THE COUNT DOWN has begun!! Bay Area to Chennai

punaragamanam · Post by **punaragamanam** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:26 pm

YES. Only less than 10 weeks before I board the plane to India on ONE WAY ticket.

I have been an avid reader of this forum for about a year now and it has provided me with wealth of information helping me crystallize my thought processes. Thanks to all of you.

Thought, may be, I should try to pen down some of my thoughts so that even if I do not add value to the forum, I could at least get some suggestions/comments that will evoke better thoughts

About me:
Recently got my GC
Applying for Re-Entry Permit before returning to India.
I am from Hyderabad but Moving to Chennai as our company has operations in Chennai.

Little bit of history:
Came to the US, after my Bachelors in Engineering, to pursue MS about 14 years ago. Came to the Bay Area looking for a job and found one. Survived about a dozen Lay Offs in two different companies through the DOT com and Real Estate bubbles. Enjoyed being single, seeing places with friends and being care free.
Then got Married and life was full of fun and Fulfillment. Saw most of US together with DW, used to have fun with friends during weekends mostly playing games (board games/playing cards etc) watching movies. After a while felt like we have been doing the same things over and over.
Then came our kids. Life was lot of fun with the kids in the house but as kids began to grow, I started to feel that kids are not having as much fun as I had when I was child, especially with grandparents/ Cousins and certainly during holidays and festivals. I will write about each of my feelings in the above and other cases in later posts.

Why R2I: Because I REALLY WANT TO. All the other reasons that I was coming up with such as ( in no particular order of importance)
- Kids time spent with Grand Parents
- Raise Kids in Indian Culture
- We being closer to our relatives
- Better growth in career when compared to US (Where my career seemed to have stagnated)
- Taking care of ageing parents
- Indian food
- Our festivals
- Get away from the monotony
- Not required to dress my kids silly for Halloween to go collect candies ( I never did it but had to find ways to avoid that). I apologize but I had to say this to get it out.
are used specifically to justify our decision rather than make one.

What I will miss if I leave US:
Beautiful Jogging Trails and parks
Drive to LA and back ( drove to LA about 26 times in last 10 years)
Pizza with Jalapenos (Pizza in India did not taste the same)

My family is already back in India. I will be moving back to Chennai in the first week of April after selling my Camry ( That?s the only valuable thing I am left with now). It?s amazing how I got rid of all the stuff that I had amassed in last 14 years in a matter of two weeks.
I would like to document my transition experiences so that it could give clarity to myself while writing them and a perspective to a few prospective R2Iers.

boca · Post by **boca** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:39 pm

punaragamanam;362256Thought, may be, I should try to pen down some of my thoughts so that even if I do not add value to the forum, I could at least get some suggestions/comments that will evoke better thoughts[/quote]
Every successful R2Ier is an MVP on this forum. :)

Good Luck! :thup:

Sid · Post by **Sid** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:47 pm

punaragamanam;362256It’s amazing how I got rid of all the stuff that I had amassed in last 14 years in a matter of two weeks.
I would like to document my transition experiences so that it could give clarity to myself while writing them and a perspective to a few prospective R2Iers.

Wow... great job. Can you write a bit about the getting rid of stuff part? Did you ship anything to India, at all? Or will it be setting up a home from scratch? It would be throughly exciting to do everything from scratch in India... and go for shopping in all the nice malls and places...

I'm already super excited for you :)

punaragamanam · Post by **punaragamanam** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 12:16 am

Thanks Sid_Earth,
I pretty much gave away or sold all the stuff I had and will be starting from scratch in India. I had thought about taking some of the stuff like the furniture ( had beautiful Leather Sofa Sets and Dining Table etc) but decided to buy new in India for two reasons
1. Financial: I sent my family back home about 6 months ago and I moved with some one sharing a room in their house ( so that I can save money on rent) and did not see financially viable to keep the furniture around until I move back
2. Logical/Logistical: I got some pointers from this forum that the furniture/beds (leather esp) from US might not suit well for Chennai weather felt reasonable enough to buy everything Indian ( read "available in India" and not necessarily "made in India" )

I have a 50'' Panasonic Plasma TV and Onkyo Recvr and Polk speakers still with me and still contemplating if I should take them with me but it appears I might give them away to my friends here than worrying about shipping them.

punaragamanam · Post by **punaragamanam** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 6:36 am

School for my Kid:
My daughter is 5 years old now and got her admitted in BalaVidyaMandir in Bollineni Hillside near sholinganallur in first standard. Apparantly they do not have exams till 5th grade which I am loving and I bet my daughter would too.

Does anyone have any opinions/comments on this school.

Accommodation: (Help please)
My office is located in Perungudi and since I got admission for my daughter in Sholinganallur(BVM Bollineni), I am looking for a place which is in between these two places and preferably closer to sholinganallur. Can anyone please suggest some good places to live?

I had visited Lancor constructions "Central park West" when I was in India in December 2010 and I liked the place but seemed little "upscale" to me.

I should elaborate on this one. One of the aspects I did not like about life in US for my kids was the kind of "Formal" nature of life where kids generally do not go out and play and also we feel that its not "Right" for the kids go knock at their friends house and I "suspect" that if the locality has neo rich families with mostly such notions then the life would again become more "formal".

Also, I am largely (not totally) against the idea of young kids playing video games and I suspect in the upscale environment, the likelyhood of flaunting of fancy gadgets by some kids which pushes other the kids and eventually us (parents) into the rat race of accumulating "fancy" things, is higher. So why am I writing all this.. just wanted to give a perspective of what kind of abode I am looking for.

I may be absolutely wrong in my notions/observation and I certainly do not know "Anything" about the "Central Park West" so please pardon me if I crossed the line somewhere. ( Central Park is not ruled out for me either) I would like to seek your suggestions on some good places to rent with 24 hours water supply, some play area for kids and great if there is a Gym in the complex. Again the purpose of this post is to seek list of apartment complexes between Sholinganallur and Perungudi as I am new to Chennai. Thanks in Advance...

poofygoogle · Post by **poofygoogle** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:26 am

If you choose near Perungudi, TVH Park Rozalia is in Perungudi and is a good option.
If you choose near Sholinganallur, Central Park should be fine. I have heard of Akashya Homes Adena, Adora etc but not sure if they are "ready to move in". Good luck with your move.

This thread will be helpful when you land in Chennai
http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/showthread.php/3574-Chennai-useful-links-Resources

back2desh · Post by **back2desh** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 1:11 pm

punaragamanam;362256YES. Only less than 10 weeks before I board the plane to India on ONE WAY ticket.
About me:
Recently got my GC
Applying for Re-Entry Permit before returning to India.

You provided very strong reasons to R2I but then why to add confusion about applying for Re-Entry Permit? Once you have the Re-Entry permit then when it is about to expire you may get into confused mode whether to come back to US to activate it again. I have couple of friends who exactly did the same by applying for Re-Entry Permit, two times they got it renewed and finally they came back to US (after staying for 3-4 years in India) to get the USC. Just my perspective.... no offense please... You have all the strong reasons to R2I so I wish you good luck with your move to India. The count is only going to go down :) All the best!

satbab · Post by **satbab** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:26 pm

Good Luck with your move. We are moving to Chennai around the same time frame from East Coast. My situation is very different from yours.
1. We are unable to sell our house still
2. We are unable to sell some of our furniture (we still have a little bit more time)
3. We are taking a container
4. We have bought a house in Chennai
5. Most importantly, the company that i am working with does not have operations in India..so i have to look for a job once I reach Chennai.

punaragamanam;362256YES. Only less than 10 weeks before I board the plane to India on ONE WAY ticket.

I have been an avid reader of this forum for about a year now and it has provided me with wealth of information helping me crystallize my thought processes. Thanks to all of you.

Thought, may be, I should try to pen down some of my thoughts so that even if I do not add value to the forum, I could at least get some suggestions/comments that will evoke better thoughts

About me:
Recently got my GC
Applying for Re-Entry Permit before returning to India.
I am from Hyderabad but Moving to Chennai as our company has operations in Chennai.

Little bit of history:
Came to the US, after my Bachelors in Engineering, to pursue MS about 14 years ago. Came to the Bay Area looking for a job and found one. Survived about a dozen Lay Offs in two different companies through the DOT com and Real Estate bubbles. Enjoyed being single, seeing places with friends and being care free.
Then got Married and life was full of fun and Fulfillment. Saw most of US together with DW, used to have fun with friends during weekends mostly playing games (board games/playing cards etc) watching movies. After a while felt like we have been doing the same things over and over.
Then came our kids. Life was lot of fun with the kids in the house but as kids began to grow, I started to feel that kids are not having as much fun as I had when I was child, especially with grandparents/ Cousins and certainly during holidays and festivals. I will write about each of my feelings in the above and other cases in later posts.

Why R2I: Because I REALLY WANT TO. All the other reasons that I was coming up with such as ( in no particular order of importance)
- Kids time spent with Grand Parents
- Raise Kids in Indian Culture
- We being closer to our relatives
- Better growth in career when compared to US (Where my career seemed to have stagnated)
- Taking care of ageing parents
- Indian food
- Our festivals
- Get away from the monotony
- Not required to dress my kids silly for Halloween to go collect candies ( I never did it but had to find ways to avoid that). I apologize but I had to say this to get it out.
are used specifically to justify our decision rather than make one.

What I will miss if I leave US:
Beautiful Jogging Trails and parks
Drive to LA and back ( drove to LA about 26 times in last 10 years)
Pizza with Jalapenos (Pizza in India did not taste the same)

My family is already back in India. I will be moving back to Chennai in the first week of April after selling my Camry ( That’s the only valuable thing I am left with now). It’s amazing how I got rid of all the stuff that I had amassed in last 14 years in a matter of two weeks.
I would like to document my transition experiences so that it could give clarity to myself while writing them and a perspective to a few prospective R2Iers.

punaragamanam · Post by **punaragamanam** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 4:54 am

poofygoogle;362345If you choose near Perungudi, TVH Park Rozalia is in Perungudi and is a good option.
If you choose near Sholinganallur, Central Park should be fine. I have heard of Akashya Homes Adena, Adora etc but not sure if they are "ready to move in". Good luck with your move.

This thread will be helpful when you land in Chennai
http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/showthread.php/3574-Chennai-useful-links-Resources

Hi PoofyGoogle,
Thanks for this info. Very useful and I am sure I will be referring to this quite regularly when I land in Chennai.

punaragamanam · Post by **punaragamanam** » Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:03 am

satbab;362369Good Luck with your move. We are moving to Chennai around the same time frame from East Coast.

5. Most importantly, the company that i am working with does not have operations in India..so i have to look for a job once I reach Chennai.

Thank you and I Wish you all the best with your move too.
I am in no position to advise but I believe whether in US or in India, we will be in a better bargaining position for the job/salary if we have a job ( Perhaps its largely psychological but still...), so Have to considered taking a break/vacation and go look for jobs after may be one or two visits to India rather than taking a plunge.