American living and working in India?

I do not know if you have ever been to India, but that would be a good start. With all the other travels you may have been on or even with anything you may have read, seen or been told you could not possibly have any sense of the real India. It is an amazing country with all its glory and struggle.

I am an American that moved to India over 5 years ago...I do work there, but it is my own business. As a foreigner you may want to consider other options for earning....Do you have any special skills...Massage? Painting/Arts? Hairdresser? Healer? Cook? Yoga Teacher? Designer? Importer? Working for a call center is a viable option although the salary ranges drastically and a lot of places that those jobs are found are in and around the cities...a place not all people like to stay in India. To answer a part of your question..Yes, it is easily possible to live on 15,000 rupees a month..most places pay closer to 45,000 though. I opened up a guesthouse, restaurant and then cooking school. Either way you choose to go India is definitely a place that is worth spending some time. Nice to get away from the misguided path our own country has laid out as the new American Dream. take India slowly and you will discover all her beauty. _/\_

There have been a few good replies already...

* only consider Pune or Bangalore, for climate and way of life

* as a native English speaker with experience, maybe as a team lead, you should be able to get 30-40k if you look around a bit

* 5-8k will get you a decent room in a good location if you share a 2/3 bedroom appartment

* you could start off staying in a better "PG" (paying guest) which is usually staying with a family, until you find a room

* do budget at least 300 RS for food and water per day, unless you cook yourself (which you will find difficult looking at what you get in shops here)

* make sure your company provides a shuttle, you don't want to rely on rikshaws every day

* or budget for a two wheeler, these are pretty cheap here (like a new Honda scooter is about 45-50k)

Do not budget too low - "ok standard" in India may not be ok for you. I would not dare to go for less than 30k on hand - but once you have 30k it should all be reasonably comfortable for you.

Also, getting a working permit visa may be a problem - you may have to go for a business visa and contract/invoice consulting services. But then the math changes, the company would have to deduct 35+% from your invoice amount in taxes (TDS, tax deduct at source) whereas taxes would be much lower when on payroll. A work visa will likely only work out if you find an employer who writes you a convincing letter why they need you as a specialist, but still then it is up to the consulate.

If you can, better make your final decision after coming to India - seeing the place, and finding an employer with decent pay and active support for a work visa. If it works out for you, you may have a great time in India - I really like the people here. There are many things to hate about India, but there may be even more to love.

I can see some idiots saying there is no point going to a crappy/messy place that India is.

But that is not true. India is a lovely place and I personally have known many foreigners who have been here on vacations or for work and they all loved india without an exception. So do not pay any heed to people like mono an jacky who make sweeping generalizations about things they dont know a bit about

See, I see call center people everyday here. At the beginners level you get paid like some 15k Rs.. that is true. But since you have a good experience with you, you should be able to get a much better package here. If you land up with ajob here I am sure you should be able to get >> 25k per month (and that is fairly good enough) bangalore/pune will be nice places to go to ( nice weather). If you can tolerate some heat then delhi is an awesome place to be in. See, dont come to India with a job that pays 15000. You are new to this place. People do actually manage in 15000 and manage well. But they are indians, and know how to survive here. You can also manage with 15000 but then you will need a local indian friend to be with. :) Which i am sure you will easily find many (indians are very warm and open hearted)

In my opinion, if you get a call centre job in india, you should be able to land up with a pay of 25-30 per month easily .. given your experience of 8 years. There are many call centres that deal with off seas people. You should be able to land up with a jobt here easily because they will be more than happy to have someone with a genuine american accent for once :D

Anyway, I can be of any kind of assistance please let me know. I have a couple of friends here who have worked in call centres previously.

And FYI there is always a lot of vacancies in call centres here. But I will strongly recommend you get a feeler of the opportunities here first before you leave your current job there. But if you are enterprising enough, I will say what the heck !! just pack your bags and come on the next flight. Things will fall in place :)

Agree with 'm m' up there! I also think that Goa would be a good place for non Indians to live in.....mostly, because I noticed a lot of Europeans and Americans living there the 2 times I went there. I'm an Indian living in US....if I had to live in India, I'd live in Bangalore.

India is not a 'crap' or 'messy' place as per the 1st two answers.

yes you will receive lower wages there but it is SO incredibly cheap to live there. it is a really lovely place....people are friendly & the food is great. you can get a really nice dinner for about 40-50 pence...

go for a holiday & see what you think. i've been 5 times on holiday & just can't wait to go back...it's a fantastic place!

You will be fine in India. I would suggest looking for something in Bangalore or Pune. Also Delhi is a good city too. Just make sure you do a lot of research before you go and try to learn Hindi and a local language. Make sure that you have a job before you go and make sure you visit first. Anyway wish you luck and you will be welcomed in India :)

Firstly it would be difficult to adopt yourself to the climate and people here..

with this global meltdown going on why would you want to give up a job which you already have and start searching for a new one which might not be as good as what you have here?that has to be your foremost criteria..

am not sure if any american stays in india for work purposes but i hope you are able to make a tactful decision..

Good luck!

1

India is g8

and if you have taken decision to live in India.

go for it.

India is pretty messy.