When Adam and I first came up with the “back up plan” of going to India for 3 months instead of trying to push to get an expat package – one of the things we did was put together a budget plan for Adam’s boss. And of course one of the biggest cost in that analysis was housing. Therefore we researched the heck out of housing looking for both nice and cheap places to live. This ended up being a really good thing though because it helped us get familiar with what apartment complexes were available in our area and which ones were well liked and rated and which ones were worth spending a little bit more money on. One of the complexes we really liked though was called St. Johns Wood and at one point Adam and I even signed a contact to rent an apartment within the complex, but the Landlords ended up backing out (before they signed) when they got another offer for a 2 year contract from a Japanese couple. We were sad to lose the apartment, but it ended up being a good thing because we would have needed to jump through a lot of hoops and do a lot of work ourselves had we kept it.
As things turned out though, Adobe did most of the house hunting for us and did all the work securing the place for us. They even pay the rent and utilities and made sure it was furnished and had everything we needed. It took a lot of stress off of Adam and I. And although it isn’t as nice as the apartment we had chosen for ourselves (or as cheap) we really aren’t complaining and feel very fortunate to be in such a great apartment in such a great complex. And…its only 3-10 minuts from Adam’s work depending on traffic! Can’t beat that!
So for those of you back home that are curious as to what living in India looks like, see pictures below. I think you will have to agree that we are by no means “roughing it” and if anything we are being very well taken care of. We went from a large house in the country to a small apartment in the heart of the city, but we are absolutely loving it and actually PREFER to have a different kind of experience while we are here in India. We’ve done the house with a yard thing in Utah for most of our married lives so we both felt it would be an even more exciting adventure if we tried out something new and different. And we are so glad we did. Being in apartment has some definite perks as opposed to living in a house and we love being able to take advantage of all the beautiful pool, work out rooms, badmitton and squash courts, kids play areas, and tennis courts! Plus its great because we have 24 hour security, back up generators for power outages, and we are in a completely gated community where the kids can go and play without fear of cars, strangers, wild dogs, etc. Its a very safe area.
So without further ado, here is your tour of our new home!
The master bath – which is actually the same size of ALL the bathrooms. The crazy part though is that we have the same amount of bathrooms in this house as we did in our big house! Apparently having lots of bathrooms is very common in Indian apartments.
Very standard bathroom
And here is our bedroom! We call it the “sun room” because it has suns all over the walls. Its small but cozy and perfect for our 3 month little get-away! I will say though that one of the very first things we did when we arrived was to go and try to find a mattress topper for our bed. The bed literally felt like you were laying on the ground it was so hard and so that became one of our highest priorities those first few days in India. We luckily were able to find 2 very puffy cotton sleeping mats (which many Indians use as their beds) for $15 each and that has helped significantly. We also bought more pillows as well since we both like to sleep with lots of pillows! đ Those were only $2 each! Nice!
Another view of our room. It has a nice desk and a mirror closet.
The boys room! We had to laugh at all the paint colors in this apartment because they are SO bright. But the kids all loved this room and all of them wanted to sleep here. We ended up having to set up a schedule so that each boy takes a turn sleeping in the girly “pink room” with Adalynn for a month since they all wanted to be in here. But it makes me laugh because this room is actually green AND purple (another girly color) but the purple doesn’t seem to bother them. Just the pink! ha ha!
And the girly pink room that Adalynn and Branson are currently sharing. It also has some super awesome glow in the dark stickers on the ceiling for the kids to look up at every night. Again its not quite what we would have chosen for ourselves, but its fine for 3 months and has everything we need. We feel very blessed.
And here is the closet in the pink room. The door goes to the kids own bathroom. All the bedrooms have an adjoining bathroom – but no tubs. Just showers. That is something we are ALL getting used to. đ
Our apartment also has this sort of strange “extra” bathroom or at at least vanity because there is no toilet in the hallway. We pretty much just use this as the designated “teeth brushing” and “hair doing” area since it is so centrally located. I also assume this is where you send guests to “wash their hands” for a big meal.
The other side of the hall (across from the sink) we have this nice storage shelf area. It currently holds my jewelry, toothbrushes and toothpastes, and some of my essential oils and lotions.
This is our front entry way. The door to the left is the entrance to our kitchen.
Here I am looking at the room from the entry way door. We have a small living room on the left and a dining area on the right.
And this is the kitchen! Notice there is no oven. That is very common in India as not very many people bake here. I did ask the apartment manager to provide me with one though so he since has brought one in but still it is only about half the size as ours in America and therefore I can only bake half a cake at once, or half a pan of brownies. We are just happy to have one though. We also have to have our own water brought in because the water here in India is not clean like in America and so it makes foreigners very sick to drink it. I think I may have had some this weekend because man alive did I get some stomach issues causing me to spend most of my Sunday on the potty. Needless to say I’m going to be much more careful about brushing my teeth in bottled water form now on! ha!
The other side of the kitchen. Also, although the fridge looks pretty standard, fridges in India are probably about half the size of ours in America. Therefore you HAVE to go shopping every few days in order to keep enough food on hand. Its not been a big deal though because the apartment also came with a HOUSEKEEPER named Geetah which means I now get to spend my day playing with my kids instead of cleaning, doing dishes, washing floors, and taking care of the laundry. My maid was shocked to learn today that in America I do all my own cooking, cleaning, and laundry. She was especially shocked when I told her I cleaned toilets. She just could NOT believe I would do all that myself and knew how to and take care of my own kids to boot. “Don’t you want a servant in America?” she asked. I then told her that servants in America are very expensive and told her about how much they make per hour in rupees. Her next question was, “Wow, can you take me home with you?” It must seem like a fortune to her, but she doesn’t realize that almost everything in America is also much more expensive. But man, I will tell you what, I would be VERY tempted to take her home with me because she is AMAZING!
Our washer and dryer, which by the way if you have both running at the same time and your A/C units will cause your power to go out for several hours. Also if you try to turn your water heater on when other things are running that also will cause a power outage. I think we’ve had at least 5 or 6 outages since we’ve been there. The good news though is that most of them are in the middle of the night. We only know this because our alarm clock that runs off electricity is wrong almost every morning!
We also have a balcony off the living room in our apartment and this is the few. We are on the third floor. This is looking to the left.
And this is looking to the right. The pool is actually right in front of that building on the right but because we are only on the 3rd floor we can’t quite see it. If you go a few more flights up though you can. I’m sure its lovely! đ
Here the kids are standing just outside our apartment building. The doors into the building are to the left of Branson.
This is one of the two playgrounds in the complex. The other one is right next to our building. This one is right next to the swimming pool.
And this is the pool area! The kids love it because the little ones can play in this first little pool (which isn’t very deep) and then Branson can ply in the further pool which is only 4 ft tall – making it so he can touch wherever he is in it. This pool has been a LIFESAVER for days when we are hot and sweaty and in need of something to do. Its quickly becoming a favorite activity for all of us.
This is some of the amazing greenery right by the pool. Check out those vines? These trees seriously are incredible! Can you see Branson in the one to the right?
In addition to the pool and parks, the complex also has a library, a small convenience store (with bread, milk, eggs, fruit, veggies, medicines, shampoo’s, ice cream, etc.) The kids and I love to go and get popcycles there! Its right next to the pool in the club house.
And here is the 2nd park right next to our building. Unfortunately our apartment is not facing the park so I’m always hesitant to let the kids go and play, but I’ve been letting Brans and Harry go on their own if they use the buddy system and stay together all the time. But usually I just go down and play with them. Thats more fun anyway! The kids think its awesome that this park has a Merry Go Round! They haven’t been outlawed here in India like they have in the states and its definitely a favorite for the kids to play on (was my favorite too as a kid!) I’m glad they are getting to enjoy their childhood like I did mine!
Harry and Brans have quickly become my little monkeys and are amazing on the monkey bars now. Adam and I make up challenges for them and so far they all have risen to our challenges and if they can’t do them the first time they just keep practicing until they can.
We sure do feel blessed to be here in India having these amazing experiences!
Very cool! Can't wait to show these to the boys. So fun to see India through the eyes of Sarah's camera lens!!