[DeTomaso] NPC - anyone with firsthand experience of living or working in India?

[Himes, Terry (397C)]

I agree with Asa.  I had a customer in Egypt (Cairo) and spent long periods of time there.  Of the people to lived 
there (with children), enjoyed it, but with caution.  Being a Muslim country there are extremists’ factions. So the 
contractors (expatriates) to lived there had their own network. If we want to go out to a common market area
(like Khan el-Khalili) we always called around and made sure it was safe and that no fundamentalist demonstrations 
going on. I had two (2) scary encounters (4 beer story) but mostly felt safe. But that was Egypt. 

When you visit, make sure you ask lots of questions of the people (expat’s) who live there. 



"A Purple Heart proves you were smart enough to hatch a plan,
 stupid enough to try it and lucky enough to survive!"
 
Terry W. Himes 
JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Dawn Spacecraft Team
Rosetta Sequence Team Lead
Phone: (818) 393-6261
Cell:     (818) 653-8213
thimes at jpl.nasa.gov
🇺🇸
 

On 11/30/17, 11:48 AM, "DeTomaso on behalf of Asa Jay Laughton" <detomaso-bounces at server.detomasolist.com on behalf of asajay at asajay.com> wrote:

    Hi Charlie,
    Itron does a fair amount of software dev out of an office in Bangalore.  We have over 100 employees there, mostly from India.  The office is in a secured office park, and so is our hotel.
    
    Traffic is a nightmare.  In Bangalore, I wouldn't even bother with a car.  In fact, one of our managers from Liberty Lake (Spokane area) took a job there about three or four years ago.  He -never- drove, up until this year when he finally decided to try a scooter.  I'm not sure how that's worked out.
    
    When I go, they pick me up at the airport and shuttle me anywhere I need to go.  There don't appear to be any traffic laws, only suggestions.  Lines on a road don't mean anything.  There will be three lanes of freeway and five cars abreast.  A horn is mandatory, they are beeping at all times.  Lane changes, turns, etc. Are all done within inches of other cars (I'd like to say more like millimeters).
    
    If my job was in Bangalore, I would not take my Pantera, nor would I be driving at all.  Other folks might like the challenge.
    
    Depending on where you are, the air quality can suffer and even the locals don't drink the water.  Like most places, you have nice people and not-so-nice people.  There is still a caste system in place so you sometimes need to be cautious about who you talk to.
    
    I would echo the recommendations of the others.  You need to take a trip there along with your wife.  You need to experience the environment where the office is and where your residence would be; how to get between them, where are the stores you need, what will your wife be doing, etc.
    
    It's nice to visit, in my case.  They take great care of me, great food, comfortable hotel, nice car.  I think living there however would present a whole other set of challenges and would probably suppress my driving hobby.
    
    Keep asking questions though, its a big move, consider it carefully.
    
    Asa  Jay
    
    ⁣Asa  Jay  Laughton, W7TSC, MSgt, USAFR, retired
    Sent using Jedi Mind Tricks​
    
    On Nov 30, 2017, 09:36, at 09:36, Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com> wrote:
    >Have just been offered a big-time promotion that would require
    >relocating to
    >Chennai, India. I know absolutely nothing about the city or country,
    >but I
    >have until March to take the decision. 
    >
    > 
    >
    >Anyone spent a lot of time in the country, or had business dealings in
    >India
    >that could give me some background? 
    >
    >
    >
    >------------------------------------------------------------------------
    >
    >_______________________________________________
    >
    >
    >Detomaso Email List is not managed by POCA
    >Posted emails must not exceed 1.5 Megabytes
    >DeTomaso mailing list
    >DeTomaso at server.detomasolist.com
    >http://server.detomasolist.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso
    >
    >To manage your subscription (change email address, unsubscribe, etc.)
    >use the links above.
    >
    >Members who post to this list grant license to the list to forward any
    >message posted here to all past, current, or future members of the
    >list. They also grant the list owner permission to maintain an archive
    >or approve the archiving of list messages.