Amazing India

[Returning_Indian]

There are certain things I love about India as I cannot replicate them in west. I certainly do not miss doing chores. There maids who come and do the dishes, clean house, toilet, dusting, making beds, wash clothes, send them to iron, chopping vegetables, cleaning kitchen, loading pantry, fridge, taking out trash. You name it and it gets done for fraction of the cost. If I wish, the only time I have to get out of bed in a day is when maid has to clean the bed. I absolutely love this luxury.
Delivery speed is very high. Sometimes within 5mins. I don't know how blinkit and Zepto do it. There is a society shop within the community. It takes me more time to go there and get things than it does for these guys to deliver and it's only 200 steps away from my building. This has made me extremely lazy. I have not seen a grocery store since I have landed here and I am happy about that. We do not keep namkin/biscuit at home anymore as it takes 5mins for them to deliver and we do not have urge to nimble that junk at home. So when a guest comes, we just order on the spot. Amazon fresh has same pricing as my society shop but it does take them couple of hours.
Zomato is both a boon and curse. It has made ordering food little too easy and at any hour of the day things are available. For foodie like me, I can order all the tasty food at a click of a button. This can get out of hand very easily as it's too convenient to order from outside. Plus you get to order your favorite food that suits your taste buds. But it will be very unhealthy to eat outside everyday. I try to limit it to once a week. But my sweet tooth gives in many times especially for Indian sweets and some fancy indianized version of western sweets. Creativity is simply amazing.
Medicines are delivered via app or if you simply whatsapp nearby shop. I like this convenience. Testing is done home itself. Physios, nurses, doctors all can come home. This is indeed a blessing for people in old age. You can get a nurse full time at home.
With all the new highways that are built, especially in Delhi/NCR and it's connectivity to areas around, it's a breeze to move around. You just have to manage to avoid peak hours. Roads built by central govt NHAI are of high quality and very high speed. Unfortunately, they have adopted western style of speed cameras on these highways and you get a ticket automatically. Paying toll is a breeze now due to fastag. They are planning to even get rid of toll plaza and deduct via gprs system.
I get to meet my parents many times a month. This is indeed a blessing for me as they do miss the kids as they get older. My mother always starts crying as soon as she hears about any plans to got outside again. Having the ability to meet grandchildren whenever she wishes. I get to meet my relatives even during smallest of occasions like birthday and anniversary.
I have rebooted my friend circle and it's same fun as last time with late night hang outs.
Festivals and the vibes is something that cannot be replicated anywhere in the world. The way women dress, follow rituals, temples, it's absolutely amazing. It feels home.
I have adopted the same routine from West of walking in morning. I walk 10kms a day thanks to the competition/motivation within our society's fitness enthusiasts. There are also fancy gyms filled with corporate crowd. People really are becoming more and more concious, thanks to WhatsApp University.

[Returning_Indian]

I wasn't sure if this belongs in amazing or not but property prices in Gurgaon have shot up like crazy since wuhan virus epidemic. 3bhk flat which was 1.5cr is now 5cr and there are not enough sellers. I don't know where the wealth came from and who is buying. But this has always been the case in Gurgaon. I always wondered how property prices are so high even at 1.5cr. I guess it doesn't take significant population to become rich. Only a few can manage the price ceiling.
All new launches near to where I live are starting from 5cr for 2bhk flat now and agents are selling standing outside the supposed locality. 5cr has become a new 1cr I guess. Back in 2010 I saw a flat for 5cr and it was ultra luxurious. That too on main golf course road. I thought it was meant for celebrities and now you get 2bhk for that price. I guess when dlf is selling inbuilt flats for 100cr then it does raise the price for everyone. All of this is just mind numbing to me.

[nodegree]

I wasn't sure if this belongs in amazing or not but property prices in Gurgaon have shot up like crazy since wuhan virus epidemic. 3bhk flat which was 1.5cr is now 5cr and there are not enough sellers. I don't know where the wealth came from and who is buying. But this has always been the case in Gurgaon. I always wondered how property prices are so high even at 1.5cr. I guess it doesn't take significant population to become rich. Only a few can manage the price ceiling.
All new launches near to where I live are starting from 5cr for 2bhk flat now and agents are selling standing outside the supposed locality. 5cr has become a new 1cr I guess. Back in 2010 I saw a flat for 5cr and it was ultra luxurious. That too on main golf course road. I thought it was meant for celebrities and now you get 2bhk for that price. I guess when dlf is selling inbuilt flats for 100cr then it does raise the price for everyone. All of this is just mind numbing to me.

I think this is a trend that I've observed across all big cities in India. The prices skyrocketed and your observation seems to be right i.e. it only takes a few people in India getting wealthy to push the prices.

[nodegree]

One nice thing I liked in India so far is that a number of medical lab collections (like blood/urine samples) are done directly at your home. It is a small convenience indeed, but very useful to avoid scheduling and going to the clinic when you're juggling multiple kids etc.,

[SAPPORO]

One nice thing I liked in India so far is that a number of medical lab collections (like blood/urine samples) are done directly at your home. It is a small convenience indeed, but very useful to avoid scheduling and going to the clinic when you're juggling multiple kids etc.,

It depends on the health insurance. I do have the option of home health checkups with my current plan.
At-home sample collection is available as well without insurance thru services like Quest mobile. It's a question of convenience and how much we are willing to pay for that convenience.

[anewwave]

@Sapporo

I seem to remember you from the old forum. Are you back in India now? Which part, if you don't mind sharing?

[SAPPORO]

@Sapporo

I seem to remember you from the old forum. Are you back in India now? Which part, if you don't mind sharing?

Not yet, but might R2I after the US elections depending on the outcome.

[Srini234]

Saaporo - R2I india .... thats pleasant message... are

[SAPPORO]

Saaporo - R2I india .... thats pleasant message... are

No, not permanently. maybe for longer durations like 2-3 months a year.

[wd40]

The things that attract me to India regardless of its problems:
1)Geo arbitrage. This is a big one. I was always fascinated about this concept of money, where the timing of earning and the timing of spending can be pushed apart. This is thanks of financialization and being a financial markets guy, I had to make use of this feature. The formula I used is: 1 year of work in a high income country like Singapore = 2 years of work in a low cost country like India. So 15 years of working in Singapore = 30 years of working in India. Being a lazy person, this is exactly what I was looking for and nothing gives me more joy than thinking about executing this for the rest of my life. It is like I have done the 50 overs of balling now and now it is the lunch break and remaining 50 overs is batting

2)Familiarity/culture: No matter what I was broughtup as an Indian, I married into arrange marriage and my wife is of same caste. She cooks the same food my mom used to cook. She is stay at home mom and takes care of our house and my daughter and ours is the perfect template Indian family. So we have kind of carried on what our ancestors taught us and so far we have brought up our daughter in the same mould. Our wish would be to give our daughter the chance to follow the same path. Ofcourse she could choose to marry someone out of our caste, but atleast we if go back to India and her teenage years are spent in India, the chances are she marries an Indian. So it is easy for us and not a total shocker having to deal with inter racial marriage etc.

All the problems of India like pollution, population and corruption are manageable for me. I have reached the level of maslow's hierarchy now, where belongingness and social identity is more important than money and materialistic pursuits.