The blog turned one year old on May 23rd. I am glad its still alive and kicking, even though the posts have become very infrequent of late. Thank you all for your comments and emails. I hope to make the blog more active pretty soon.
As I said, the blog hasn't been very active, and the reason is very simple. There aren't too many things going on in my life right now. R2I is still over a year away, and things in India are not moving as fast as I would have liked them to. So let me use this post for a status check.
1. House in India: Absolutely no progress so far. Well, the land has been converted to residential zone recently, and the model house construction is close to completion. But the final approvals from HUDA are still pending, and the construction cannot commence without it. After 22 months of making initial deposit, I surely would have liked to see more progress. To the builder's credit they are doing everything they can, but this whole HUDA approval process is really screwed up. The recent GO 288 has only made it worse. Keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping for the best.
2. Lumbini Towers: This is even worse. I have no clue what is going on.
3. House in US: Well, this is probably the best of the lot. Considering the gloomy housing market, we were lucky to secure a long term tenant. It's been 3 months, and every thing has been good so far (touch wood). Meanwhile, we are really enjoying the apartment living all over again. There is plenty of free time now, and this is helping me spend a lot of quality time with my toddler son. We are taking him to Disney next month, and thinking about a trip to Europe or Africa later this year.
So as you can see, there is not much going on to report. But I guess I could write about other things, not necessarily R2I. I think I'll start doing that.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
R2I - Ten things one must be ready for
OK, here is a list of things that I am bracing myself for upon our R2I. Regardless of the progress that India made over the last few years, we are years away from even coming close to the quality of life in West. I know many would disagree with this, but it is the truth. Quality of life is not just decided by the inside of your house or office...it is a sum of every thing that you face and come in contact with on a day to day basis. In that respect, there is a ton of progress we still need to make. So here goes my list (not necessarily in this particular order).
1. Traffic and the no.of people: This is my number one issue. If you are returning to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 city, you better get used to this very quickly or your life is going to become a living hell. The no.of vehicles on the road is insane, and its only going to get worse when the Nano hits the road later this year. Its not just the vehicles, the no. of people on and off the roads is mind boggling. People from smaller cities and towns in A.P are continuously migrating to Hyderabad and because the infrastructure in the suburbs is not developed enough to handle this growth they are mostly settling inside the city. The area where we live in was a quite residential place until a few years ago, but today it is surrounded by numerous schools, colleges and hostels making it extremely crowded and less safer. This is one reason the gated communities are becoming so popular these days. There is some relative peace once you enter your community.
2. Lack of professionalism and customer service: The concept of customer service is still alien to Hyderabadis. Even if it exists by mistake in some places, it disappears as soon as you complete the deal or make the purchase. And professionalism...forget about it. I think Indians are probably the unfriendliest people, and you can find the evidence of it as soon as you enter the country..at the immigration desk. No smile, no hello and no welcome to the country. Show your passport, get it stamped and get the hell out of here...without even making the eye contact. (This immigration experience is specific to Bombay and Hyderabad...so if its different in your city and you have unusually friendly officers I apologize for generalizing).
This is true in most other places as well. So if you are returning after several of years of living abroad, and expect similar professionalism and service that you are used to, you are in for a rude awakening.
3. Family: Most people say they are returning to be close to their families. But from what I have seen they quickly get tired of them and try to find ways to escape from them. And the real estate boom over the last few years have made many of these families ultra rich. This has several unhealthy side effects. The roles have reversed and an average NRI like me is looked down upon these days. And if you make the mistake of keeping up with these newly rich families you are in for a big trouble. In addition to this, you have the regular family issues that are common to most people.
4. Unreliable help, lack of time sense: If somebody tells you they'll call you in half an hour don't be disappointed if you don't receive the call for the next few hours. 90% of the people still don't stick to time...its ingrained in our culture, and you simply have to accept it. Help is another big issue. If you find a good driver or maid treat them like Gold.
5. Food: This is a surprising entry. You ask 100 R2Iers and at least 90 will tell you they miss the food in India. In fact its one of the top reasons to return for many. I used to think the same. In the beginning my visits to India were 2 to 3 years apart and I used to really enjoy the food. I would make a list of items and try to eat them at least once. Then the gap between my visits became shorter and shorter and I am starting to realize how unhealthy and calorie rich most of the food in India is. You are surrounded by rich choices and it gets extremely difficult to stay away. I think increasing age is also a factor in moving the Food from my "reasons to R2I" list to "things to watch out for" list.
6. Safety on roads: We all know how enjoyable the road trips are here in US. Can we say the same thing about India...definitely not. Roads are very unsafe, and the accidents are a very common place. I have no doubt many R2Iers are worried about this as much as I am.
7. Medical care: I can probably write a whole post about this. The corporate hospitals (at least in Hyderabad) are probably the worst place to get your medical care. They will make sure you take every test that they can think of whether its needed or not. They are nothing more than money minting compounds. I hope to find a good old fashioned clinic and doctor for our family when we return.
8. TV: What's with so many channels? And why is TV so loud in India? These days when I go to India I barely watch any TV and even when I do its mostly channel surfing. Boring serials, stupid game shows, too many copy cats...there is no originality, no real value in watching these programs. And no high def...I don't know how I can live without it. Add to this the awful FM channels on radio..you get the gist.
9. Hygiene: This is a problem everywhere. During my trip last year, I was in a collector's office with 20 other people and this IAS officer was happily picking her nose. I was sitting there in front of her trying to figure out whether I am amazed or disgusted while she was busy in her act with utter disregard to the feelings of a room full of people. What surprised me even more was this act of hers seemed to have bothered nobody in the room other than me. So there you go. There are many other examples like dentist not wearing gloves, chatwala wearing latex gloves instead of disposable kind, people still urinating in public etc etc. So better learn to turn a blind eye to these things.
10. Greed: This is seen everywhere these days. Nobody is happy with simple returns. Rich keeps getting richer at the expense of others. Look at the networths of current CM and the one before him. Tens of thousands of crores, there just seems to be no end to this greed.
So there's my list. Opinions and comments are appreciated.
Added later: BTW, April 26th marks my tenth anniversary in US. I came here on 4/26/1998, and I distinctly remember every minute of that day. It was a great experience, one that I always dreamed of growing up. So here's to the ten years in US....
1. Traffic and the no.of people: This is my number one issue. If you are returning to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 city, you better get used to this very quickly or your life is going to become a living hell. The no.of vehicles on the road is insane, and its only going to get worse when the Nano hits the road later this year. Its not just the vehicles, the no. of people on and off the roads is mind boggling. People from smaller cities and towns in A.P are continuously migrating to Hyderabad and because the infrastructure in the suburbs is not developed enough to handle this growth they are mostly settling inside the city. The area where we live in was a quite residential place until a few years ago, but today it is surrounded by numerous schools, colleges and hostels making it extremely crowded and less safer. This is one reason the gated communities are becoming so popular these days. There is some relative peace once you enter your community.
2. Lack of professionalism and customer service: The concept of customer service is still alien to Hyderabadis. Even if it exists by mistake in some places, it disappears as soon as you complete the deal or make the purchase. And professionalism...forget about it. I think Indians are probably the unfriendliest people, and you can find the evidence of it as soon as you enter the country..at the immigration desk. No smile, no hello and no welcome to the country. Show your passport, get it stamped and get the hell out of here...without even making the eye contact. (This immigration experience is specific to Bombay and Hyderabad...so if its different in your city and you have unusually friendly officers I apologize for generalizing).
This is true in most other places as well. So if you are returning after several of years of living abroad, and expect similar professionalism and service that you are used to, you are in for a rude awakening.
3. Family: Most people say they are returning to be close to their families. But from what I have seen they quickly get tired of them and try to find ways to escape from them. And the real estate boom over the last few years have made many of these families ultra rich. This has several unhealthy side effects. The roles have reversed and an average NRI like me is looked down upon these days. And if you make the mistake of keeping up with these newly rich families you are in for a big trouble. In addition to this, you have the regular family issues that are common to most people.
4. Unreliable help, lack of time sense: If somebody tells you they'll call you in half an hour don't be disappointed if you don't receive the call for the next few hours. 90% of the people still don't stick to time...its ingrained in our culture, and you simply have to accept it. Help is another big issue. If you find a good driver or maid treat them like Gold.
5. Food: This is a surprising entry. You ask 100 R2Iers and at least 90 will tell you they miss the food in India. In fact its one of the top reasons to return for many. I used to think the same. In the beginning my visits to India were 2 to 3 years apart and I used to really enjoy the food. I would make a list of items and try to eat them at least once. Then the gap between my visits became shorter and shorter and I am starting to realize how unhealthy and calorie rich most of the food in India is. You are surrounded by rich choices and it gets extremely difficult to stay away. I think increasing age is also a factor in moving the Food from my "reasons to R2I" list to "things to watch out for" list.
6. Safety on roads: We all know how enjoyable the road trips are here in US. Can we say the same thing about India...definitely not. Roads are very unsafe, and the accidents are a very common place. I have no doubt many R2Iers are worried about this as much as I am.
7. Medical care: I can probably write a whole post about this. The corporate hospitals (at least in Hyderabad) are probably the worst place to get your medical care. They will make sure you take every test that they can think of whether its needed or not. They are nothing more than money minting compounds. I hope to find a good old fashioned clinic and doctor for our family when we return.
8. TV: What's with so many channels? And why is TV so loud in India? These days when I go to India I barely watch any TV and even when I do its mostly channel surfing. Boring serials, stupid game shows, too many copy cats...there is no originality, no real value in watching these programs. And no high def...I don't know how I can live without it. Add to this the awful FM channels on radio..you get the gist.
9. Hygiene: This is a problem everywhere. During my trip last year, I was in a collector's office with 20 other people and this IAS officer was happily picking her nose. I was sitting there in front of her trying to figure out whether I am amazed or disgusted while she was busy in her act with utter disregard to the feelings of a room full of people. What surprised me even more was this act of hers seemed to have bothered nobody in the room other than me. So there you go. There are many other examples like dentist not wearing gloves, chatwala wearing latex gloves instead of disposable kind, people still urinating in public etc etc. So better learn to turn a blind eye to these things.
10. Greed: This is seen everywhere these days. Nobody is happy with simple returns. Rich keeps getting richer at the expense of others. Look at the networths of current CM and the one before him. Tens of thousands of crores, there just seems to be no end to this greed.
So there's my list. Opinions and comments are appreciated.
Added later: BTW, April 26th marks my tenth anniversary in US. I came here on 4/26/1998, and I distinctly remember every minute of that day. It was a great experience, one that I always dreamed of growing up. So here's to the ten years in US....
Monday, April 21, 2008
Another visit to India
I just returned from a two week trip to India. It was my third visit in the last 12 months, and one which made me question my decision to R2I at one point.
First things first. The new airport is world class. Even though size inside is not too big (more phases are still being constructed), the airport from outside looks simply gorgeous. Its very very attractive from outside, better than most of the airports that I have seen in US. Plenty of cabs outside, so transportation is not an issue. Because of my late night flight I didnt have to put up with any traffic, and connectivity to Moosarambagh area was not bad at all. It took less than 40 minutes each way, which I think is ok given the conditions at this time. One good thing is things will only improve from here. Once inside the airport, the check in was a breeze. I made the mistake of coming 2.5 hrs before the flight time, and I must have spent 2.25 hours of it in the waiting area. My only complaint is there aren't too many stores or restaurants inside the airport. I never understood this part about the Indian airports. If you see some of the airports in US they look like outlet malls. One other thing I dont understand is why is the food and drinks soooo expensive in Indian airports??? Just to be sure I checked out the prices in Minneapolis and DC airports on my way back and they are no different from prices outside. Not sure why the Indian airports think one should shell out 80 rupees for an awfully tasting tea. That's no way of encouraging spending.
Coming back to my trip, I am simply astounded by the human explosion in Hyderabad. Every time I go there I see more and more people. There are people every where, in every little corner of the city. A 11 pm show in Prasad's at Rs.180 per ticket was house full and at 2 am the area looked like day time. There is a lot of youth, and by looking at the unlimited supply of young people you instantly realize your age. At 33, I felt really old. I read a piece somewher that in 2001 the population in Hyd was 35 lakhs, and today its over 60 lakhs. At this rate, there will be no room to even walk on the streets soon. But again that provides tremendous business opportunities for a savvy entrepreneur. Though I am very comfortable driving in Hyderaba, this time I decided to do all the driving myself to see how I was going to take it. Unsurprisingly I got into a couple of verbal duels, and almost a fist fight one other time due to road rage. So that's one area I still need to work on.
Another thing that really really bothers me every time I go to India is the customer service, rather lack of it..every where. Actually there is no such thing as customer service in India. I was in a bank where we had just made a fixed deposit that evening. I went there to collect the receipt and the unnecessary rude attitude of the teller resulted in a big altercation with the guy. They were going through an audit that day, but that doesnt mean they can shelve the customer service until thats done!! This was a nationalized bank, and from what I hear the private banks fare no better.
So I started thinking. If a guy like me who is so used to Hyderabadi ways, who is so mentally prepared for all the issues that he knows he can and will face upon R2Iing can lose it twice in 15 days and get into uncivil altercations, do the sophisticated and sensitive have any chance of surviving. These are minor things, and there are several other things that really pushed my buttons during my short stay, and I started seriously questioning the wisdom in planning to give up all that I worked for over the last 10+ years and return to this chaos.
I was still thinking when I landed in DC, and I was still thinking while cruising on the Dulles Toll road in my BMW at 70 mph, and I was still thinking when I was enjoying Bill Maher's show in 60 inches of stunning high definition. Then it finally stuck me how much I already miss all that chaos. I then realized even though nothing will come close to the luxuries and comforts that we take for granted in US, all that still pales in comparison with the quality of life, or lack there of in the country you were raised. I realize that waking up to the sounds of neighbor's grinder is far more enjoyable than waking up to an alarm clock. Getting stuck in the traffic on a Hyd flyover in searing heat has more charm than driving at 80 mph on the US roads. No matter how prepared one is, there are still going to be some setbacks, some regrets and some second guessing. But if everything goes too smoothly, where's the fun in life?
So after being down for a couple of days I am back on track with my R2I plans with renewed enthusiasm. And that my friends, is a good feeling.
First things first. The new airport is world class. Even though size inside is not too big (more phases are still being constructed), the airport from outside looks simply gorgeous. Its very very attractive from outside, better than most of the airports that I have seen in US. Plenty of cabs outside, so transportation is not an issue. Because of my late night flight I didnt have to put up with any traffic, and connectivity to Moosarambagh area was not bad at all. It took less than 40 minutes each way, which I think is ok given the conditions at this time. One good thing is things will only improve from here. Once inside the airport, the check in was a breeze. I made the mistake of coming 2.5 hrs before the flight time, and I must have spent 2.25 hours of it in the waiting area. My only complaint is there aren't too many stores or restaurants inside the airport. I never understood this part about the Indian airports. If you see some of the airports in US they look like outlet malls. One other thing I dont understand is why is the food and drinks soooo expensive in Indian airports??? Just to be sure I checked out the prices in Minneapolis and DC airports on my way back and they are no different from prices outside. Not sure why the Indian airports think one should shell out 80 rupees for an awfully tasting tea. That's no way of encouraging spending.
Coming back to my trip, I am simply astounded by the human explosion in Hyderabad. Every time I go there I see more and more people. There are people every where, in every little corner of the city. A 11 pm show in Prasad's at Rs.180 per ticket was house full and at 2 am the area looked like day time. There is a lot of youth, and by looking at the unlimited supply of young people you instantly realize your age. At 33, I felt really old. I read a piece somewher that in 2001 the population in Hyd was 35 lakhs, and today its over 60 lakhs. At this rate, there will be no room to even walk on the streets soon. But again that provides tremendous business opportunities for a savvy entrepreneur. Though I am very comfortable driving in Hyderaba, this time I decided to do all the driving myself to see how I was going to take it. Unsurprisingly I got into a couple of verbal duels, and almost a fist fight one other time due to road rage. So that's one area I still need to work on.
Another thing that really really bothers me every time I go to India is the customer service, rather lack of it..every where. Actually there is no such thing as customer service in India. I was in a bank where we had just made a fixed deposit that evening. I went there to collect the receipt and the unnecessary rude attitude of the teller resulted in a big altercation with the guy. They were going through an audit that day, but that doesnt mean they can shelve the customer service until thats done!! This was a nationalized bank, and from what I hear the private banks fare no better.
So I started thinking. If a guy like me who is so used to Hyderabadi ways, who is so mentally prepared for all the issues that he knows he can and will face upon R2Iing can lose it twice in 15 days and get into uncivil altercations, do the sophisticated and sensitive have any chance of surviving. These are minor things, and there are several other things that really pushed my buttons during my short stay, and I started seriously questioning the wisdom in planning to give up all that I worked for over the last 10+ years and return to this chaos.
I was still thinking when I landed in DC, and I was still thinking while cruising on the Dulles Toll road in my BMW at 70 mph, and I was still thinking when I was enjoying Bill Maher's show in 60 inches of stunning high definition. Then it finally stuck me how much I already miss all that chaos. I then realized even though nothing will come close to the luxuries and comforts that we take for granted in US, all that still pales in comparison with the quality of life, or lack there of in the country you were raised. I realize that waking up to the sounds of neighbor's grinder is far more enjoyable than waking up to an alarm clock. Getting stuck in the traffic on a Hyd flyover in searing heat has more charm than driving at 80 mph on the US roads. No matter how prepared one is, there are still going to be some setbacks, some regrets and some second guessing. But if everything goes too smoothly, where's the fun in life?
So after being down for a couple of days I am back on track with my R2I plans with renewed enthusiasm. And that my friends, is a good feeling.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Mission Accomplished
So here I am, sitting in my new apartment, sorrounded by unpacked boxes and unassembled furniture and enjoying every bit of the downsized space and lifestyle . Everything went according to the plan. The movers were on time, got me sign a couple of papers and quickly got on with their work. They were very methodical in what they were doing, and didnt waste a whole lot of time. Ofcourse all the packing I did over the last few weeks did help a lot. The 26' truck filled up in no time, and there was still some stuff left behind. My new apartment is on the 3rd floor, and I can only imagine how these guys moved all my heavy furniture up there on a bitter cold day. I am extremely happy with their service and what I paid them was well worth it.
I still had to do a couple of rounds in my SUV and the car to empty the house, and even after all this I still have a few small items that I forgot. Got the house cleaned on Monday and the tenants took the possession the same day. I took a couple of days off from work, as I was doing all this by myself while my wife and son are having fun in India...:-(. But I am glad that they were away, because this move would have been too much to handle with my little one running around. Also it was easy to take out the emotional aspect of it with my wife not being around. So all in all, it was not as big a task as I imagined and with a bit of proper prior planning it became even easier.
I did leave some good stuff for the tenants including the whole house audio receivers, expensive drapes and every equipment needed for landscaping and outdoor maintenance, and also the gas and charcoal grilles. I had no room and need for any of these in the apartment, and I figured I might as well let them use that stuff. Hopefully they'll take good care of the house, and I wont have to face any maintenance headaches. I am planning to buy a home warranty for the appliances and the heating system, something like AHS. That way I can have some degree of peace of mind even if I am managing the house from India. Though I am not expecting any major problems considering the house is only 3 years old, it will still serve as a back up incase something suddenly breaks.I also converted my homeowner's insurance policy to a landlord's policy, which increased my premium by a couple of hundred dollars. The replacement cost of the house has increased about 20%, and I think its funny because the value of my house has gone down more than 20% in the recent times. But I guess the replacement cost has nothing to do with the market value of the house...oh well!
Now that one of the major tasks on our R2I list is taken care of I have started planning for the other items on the list. I am looking forward to a lot of vacations and trips over the next 12 to 15 months, and I just cant wait.
I still had to do a couple of rounds in my SUV and the car to empty the house, and even after all this I still have a few small items that I forgot. Got the house cleaned on Monday and the tenants took the possession the same day. I took a couple of days off from work, as I was doing all this by myself while my wife and son are having fun in India...:-(. But I am glad that they were away, because this move would have been too much to handle with my little one running around. Also it was easy to take out the emotional aspect of it with my wife not being around. So all in all, it was not as big a task as I imagined and with a bit of proper prior planning it became even easier.
I did leave some good stuff for the tenants including the whole house audio receivers, expensive drapes and every equipment needed for landscaping and outdoor maintenance, and also the gas and charcoal grilles. I had no room and need for any of these in the apartment, and I figured I might as well let them use that stuff. Hopefully they'll take good care of the house, and I wont have to face any maintenance headaches. I am planning to buy a home warranty for the appliances and the heating system, something like AHS. That way I can have some degree of peace of mind even if I am managing the house from India. Though I am not expecting any major problems considering the house is only 3 years old, it will still serve as a back up incase something suddenly breaks.I also converted my homeowner's insurance policy to a landlord's policy, which increased my premium by a couple of hundred dollars. The replacement cost of the house has increased about 20%, and I think its funny because the value of my house has gone down more than 20% in the recent times. But I guess the replacement cost has nothing to do with the market value of the house...oh well!
Now that one of the major tasks on our R2I list is taken care of I have started planning for the other items on the list. I am looking forward to a lot of vacations and trips over the next 12 to 15 months, and I just cant wait.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Busy Weekend
The last weekend was extremely busy. I was able to get rid of most of the stuff that we no longer needed. Sold a leather sofa set and a 36" tv on Craigslist, and mostly gave away/dumped the rest of the stuff. Clearing out the basement was the biggest task. I had to go through tons of papers and documents that got accumulated since 1998, and had to decide what to keep and what to throw out. I ended up retaining at least half those papers, even though I dont need them any longer. Most of them had some sort of sensitive information like SS number etc, and my shredder isnt strong enough to deal with such a herculean task. So I guess I'll go through this exercise one more time just before R2Ing.
Even though our R2I date is well over a year away, I now truly feel that we've taken the first real step. I think our decision to move out of the house now was a very good one, as we are doing most of things now which we would otherwise be doing in a frenzy a year later. I never knew downsizing was such a fun...you have to believe me when I say I am really enjoying this feeling. Taking care of the house (selling or renting out), and getting rid of the unncessary stuff are probably the top two items in every R2Ier's list. Knowing that we can cautiously cross off these two items from our list gives me enormous joy and strength. As somebody pointed out in one of the R2I blogs, the last six months IN US before your R2I date are to be really really enjoyed. Knowing that we wont find in India all the small things that we take for granted on a daily basis, changes your perspective. You'll try to fully enjoy the small things like a Starbucks coffee, a freeway where you can zoom in at 80 mph, a sunday breakfast at Denny's or a leisure dinner at P.F. Chang's. Whatever it is that one enjoys doing here, can enjoy it even better if the major R2I tasks are taken care of well in advance.
The move out date is fast approaching, and we only have one weekend left in between. I plan to clear the garage, pack the closets, and clear the rest of the items this Saturday and tie up any loose ends on Sunday. I want to be as relaxed and as prepared as one can be when the movers come in. Lets see how it goes.
Even though our R2I date is well over a year away, I now truly feel that we've taken the first real step. I think our decision to move out of the house now was a very good one, as we are doing most of things now which we would otherwise be doing in a frenzy a year later. I never knew downsizing was such a fun...you have to believe me when I say I am really enjoying this feeling. Taking care of the house (selling or renting out), and getting rid of the unncessary stuff are probably the top two items in every R2Ier's list. Knowing that we can cautiously cross off these two items from our list gives me enormous joy and strength. As somebody pointed out in one of the R2I blogs, the last six months IN US before your R2I date are to be really really enjoyed. Knowing that we wont find in India all the small things that we take for granted on a daily basis, changes your perspective. You'll try to fully enjoy the small things like a Starbucks coffee, a freeway where you can zoom in at 80 mph, a sunday breakfast at Denny's or a leisure dinner at P.F. Chang's. Whatever it is that one enjoys doing here, can enjoy it even better if the major R2I tasks are taken care of well in advance.
The move out date is fast approaching, and we only have one weekend left in between. I plan to clear the garage, pack the closets, and clear the rest of the items this Saturday and tie up any loose ends on Sunday. I want to be as relaxed and as prepared as one can be when the movers come in. Lets see how it goes.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Hello everyone
Hello everyone, I am back after a long hiatus. Firft of all, I am really sorry for going AWOL on you for over 3 months. There was a lot going on in my life at a rapid pace, and I was going through a tough situation personally back home in India. So I wanted to take a break and analyze the things realistically to determine where we actually were in respect to our goals.
As you know I went to India in October to take care of some personal business. I actually drafted a post with my experince during that short one week trip, but was lazy to post it. Moreover most of the information that I had in that post was about the developments in the city, the new hangout places etc, but most of those details are widely available on the web now. So I didnt see a point in posting it, and then I got busy with my life.
One of the goals that I had been ignoring in the first part of 2007 was the PMP certification. As I mentioned in an earlier post, that was one of my important goals for 2007. So I used this break to spend some time preparing for PMP, and passed the exam in my first attempt on 12/29/07, with just two days left in the year. Talk about living on the edge!! I prepared for about 40 days for the exam, and used pmstudy.com to get the contact hours and exam prep. The only other book that I used was that of Rita Mulcahy, and these two resources together helped me comfortably pass the exam with 76% score. If any of you need more details, I'll be happy to oblige.
One of the other things that I started taking a very close look at was the housing market. It had been on a steady downward path for the last two years, but the decline in the last quarter of 2007 was nothing short of spectacular. All those fancy ARMs started resetting and a glut of foreclosures started hitting the market. The worst part is a majority of these houses are almost brand new. You have no words to describe the situation when you see a house that was sold for 950k two years ago is now being priced at 580k. This is just one example. There are tons of such houses, and IMO we've barely scratched the surface. This goes to show two things. 1.The magnitude of the current problem, and 2.The ridiculous prices at which these houses were sold not too long ago. Its the collective greed of the buyers, sellers, lenders and the government that led us to this situation and everybody is responsible for it. I personally think not many people realize how bad the things are, and some people are still dreaming that the current interest rate cuts combined with the government's knee jerk reactions (read economic stmulus package) will take us back to the glory days. I dont know if it will ever happen, but even if it does its a long long way away. Its not the numbers anymore, its the fear that grips the minds when something like this happens. So even if you were competing against 10 other buyers for a 500k house a few yars ago, you'll think a hundred times to bid on it in the current situation even if the same house is offered at 300k. Pessimism is a strong sentiment and that is what you have now on the market.
So with the above backdrop, we started thinking about what we do with our house. BTW, we may be returning sometime next year instead of 2010, and I'll explain the reasons in another post. We wanted to see if we can sell the house, and if so at what price. Even though I was not optimistic at all, we decided to talk to a realtor who only confirmed our fears. So after realizing that its next to impossible to sell the house in the current market we started exploring other options. The realtor suggested an option of pricing the house low and opting for a short sale, but I was against the idea. After working hard for 10 years to build the credit and reputation in the country, I see absolutely no point in ruining it by taking a less than moral approach. So the only option left was renting out the house. Even though we are over a year away from returning I wanted to see how the rental market is and decided to post an ad on...yes, craigslist again. To my surprise, there was enough interest for me to extend my ad for two more weeks, and within 3 weeks of psoting the ad, we did find a strong potential tenant. Now the dilemma was whether to go through with the idea or not. When I posted the ad, I was only testing the waters, but after some careful deliberation we decided to rent the house out. My main reason for it was one year is not a long time, and before we realize we'll be in a situation where we are making our arrangements to R2I and desperately trying to find a buyer or a tenant for the house. That's a very stressful situation even to think about, and I was not ready to put myself in it. And who is to know how the rental market will be after 12 months? So there we are, signing a 24 month rental lease on a house that we never thought we would be moving out of. When we built this house 3 years ago we had no plans to return to India, and as they say time changes every thing. So the plan is to move into an apartment for the next 12 months or so before we R2I. While I am a bit sad that I'll be missing everything I loved so much in my house, I am really excited about the downsized lifestyle that I'll be living soon. Its going to take some adjusting moving into an apartment after 6 years of living in own house(s), but the thought of getting relieved from all the maintainence work that goes with the house is very exciting. My tenanats signed a 24 month lease which starts next month (they actually wanted to sign a 4 year lease, but I wasnt interested). I plan to take care of any issues with the house while I am still in US, and then hire a property manager for the rest of the term. Depending on the situation at the end of the two years, I'll either extend the lease or plan to sell the house. I have many friends in US whom I am banking on to help me with these things when I am in India.
The other thing that's been steadlity going down for the last couple of months is the stock market. Regardless of all the helpful measures by Fed there seems to be no end to the market pessimism. This steady erosion seems much worse than the 2000 dot com bust, and it looks like we are already in recession. Needless to say my 401(k) took a nice beating because of this. Though it appears like I do a lot of planning, its really not the case. When it comes to finances, you wont find anyone more irresponsible than me. I am a compulsive spender and get very lazy when its time to organize my finances. I am not the type of guy who believes in building AAPs (asset allocation plans), and building huge chunks of savings. I believe strongly in my instincts (which are almost always flwaed with no scientific reasoning), and strongly think that no one can become rich by saving money. I always believed that timely investments that can beat the inflation by several times is what makes one rich and financially comfortable in life. But I am planning to alter my thinking a little bit starting this year. I am definitely not going to start pinching pennies, but plan on getting more fiscally responsible. I have been reading a lot of information on AAPs, taxes, investments etc the last few months and really surprised at how granted I've been taking my life all these days. Nothing is going to change in me overnight, and I still think I am in a comfortable position. But what I need to do is a lot of balancing act. Most of my eggs are heavily placed in similar baskets, and from the information I gathered over the last couple of months thats a precarious position to be in. So I plan to do a proper distribution and achieve some kind of balance. That's my goal for 2008.
One more thing that I am planning to do ver soon is, switching jobs. I am going to look for a company that has Indian operations and try to find a job which will allow me to work for the next one year in US and then make a transition to India. I know its going to be vey difficult to find such a job, but if I am able to do it, the R2I and the transition is going to be a lot less stressful.
So that's it for now. I need to start packing and selling/giving away a lot of stuff that I've accumulated over all these years. I wonder why I even bought all this stuff....most of it is junk. IMO, the love for material things in this country is probably the highest in the world. For example, why do I, with a family size of 3 of which one of them is less than 2 years old, have 4 tvs ranging from 13" to 60"?? Two home theather systems?? The more I go to my basement, the more junk I come up with. The mere thought of getting rid of all this stuff is both stressful and exciting at the same time. And to help me do this, I know where to go....yes, Craigslist!!!!
As you know I went to India in October to take care of some personal business. I actually drafted a post with my experince during that short one week trip, but was lazy to post it. Moreover most of the information that I had in that post was about the developments in the city, the new hangout places etc, but most of those details are widely available on the web now. So I didnt see a point in posting it, and then I got busy with my life.
One of the goals that I had been ignoring in the first part of 2007 was the PMP certification. As I mentioned in an earlier post, that was one of my important goals for 2007. So I used this break to spend some time preparing for PMP, and passed the exam in my first attempt on 12/29/07, with just two days left in the year. Talk about living on the edge!! I prepared for about 40 days for the exam, and used pmstudy.com to get the contact hours and exam prep. The only other book that I used was that of Rita Mulcahy, and these two resources together helped me comfortably pass the exam with 76% score. If any of you need more details, I'll be happy to oblige.
One of the other things that I started taking a very close look at was the housing market. It had been on a steady downward path for the last two years, but the decline in the last quarter of 2007 was nothing short of spectacular. All those fancy ARMs started resetting and a glut of foreclosures started hitting the market. The worst part is a majority of these houses are almost brand new. You have no words to describe the situation when you see a house that was sold for 950k two years ago is now being priced at 580k. This is just one example. There are tons of such houses, and IMO we've barely scratched the surface. This goes to show two things. 1.The magnitude of the current problem, and 2.The ridiculous prices at which these houses were sold not too long ago. Its the collective greed of the buyers, sellers, lenders and the government that led us to this situation and everybody is responsible for it. I personally think not many people realize how bad the things are, and some people are still dreaming that the current interest rate cuts combined with the government's knee jerk reactions (read economic stmulus package) will take us back to the glory days. I dont know if it will ever happen, but even if it does its a long long way away. Its not the numbers anymore, its the fear that grips the minds when something like this happens. So even if you were competing against 10 other buyers for a 500k house a few yars ago, you'll think a hundred times to bid on it in the current situation even if the same house is offered at 300k. Pessimism is a strong sentiment and that is what you have now on the market.
So with the above backdrop, we started thinking about what we do with our house. BTW, we may be returning sometime next year instead of 2010, and I'll explain the reasons in another post. We wanted to see if we can sell the house, and if so at what price. Even though I was not optimistic at all, we decided to talk to a realtor who only confirmed our fears. So after realizing that its next to impossible to sell the house in the current market we started exploring other options. The realtor suggested an option of pricing the house low and opting for a short sale, but I was against the idea. After working hard for 10 years to build the credit and reputation in the country, I see absolutely no point in ruining it by taking a less than moral approach. So the only option left was renting out the house. Even though we are over a year away from returning I wanted to see how the rental market is and decided to post an ad on...yes, craigslist again. To my surprise, there was enough interest for me to extend my ad for two more weeks, and within 3 weeks of psoting the ad, we did find a strong potential tenant. Now the dilemma was whether to go through with the idea or not. When I posted the ad, I was only testing the waters, but after some careful deliberation we decided to rent the house out. My main reason for it was one year is not a long time, and before we realize we'll be in a situation where we are making our arrangements to R2I and desperately trying to find a buyer or a tenant for the house. That's a very stressful situation even to think about, and I was not ready to put myself in it. And who is to know how the rental market will be after 12 months? So there we are, signing a 24 month rental lease on a house that we never thought we would be moving out of. When we built this house 3 years ago we had no plans to return to India, and as they say time changes every thing. So the plan is to move into an apartment for the next 12 months or so before we R2I. While I am a bit sad that I'll be missing everything I loved so much in my house, I am really excited about the downsized lifestyle that I'll be living soon. Its going to take some adjusting moving into an apartment after 6 years of living in own house(s), but the thought of getting relieved from all the maintainence work that goes with the house is very exciting. My tenanats signed a 24 month lease which starts next month (they actually wanted to sign a 4 year lease, but I wasnt interested). I plan to take care of any issues with the house while I am still in US, and then hire a property manager for the rest of the term. Depending on the situation at the end of the two years, I'll either extend the lease or plan to sell the house. I have many friends in US whom I am banking on to help me with these things when I am in India.
The other thing that's been steadlity going down for the last couple of months is the stock market. Regardless of all the helpful measures by Fed there seems to be no end to the market pessimism. This steady erosion seems much worse than the 2000 dot com bust, and it looks like we are already in recession. Needless to say my 401(k) took a nice beating because of this. Though it appears like I do a lot of planning, its really not the case. When it comes to finances, you wont find anyone more irresponsible than me. I am a compulsive spender and get very lazy when its time to organize my finances. I am not the type of guy who believes in building AAPs (asset allocation plans), and building huge chunks of savings. I believe strongly in my instincts (which are almost always flwaed with no scientific reasoning), and strongly think that no one can become rich by saving money. I always believed that timely investments that can beat the inflation by several times is what makes one rich and financially comfortable in life. But I am planning to alter my thinking a little bit starting this year. I am definitely not going to start pinching pennies, but plan on getting more fiscally responsible. I have been reading a lot of information on AAPs, taxes, investments etc the last few months and really surprised at how granted I've been taking my life all these days. Nothing is going to change in me overnight, and I still think I am in a comfortable position. But what I need to do is a lot of balancing act. Most of my eggs are heavily placed in similar baskets, and from the information I gathered over the last couple of months thats a precarious position to be in. So I plan to do a proper distribution and achieve some kind of balance. That's my goal for 2008.
One more thing that I am planning to do ver soon is, switching jobs. I am going to look for a company that has Indian operations and try to find a job which will allow me to work for the next one year in US and then make a transition to India. I know its going to be vey difficult to find such a job, but if I am able to do it, the R2I and the transition is going to be a lot less stressful.
So that's it for now. I need to start packing and selling/giving away a lot of stuff that I've accumulated over all these years. I wonder why I even bought all this stuff....most of it is junk. IMO, the love for material things in this country is probably the highest in the world. For example, why do I, with a family size of 3 of which one of them is less than 2 years old, have 4 tvs ranging from 13" to 60"?? Two home theather systems?? The more I go to my basement, the more junk I come up with. The mere thought of getting rid of all this stuff is both stressful and exciting at the same time. And to help me do this, I know where to go....yes, Craigslist!!!!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Happy Dasara
I am currently in India, celebrating Dasara(or Dusserah, for some). I am here on a one week trip, and it was a great feeling to be landing on the festival day. Dasara is a big festival for us, and this is my first time celebrating in India after 10 years. Its a great festival, and meeting family and friends in the evening reminded me of my childhood...its an awesome feeling.
Hyderabad is full of Navaratri festivals, and you'll see Durga statues on almost every street. Very festive environment, with lights, music bhajans and songs. Every bit India that I miss so dearly in US. May be its just my feeling but people here seem to be generally happy and upbeat. They've had a lot to take in the recent months, and its great to see them not to lose the resolve.
I'll have more updates, pics and news in my next posts....stay tuned.
Hyderabad is full of Navaratri festivals, and you'll see Durga statues on almost every street. Very festive environment, with lights, music bhajans and songs. Every bit India that I miss so dearly in US. May be its just my feeling but people here seem to be generally happy and upbeat. They've had a lot to take in the recent months, and its great to see them not to lose the resolve.
I'll have more updates, pics and news in my next posts....stay tuned.
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