US Citizen wishes to live in Chennai

Discussion in 'Return to India' started by ChennaiExpress, Jul 9, 2014.

  1. ChennaiExpress

    ChennaiExpress IL Hall of Fame

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    My family is Punjabi and they have been living in Chennai since the 1950s.

    I was born and raised in US, but I am very quiet and introverted. I am thinking of permanently moving to Chennai to be with my relatives, and also the beautiful sites and sounds, (not to mention great Universities for life-long learners).

    Right now I am looking for any US jobs in Chennai and I'm trying to improve my IT skills.

    What else do I need to do, or consider?
     
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  2. GoogleGlass

    GoogleGlass IL Hall of Fame

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    Welcome to Chennai CE.

    Having taken the decision to move and getting prepared for that is the right attitude.

    You will enjoy Chennai if you can just ignore the power cuts, water problems, noise and other pollutions to an extent. There are ways to equip yourself to meet these day to day challenges.

    We are used to these and is never a problem - wish the very best to you.
     
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  3. JustMyself

    JustMyself Gold IL'ite

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    Am not sure of the reasons behind your decisions to move to Chennai. If you are still interested, "Welcome to Singara Chennai !"

    It would take a long time for you to get adjusted to the ambience as such. It gets difficult for people who has lived abroad more than 5+ years. So I expect more degree of discomfort for you . But Chennai grows on you. Eventually you will liking the colorful shops, varied cuisines, umpteen temples and crowded common areas ;-)

    Brace yourself for closed outlooks. But once you are in, you are EVER in !

    + You could apply for jobs through Indian sites of job portals like naukri.in, monster.co.in etc.
    + Also get yourself equipped with atleast few tamil words.
    + Get clothes that are not too revealing (ie try to avoid sleeveless /shorts atleast in the beginning, till you can gauge where/with-whom you can wear them)
    + Get ready to see lot of pollution (pretty much the same all over India is the same)
    + Get ready to pay some extra money for services to get done (pretty much the same all over India is the same)
    + Try not to have eye-comtacts /smiles at strangers, as not many are used to it, and will misinterpret
    + Get ready for humid climate, power-cuts & mosquitos (But trust, after couple of months, you would know how to work around these ;-) )
    + Get ready to see your skin & clothes get dirty soon (second thing my DH complaints about.. First is the heat at 5:30 AM in the airport)

    With all these downsides and more, we still love chennai ! I hope you grow to love chennai too.
     
  4. JustAnotherMom

    JustAnotherMom Platinum IL'ite

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    Chennai Express:- Get ready for the Family Politics !!! You survive this, you survive anything!!!
     
  5. ChennaiExpress

    ChennaiExpress IL Hall of Fame

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    Reason I want to settle in Chennai:

    - people in Chennai truly like me from their heart
    - people in USA who are from Chennai (or who are Telegu) are very nice to me
    - a considerable number of men from Chennai are good-looking (ok that will come few years later, but I had to add this ......)
    - Tamil sounds like a musical language, I would love to learn to speak, read, and write it ....
    - I love Dosas!!!!!
    - I dress modestly to begin with in USA (maxi skirts with full or quarter-length sleeve shirts, and if I wear pants, it's wide leg with long tunic)
    - I am quiet and reserved by nature
    - support system of people who are good-natured and on my side (my close relatives)
    - best childhood memories are when I visited Chennai .... it's one of the few good memories I have
    - lot of educational institutions .... I would like to get a PhD from some really awesome school
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2014
  6. rainbowresh

    rainbowresh Gold IL'ite

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    Dear chennaiexpress,
    Though I agree with most of the plusses u mentioned about Chennai and I love it too for many many more reasons!!
    But dear, you must notice how many people go to the US to do their PhD s..... That is coz there is more scope of exploring available there!!!
    As much as I d love to give u a warm welcome, I'd tell you also to rethink about ur decision. Is it feasible to do PhD there and come down here to settle down...? It sure is expensive there but there are good facilities there better than here though our univs try their best to match up none of our Indian univs including the IITs made it in the top universities in the world list... None in the top 50 also. Just a handful in 100!!
    But if you have decided, let me tell you one thing, a few of my friends say that guides here are too authoritative and decide what you should do and not. I ve heard from my batch mates that eventually they steer the thesis completely. They take their own sweet time to read ur reports. Why even the PhD topic is mostly modified by them and if u don't adhere to their instructions they delay ur outcome for years ...! Be prepared for ego issues etc.
    Heat and pollution are the other major things.
    Major good things are adherence to our culture values, Indian lifestyle, colors everywhere, and loads of Bollywood n filmy fun!!!
    Welcome.
     
  7. JustMyself

    JustMyself Gold IL'ite

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    Hello ChennaiExpress,

    Am glad you are making your choice to move towards Chennai :)

    With an open heart and readiness to adjust/accommodate yourself to the new situation, you can live anywhere !! Thats my motto !

    Hope things work better in the long run for you.

    Cheers,
    JM
     
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  8. ChennaiExpress

    ChennaiExpress IL Hall of Fame

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    Hello Rainbowresh,

    Getting a PhD is part of a life goal, after settling in Chennai (getting nice job, finding nice husband, having family, etc). But I'm glad you warned me of the issues I would face with guides .....
     
  9. ChennaiExpress

    ChennaiExpress IL Hall of Fame

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    Yes, I am willing to adjust and accommodate so I can be around kind-hearted people ....
     
  10. tashidelek2002

    tashidelek2002 IL Hall of Fame

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    Why don't you do a trial run of one year and then decide long term? Don't forget the PIO card will be helpful if you are USA citizen.
     

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