[93000BHP]

welcome to chennai
Yes oragadam is far from chennai but should be able to find decent accomodation as there are many apartments there.
yes it is hot during summer but not that bad..
Dont worry about the language either.... you might even pickup tamil in a year

[thoma]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

I always find it funny that people complain about heat in chennai, nobody dies from heat-stroke in chennai.

True about the heat-stroke. With my 1.5 yrs stay in Chennai, I felt that the difference is the 'uncomfortable' factor, not just the heat. I agree we have more humid places in the form of Cochin, but in Cochin you will be bathing in sweat and can be relieved by a shade or a wind while in Chennai I felt sticky all the time; even the nights were relentless which was not the case elsewhere. Long time back, had been a month at the Dalli-Rajhara township, near the coal mines in the summer. Felt like my face is going to be baked while traveling in a non-A/C vehicle.

Please do not feel like Chennai bashing, I just spoke my heart out on the climate. I thoroughly enjoy Chennai food, even miss it. Hated the road sense there, Velachery was total chaos. Infrastructure is good. And as everywhere, autowhalas fleece unaware passengers. Language is not much of a problem, most of the people follow English.

[arvind71181]

Originally Posted by Tejas Ingle

Thanks a lot for your warm welcome and prompt replies. This has made a clearer picture in my mind. My immediate concern now is that I am moving into Chennai in the 'hottest' period of the year. So I will try to find out an A/C accommodation. Language seems to be another problem, but lets hope it is manageable. Everything else looks quiet adaptable.
I almost forgot about the food. While it is clear that I will have to rely on Dosa items which I am absolutely comfortable with; but is it possible to find non-South-Indian foods for a change?
How is the traffic and the road sense among the masses there? Would it be required to re-register my vehicle? Or I can manage without it since I'll be moving back some time in future?

Why cant I find the 'Thanks' button?

Welcome to Chennai. You can find north Indian food but am not sure if it will be available near Oragadam. You might have to search a bit for that though. Traffic and road sense should be similar to other metro cities of India - chaotic and irritating most of the times

You say your work place is Oragadam - Nissan is it (wild guess )

[Tejas Ingle]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Regarding north Indian food- Of course yes- there are lots of options available.

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Welcome to Chennai. You can find north Indian food but am not sure if it will be available near Oragadam.
Traffic and road sense should be similar to other metro cities of India - chaotic and irritating most of the times

You say your work place is Oragadam - Nissan is it (wild guess )

So I have no worries about the food, which is most important. I will be working in Bharat-Benz, supporting Mercedes-Benz. What is the location of the plant?

Originally Posted by 93000BHP

welcome to chennai
Yes oragadam is far from chennai but should be able to find decent accomodation as there are many apartments there.
yes it is hot during summer but not that bad..
Dont worry about the language either.... you might even pickup tamil in a year

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

I always find it funny that people complain about heat in chennai, nobody dies from heat-stroke in chennai. I have lived in north (by chennai standards ) India and you can die if you go out in summer without protection.

Originally Posted by thoma

True about the heat-stroke. With my 1.5 yrs stay in Chennai, I felt that the difference is the 'uncomfortable' factor, not just the heat. I agree we have more humid places in the form of Cochin, but in Cochin you will be bathing in sweat and can be relieved by a shade or a wind while in Chennai I felt sticky all the time; even the nights were relentless which was not the case elsewhere.
Hated the road sense there, Velachery was total chaos. Infrastructure is good. And as everywhere, autowhalas fleece unaware passengers. Language is not much of a problem, most of the people follow English.

Relieved by the fact that I wont die of heat there . But A/C would be a must. Language too doesnt seem to be a major problem. How is the bus service? Is it reliable?

[shyamk]

Get a house in Velachery-Guindy areas. Since they are a part of the corporation, you need not worry about drainage and water supply. More often than not, it would already be there and that would reduce your apartment maintenance bill. It would also put you in a better place with respect to schools, amenities, utilities.

Since you mentioned Oragadam as your place of work, I presume you would leave early to work and return early from work. Oragadam to Vandalur is a breeze to drive. Four laned road with medians. From Vandalur, you can get to Velachery through Pallavaram radial road.

Of course, you could also take a house along the Chennai one bypass route (Porur or Ramapuram) areas, in which case you can take the Chennai one bypass and vadalur route to get to oragadam easily.

As for moving in and around Chennai, as much as possible, get a phone with google maps, and spend sometime picking up alternate routes to your destination.

In any city in India, there are always hundreds of back roads to a destination. Try to take them once in a while and you will be surprised by the amount of time that you save in commuting.

I have a friend of mine who lives in Kodambakkam and commutes to Oragadam. He takes a train to Perungulathur station, and then his bike from that station where he has taken up overnight parking. The total traveling time for him is around 60 minutes irrespective of the time of the day he leaves home or office.

Shyam

[vinair]

Chennai, or the outskirts, man you will love the place!!

One very important thing to remember, respect the local customs and practices and do not be aggressive (we southies hate it!! ). All the best for your long stay!!

[callvvijay]

Originally Posted by shyamk

Get a house in Velachery-Guindy areas. Since they are a part of the corporation, you need not worry about drainage and water supply. More often than not, it would already be there and that would reduce your apartment maintenance bill. It would also put you in a better place with respect to schools, amenities, utilities.

Since you mentioned Oragadam as your place of work, I presume you would leave early to work and return early from work. Oragadam to Vandalur is a breeze to drive. Four laned road with medians. From Vandalur, you can get to Velachery through Pallavaram radial road.

Of course, you could also take a house along the Chennai one bypass route (Porur or Ramapuram) areas, in which case you can take the Chennai one bypass and vadalur route to get to oragadam easily.

As for moving in and around Chennai, as much as possible, get a phone with google maps, and spend sometime picking up alternate routes to your destination.

In any city in India, there are always hundreds of back roads to a destination. Try to take them once in a while and you will be surprised by the amount of time that you save in commuting.

I have a friend of mine who lives in Kodambakkam and commutes to Oragadam. He takes a train to Perungulathur station, and then his bike from that station where he has taken up overnight parking. The total traveling time for him is around 60 minutes irrespective of the time of the day he leaves home or office.

Shyam

C'mon! Are you serious in suggesting this? You are asking Tejas to stay in Velachery which is 20kms from Vandalur (taking either the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam road or Velachery-Tambaram road). And then from Vandalur to Oragadam is another 30kms.

And going by your second suggestion - Porur to Vandalur is again ~20kms.

So, it will be 100kms up and down daily!

[shyamk]

Vandalur to oragadam is 18km. Yeah, it is a mini Bombay travel feel ;-)

Shyam

[ampere]

Guys, just out of curiosity, is Oragadam a big sub-urb now?
I only knew it as a industrial area. So have residential areas also popped up?

I also remember some one mentioning that Vandalur to Oragadam is a 6-lane road. (Data from memory. So correct me if its wrong).

So if Oragadam is a sub-urb, wont it help to stay there itself if some one is working there?

[Tejas Ingle]

Guys, wherever I stay, It shouldn't be another world. I have to have a mini life for myself even on the weekdays after work. I don't want to be leaving the house at 6am and return at 9pm. I don't mind if it is away from civilization since I can make up for it with 2 weekly offs.

[Tejas Ingle]

Hello Friends,
The latest development is that I will have to sit at Delhi regional office and Chennai will remain my base. So now I have to worry about shifting to Delhi. I have been to Delhi before and am roughly familiar to this place.
I had been to Chennai though for induction and stayed there for a week. Initially I stayed at a hotel in Velachery and later shifted to a Guindy to save a few minutes. At both the places I found amazing food. Had no language problem as most people atleast understood English. Many others could also speak Hindi. The fares quoted by the ricky's were very high but I managed to bargain them to reasonably high. Chennai was hot as expected but it was bearable. Getting in and out of the A/C in the afternoon was a pain though. Whatever I saw of Oragadam was all industrial area and I don't think there would be any residential location there.
Couldn't visit places due to my packed schedule. The only place I visited in my 5 days stay was the Phoenix mall, Velachery. Its a huge mall but somehow it was scarcely crowded.
I had a good time in Chennai. Since my headquarters will now be Chennai, I will be visiting on occasions and am looking forward to explore the city.

[simran]

Hi,

I will be shifting to Chennai in August. My office is in Perungudi, and I am thinking of staying at Siruseri. One of my friends stays at Hiranandani and has recommended that place.

I am looking to stay at a place which has a school nearby, and has more cosmopolitan crowd. Please suggest other places where I can stay.

Also, how easy / difficult is it with out of station cars?

TIA,
Simran

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by simran

Hi,

I will be shifting to Chennai in August. My office is in Perungudi, and I am thinking of staying at Siruseri. One of my friends stays at Hiranandani and has recommended that place.

I am looking to stay at a place which has a school nearby, and has more cosmopolitan crowd. Please suggest other places where I can stay.

Also, how easy / difficult is it with out of station cars?

TIA,
Simran

Hi. I was in the same boat last year. Have moved to hiranandani siruseri . My office too is in RMz millennia perungudi. I also moved in with my ka registered car but touch wood, no issues till now

[tanwaramit]

Hi BHPians,

Bumping up the thread for information. Same question, North Indian relocating to Chennai.

No other place to get info other than team-bhp with lots of BHPians lived and living in Chennai, I am placing my bets on information from here only.

Place of office - Mandiaveli

Please do suggest the following as per your experience.

1. Best place to stay for a family (2 BHK, Apartment with car parking)
2. Approx rentals and deposit rates
3. Any suggestions/pointers for house (someone has any reference)
4. Nearby Schools (preferably CBSE and kid will have tough time learning Tamil for state board)
5. I understand Electricity is better, any need to bring inverter?
6. Drinking and bathing Water during summer season, hope the area of living wont have problems for that.

These are primary questions, will bump up with more questions as they come to my mind.

[hyper-VTEC]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

2. Approx rentals and deposit rates
A good apartment with covered car parking will be upward of INR 22000 with a minimum deposit of 1 lakh. Deposit amount depends on the house owner.

5. I understand Electricity is better, any need to bring inverter?
Electricity is better? Who told you. It was just for the elections. Normal power cuts are already back and nowadays there are also unscheduled power cuts. Since you have kids, you need a inverter.

6. Drinking and bathing Water during summer season, hope the area of living wont have problems for that.
Water table level depends on area to area. I stay near East Coast Road, very near to the beach. There is a scarcity of water around 2 months of the year and you need to depend on tankers. Quality of water is okay, however you'll need RO for drinking water, unless you want the cans. But can supply becomes unstable in summer. There is lot of salt in water, being a coastal area. I wash my car in RO water.

Tried to answer some generic questions based on my 2 year stint in Chennai.