moving to Bangalore with 3 little ones in tow

Hello!
My husband and I are Canadian teachers, who have recently accepted teaching positions in Bangalore starting in Sept. We are very excited about our move and would love to hear from any other expats on their experiences in the Garden City. We have 3 children, aged 5, 3.5 and 2 and will be looking to make the adjustment for them as smooth as possible. Any comments? Also, I wonder if anyone has the names of any English language nursery schools/preschools in the north end of the city that they would recommend. Looking forward to establishing contacts and friendships for everyone involved,

imc

Hello

We are also considering moving to Bangalore from the US...We have 3 children ages 9,6,4...what school will you be teaching at? Do have any thoughts on the different international schools? Have you a feel for the international community there?

DH is going for a visit in April and then we will make the final decision...at this point our plan is to go

Regards

Theresa

Hi there,

I just graduated with my Computer Science degree, and I've just arrived for a one-year internship in Bangalore. I don't really know anybody, and I'm hoping to meet people, especially fellow Canuckians.

So far I'm really enjoying the city, and adjusting fairly well. I've only been here about 5 days, and things are certainly different from Saskatoon!

The book Know Bangalore has all that you need to know about the garden city. It will help you in moving in and settling down in Bangalore with your family.

Hello, Glad I found this site. From Hamilton, Ont, moved to Winnipeg for 5 years and lived in Arkansas now for year and a half. Husband currently considering job offer in Bangalore as teacher at animation college. Have 4 children ages 11,9,7,2. Would jump at the job in a heart beat if in Canada or U.S. A bit more hesitant being so far away. Any advice, words of warning, things we would not imagine to consider never having been there yet, websites to search for apartments, or general info on Bangalore would be great to help us make the decision easier.
J

So, the possibility of moving to Bangalore becomes increasingly stronger. Probable move would have to occure sometime this Feb or early March.
What do you take with you and what do you leave behind? I have experienced moving across country and into U.S. but not across the Pond. What is realistic to take? Furnature? Appliances? toys? books? just cloths and dishes? what about computer? or even phones? Need lots of advice, and little time to get it.

Are you going to teach at CSI by chance? I was there for about three years. Loved the experience overall (inspite of inevitable frustrations) and I really enjoyed living in Bangalore. So much that I hope to go back. email if you are interested katburg@rogers.com

I strongly recommend Gaia Preschool and Childcare Centre in RT Nagar.
It is definitely the best preschool i've seen in Bangalore. It has a large garden, is clean and has good teachers.
www.gaiapreschool.com
sneha

I guess you should get into a local expat club in the city, and ask the people there where there kids go to.
One of the clubs is IVES it's pretty active . Search for the IVES Club in google for it.

Alicia.

Bangalore is one of the most western of India's cities. Loads of western amenities to make you feel back at home.
What to take?
Check voltages on everything. India is 240 volts, so if you have a laptop, make sure it has a universal power adaptor. Most do, i have Logitec speakers which only work on 120 volts, and they don't work here with a Canadian Tire power converter. There isn't much of a standard on the type of connection, so don't waste money buying one of those Travel Adaptors, you can buy universal power adaptors in almost anywhere and they are really cheep (in every way). Bangalore is the new Silicon Valley, and you can find pretty much everything electronic.

Cloths are very cheep too, you'll have to find out where the locals buy their cloths, as the "fixed price shops" can be very expensive (even if cheeper than in Canada, far too much for India). I almost always buy a new wardrobe when i arrive, and then a bigger suitcase to bring everything back to Canada.
Computer stuff is also reasonably priced, but you aren't going to save a lot, and finding good quality or up to date can be more difficult. In fact, North America seems to get better technology at cheaper prices faster than most places in the world.

Leave your cell phone at home, unless it's GSM and quad band. My Tellus (UT Starcom) phone worked in some places in India but only on global roaming - REALLY expensive. My Sony Erickson (Rogers) i got unlocked but it still didn't connect to the network with a local SIM card. Cell phones are pretty cheep, Nokia is extremely popular, and they are tough enough phones. I've had a couple now. Everyone in India seems to have a cell phone these days.

Medicine is very cheep, and quality is good if you buy from a reputed chemist, they use different names for everything and you can get most perscriptions over the counter, sometimes you have to insist. Cosmetics can be difficult to find. It's been a while since i was in Bangalore, but Asia in General has two lines of cosmetics - dirt cheep, poor quality, and then the stuff you would find in a Shoppers Drug Mart at roughly the same price. I've not been able to find Gillette fusion razor blades and stocked up when i was last in Canada, They have gilette 3 blade razors. I also get Body Shop face wash (my face always feels oily with the humidity and heat, and i like decent face wash) And if you like salon shampoos, you might want to bring a supply. Tampons aren't popular with Indian woman, and the selection of pads tend to be very limited. So unless someone can tell you otherwise, might be an idea to bring a good supply of your own if you are particular (i know a lot of female travellers who do).

Toys and stuff for the kids to do might be worth bringing, everything is available, but the imported stuff tends to be rather costly, and the rest is really cheep quality - especially for younger kids toys. Kids in India tend to make their own toys, and your kids might not be prepared for that. Again, Bangalore is farther ahead than most other places in India, but if you can bring it over.

The things i miss the most from Canada are food! There is a wide range of recognizable places, like KFC, but MacDonalds in India has a totaly different menu. (No beef) while you might not be able to bring beef with you, a few boxes of Kraft Dinner (or even just the cheese sauce from the bulk barn), and a bottle of real maple syrop might be good for a bad 'homesick' day. (Real Maple syrope on home made Banana pancakes does wonders). If you are a coffee drinker, you might just want to bring a can to Timmies! Instant coffee (Nescafe) is prevalent, but it's almost impossible to find a cup or REAL coffee anywhere. At best, you can buy your own coffee maker, and hope to find ground beans on a good day at the import shop. I have one of those one cup "sit on top of the coffee cup" coffee makers.

i manage to get a lot of stuff brough by others who i know are about to visit. I frequenly have a wish list, or a list of stuff that i'm getting low on, for people to bring me. i have found that toiletries from Aus are about 20% more than from America.