R2I - London >> Bangalore

[londonbangalore2]

Background:
We are a family of 4, daughter is 4 years old and my son is 7 months. We have been living in London since 2004, got UK citizenship back in 2011 and only got the OCI sorted last year. Both of us work in technology sector in Sales/Client Servicing roles. I belong to Ahmedabad and wife is from Delhi.

Why R2I:
Like 90% of folks here, we are moving for what a hihgly developed western country cannot give to us INdian's regardless of the great quality of life, security, materialistic gains etc - family and extended family's love and company, connectedness to the place - i never felt British. Old parents, opportunity for our kids to grow up with our large extended family, live a good life that money can buy in India compared to the slog it is in UK regardless of how much you earn.

Location:
When DW and I started discussing the move, it was clear- the only place we felt we could live in India would be Bangalore. Great weather (almost), expat and NRI friendly areas, opportunities in tech sector, we have close friends in the city.

Planning:
I highly recommend anyone thinking of moving back to India is to give at least 12-18 months of planning on the financial side by making sound investments in India if you can (MF's SIPs, assets, etc). This planning will help take away any financial woes when the move happens and frankly the rate of returns are superior in Indian markets compared to UK and Europe for sure. We also made a point to go to Bangalore recently on our trip to India to get a feel for the city, both of us have visited Bangalore in our early years but the city has changed greatly - we stayed for a week each in North and South Bangalore to appreciate the pro's and cons - we decided to move to South Bangalore due to the quality of infra (HSR, ORR), friends in the area, expat friendly, closer to Bangalore city. As far as renting a place, we visited as many as 20 flats while in bangalore with a view to zero in on apartment complexes we will go and live eventually in July. Our final choice of complexes are below, some insight into why these are a good choice for anyone looking to rent a 3BHK flat in Sarjapur/ORR

Divyashree Elan - ORR (1800-2000 sqft flats)
Family friendly complex, established community, pharmacy, convenience store within the complex, large airy flats - has all facilities that you would want from a Tier A complex or gated community (gym, pool, sports courts, gardens and much more)

Sattva Senorita (opp wipro ORR) (1800-2000 sqft flats)
Really nice complex, only 2 years old and next to Satva Sancity which is around 5-7 years old. Large and airy flats, high end construction, all facilities as above

Sobha CLassic and Sobha Eternia (Harlur road)
great location, off the ORR but well connected, near to the lake - if you are on the top floors (above7th) great views of the lake. sobha construction is one of the best, well planned apartments all facilities as expected.

School:
We visited several schools in STH Bangalore including DPS East,Greenwood High, Harvest International - we liked Harvest International a lot and have got our daughter admission for July 2018 start.
check the link out for more info - http://www.harvestinternationalschool.in/

IN planning:
Job - no opp to move with my company so will be resigning closer to move date, plan to take a small break when i land in india to settle family and then start looking for opportunities - again not worried about work as have thought of finances wel and can run things for at least a year. On my recent trip to Bangalore I met several of my frnds who told me there are good opps in sales roles in Blore within tech sector (cloud services, MSP) so something will work out.
Shipping - we are not keen to ship a whole lot out to India as we will be giving our house on rent in London, the upside of living here is that rental markets are very strong (average 8-10% yield) and property market appreciation has been strong over the past decade. We will be giving the house furnished except taking our leather sofas and loungers, mirrors and art and clothing - easier to buy rest of the stuff in India and have the local warranty in place.
Cars - Plan to sell our cars over next few months and that would pay off a decent saloon car for us when we land. I btw was driving in Bangalore recently using zoomcar and had no issues so keen to continue doing so, also uber is really good and convenient which we will use a lot too.


Well that is it for now, will keep my progress penned on the forum in the coming months.

KS