take chances.
- 4BR is rare and only at higher end places. The more higher end you go, the more alienated you become from the hustle & bustle of the 'regular' Hyderabad. Your choice.. Personally, I prefer to live right in the middle of lots of people, but some people prefer calm surroundings, even if a bit inconvenient to run quickly to buy that milk or curd packet.
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Hope enough for you to start thinking about a location.

Good points, but I dont agree with the point that 4 br are limited only to high end communities. As far as I know, all the newer gated communities have 4 br apartments. We are renting a 4 br in L&T which I dont consider a high end community, nor is it alienated from the city. 5 mins to Inorbit, all major IT companies within 10 mins drive, and 15 mins to Jubilee Hills. Same is the case with several upcoming communites like Ramky, NCC etc.

For some reason I got the impression from the original post that size of the house was important. Otherwise a 3 br is sufficient for a family of 3, and can be found for around 18-22k in good communites. Here are some communities to consider and the rents in them for a 3 br apartment.

Hill Ridge (IVRCL) - 18 - 20K
L&T - 19k - 22k
Aparna Heights (Kondapur, next to Chirec School) 17 - 20k
Several other stand alone communities in that area 15 - 18k

[kavitaekk]

Mahipalc,

Since you are renting now, what are the best schools near L&T. Also, is there a water problem in the L&T apartments..

Good points, but I dont agree with the point that 4 br are limited only to high end communities. As far as I know, all the newer gated communities have 4 br apartments. We are renting a 4 br in L&T which I dont consider a high end community, nor is it alienated from the city. 5 mins to Inorbit, all major IT companies within 10 mins drive, and 15 mins to Jubilee Hills. Same is the case with several upcoming communites like Ramky, NCC etc.

For some reason I got the impression from the original post that size of the house was important. Otherwise a 3 br is sufficient for a family of 3, and can be found for around 18-22k in good communites. Here are some communities to consider and the rents in them for a 3 br apartment.

Hill Ridge (IVRCL) - 18 - 20K
L&T - 19k - 22k
Aparna Heights (Kondapur, next to Chirec School) 17 - 20k
Several other stand alone communities in that area 15 - 18k

[sokaji]

Rents quoted to me last month were:

Aparna Heights: 30K for 3BHK on 10 floor. Living room balcony had good view. Flat was in good condition with AC in all rooms, but restrooms were unkept and horrible.

Hill Ridge: 22K for 3BHK also on 10th floor. Nice flat but commute was a longer for me.

Oakridge will be the close to L n T. It has IB program which some schools in the US follow. All fees including 1-time fees for first yr for PP2 came to 8000USD so I passed on it.

[kavitaekk]

Thanks everyone for the valuable information.