New Delhi, India Report of what it's like to live there - 01/28/22
Personal Experiences from New Delhi, India
Background:
1. Was this post your first expatriate experience? If not, what other cities have you lived in as an expat?
This was my first expat experience.
2. What is your home city/country? How long is the trip to post from there, with what connections? How easy/difficult is it to travel to this city/country?
Home city is Washington, DC. A 14-hour direct flight to the U.S. is possible, but mostly you'll be traveling through Paris or London. Traveling to and from New Delhi isn't particularly difficult.
3. What years did you live here?
2018-2020.
4. How long have you lived here?
1.5 years.
5. What brought you to this city (e.g. diplomatic mission, business, NGO, military, teaching, retirement, etc.)?
Diplomatic Mission.
Housing, Groceries & Food:
1. What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
The housing was spacious, but like most people have said about this location, once you look behind the curtain, you'll realize that there are a lot of problems. Luxurious building materials paper over some pretty serious issues, particularly poor wiring. Commute times varied, but ours typically took 30 minutes in the morning and about an hour in the evenings.
2. How would you describe the availability and cost of groceries and household supplies relative to your home country?
Abysmal. It was difficult to find most things you wanted and you would often have to go to several different shops to do so.
3. What household or grocery items do you wish you had shipped to post?
We were not left wanting in this regard, but it's because we brought significant stores of non-perishable items with us.
4. What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
There are multiple food delivery services that will deliver food from all over the city, so this isn't a huge problem. You will always be rolling the dice when you order takeout, however, especially if you don't adhere to a vegetarian diet.
5. Are there any unusual problems with insects or other infestations in housing?
We didn't have any problems with this, but we were on the third floor. Ground level apartments were probably a lot more problematic. Mosquitos are a problem everywhere, but since we never opened our doors or windows, they never really got into the house.
Daily Life:
1. How do you send and receive your letters and package mail? Are local postal facilities adequate?
Pouch.
2. What is the availability and cost of household help, and what types of help are typically employed by expatriates?
Virtually everyone in the Foreign Service has household help, though we did not. It is relatively inexpensive, from what I gathered, and you could find whatever you wanted, including a live-in housekeeper.
3. What kinds of gyms or other sports/workout facilities are available? Are they expensive?
The Embassy gym is the only one I would have considered using. There are gyms in New Delhi and I doubt they were expensive, but I don't know for sure.
4. Are credit cards widely accepted and safe to use locally? Are ATMs common and do you recommend using them? Are they safe to use?
We opened a bank account there and got a debit card on the local economy. Foreign credit cards can be used and are typically readily accepted, but you'll have to contend with a lot of fraud alerts.
5. How much of the local language do you need for daily living? Are local language classes/tutors available and affordable?
None. My wife learned Hindi prior to us going there, but I didn't. Neither of us had any problem getting around New Delhi. Even outside of the city, we rarely encountered difficulties, though we didn't go to many out of the way locations.
6. Would someone with physical disabilities have difficulties living in this city?
Absolutely. There aren't sidewalks most places and where there were, they rarely had ramps.
Transportation:
1. Are local buses, trams, trains or taxis safe and affordable?
We pretty much exclusively used Uber during our time there. It's incredibly inexpensive, though reliability is a significant issue.
2. What kind of car do you recommend bringing to post, given the terrain, availability of parts, burglary/carjacking risks, etc.? What kind of car do you advise not to bring?
One that's seen better days. You will almost certainly get into a car accident. Looking like a wealthy foreigner probably increases the likelihood of that, in my opinion.
Phone & Internet:
1. Is high-speed home Internet access available? How long does it typically take to install it after arrival?
Yes and it's incredibly cheap. The Embassy sometimes provides high speed internet to its apartments, but unfortunately ours had had it disconnected and so it was no longer an option for us. We spent weeks trying to get someone to come out and install internet and it was a huge headache.
2. Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?
I think we used Airtel if I'm remembering correctly, but Jio is the better option. All are inexpensive and somewhat unreliable.
Employment & Volunteer Opportunities:
1. What types of jobs do most expatriate spouses/partners have? Locally based or telecommuting? Full-time or part-time? Can you comment on local salary scales?
Most people just work at the Embassy. It's a massive Embassy and jobs are readily available. Working in the local market is possible, but not advised (local salaries are not high).
Health & Safety:
1. Are there personal security concerns to be aware of at this post? Please describe.
Everyone knows of the problems that women face in Indian society and though these shouldn't be dismissed, everyone will tell you that they very rarely target foreign women. You'll likely run into people that will try to rip you off, but outright theft doesn't seem incredibly common. You should definitely take care of your possessions though.
2. Are there any particular health concerns? What is the quality of available medical care? What medical conditions typically require medical evacuation?
Yes. The water is not potable in most places and food poisoning is a not uncommon occurrence. Safety is a significant concern when you're walking down the side of a heavily trafficked street with no sidewalk. The doctors and equipment in private hospitals are top notch, but I definitely wouldn't want to have any sort of surgical procedure here. My wife and I both spent (separate) nights in the ER and it was NOT fun.
3. What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
This is EASILY the worst part of living in New Delhi. The air is practically unbreathable in the winter months. We wore masks from November through February, but the air quality is still pretty bad most of the time. There were many days where going outside would give me a headache almost instantly.
4. What do people who suffer from environmental or food allergies need to know?
Be very careful. You're not likely to be warned if there's something that could trigger a food allergy in your dish. Unless you're allergic to pollution, environmental pollutants shouldn't be a huge issue in New Delhi because there's almost zero green space anywhere in the city.
5. Are there any particular mental health issues that tend to crop up at post, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter blues)?
If you really like the color brown, New Delhi is the place for you. Everything is coated in a thick coat of grime and I can't imagine it does wonder for mental health.
6. What is the overall climate: is it extremely hot or cold, wet or dry, at any time of year, for example?
Mostly hot. Expect it to be miserable nine months out of the year, and fairly comfortable during the winter months.
Expat Life:
1. Is this a good city for single people? For couples? For families? Why or why not?
I don't think this is a particularly good city for anyone frankly, least of all families. I wouldn't want to bring my kids here because of the pollution alone.
2. Are there problems with ethnic, race/racial minorities or religious prejudices? Gender equality?
It seems to be pretty common knowledge that there's a fair amount of animosity towards people of Muslim faith throughout India.
3. What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Leaving it. All of our best trips were trips taken out of the country. We didn't drive in India because we were terrified of the roads, so we took very few trips that didn't involve a plane.
Words of Wisdom:
1. Knowing what you know now, would you still move to this city?
I definitely would not.
2. But don't forget your:
Pollution mask.
