I’ve been traveling and staying in India since 2018 and have been grateful to have such amazing experiences. But friends back home are wondering if they should do something similar, so have been asking me about the pros and cons.
The advantages and disadvantages to living in India are:
- Americans can get a 5-year visa online.
- My cost of housing is 79% less than the USA.
- The food is healthy, good, and inexpensive ($1 to $5 for dinner).
- The architecture and art dates back for thousands of years.
- The people can be very friendly and welcoming.
- I can’t drink the tap water
- I must choose restaurants carefully.
- Sanitation and trash removal services aren’t the best.
- Pollution and traffic can be problematic.
It’s hard to sum up my thoughts about India because there are many advantages and disadvantages. I also feel like I’m still learning new ones every day. Once I’ve lived here for 5 years and spent a considerable amount of time in other places, my perspective will probably be very different. Or maybe even next year.
But I know before I flew to India, I wanted to hear from real people living there, so here is one American’s perspective.
Planning a trip to India at some point? Check out my free ebook to help you save time and money, and avoid headaches. After +4 years in India, I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and this guide shares what I’ve learned so you can have a smoother trip.
The Advantages of Traveling in India
A 5-Year Visa Is Easy To Get Online
For Americans (and some other countries), you can get a multiple-entry visa 5-year visa, letting you stay in India for 180 days at a time. Then you must leave the country, but there is no requirement to how long you must be out. Therefore, I fly to Sri Lanka for a week and then come right back.
Most countries only give out 90-day visas, so this is one of the easiest and longest tourist visas available to Americans. Others only give out 180-day visas. I wanted to live in a beautiful country and not have to apply for a new visa often, so India was the perfect choice.
There is even a 10-year visa option that you can apply for through the mail, which I have, and the cost is very reasonable. I paid less than $250.
Now I rent a home in a small city in South India and have taken trips to North India as well as Kerala. I’ve also traveled nearby to places like Chennai, Bangalore, and Pondicherry.
If you want to travel and stay in a country for years, India is one of the best options.
The Low Cost of Housing
I paid $825 for a one-bedroom apartment in a big city in Texas. That was a good price too, considering I was very close to downtown.
In India, I pay 12,000 rupees (~$160) for a two-bedroom apartment. My office has two big windows looking out onto the local mountain and forest. I live on the second floor, have a patio and a thatched roof on the third floor. I added the A/C unit and furniture. But it’s the nicest home I’ve ever rented in!
Of course, I am lucky to live off the beaten path a bit, and it is more expensive in the cities and tourist areas. Here are some examples of housing prices in tourist areas
Airbnbs in Goa
I plugged in a 3-month stay into Airbnb during Goa’s prime tourist season and here’s what I’m seeing:
Eco-hut: You could stay in an eco-hut that’s a 7-minute walk from Palolem Beach for 16,607 rs a month (~$232 USD). You would have a clean place with a laptop-friendly workspace and wifi. You would NOT have A/C or hot water. And there would be “village sounds.” I like camping so it sounds fun!
Villa: You could stay in a 2-bedroom villa 2 KM from Arambol Beach for 25,211 rs a month (~$350 USD). It’s furnished with a laptop-friendly workspace, a kitchen, and hot water. There is NO wifi, A/C, or a private entrance.
Luxury Suite: You could also stay in a one-bedroom apartment near Anjuna Beach for 1,34,623 rs a month (~$1882 USD). It’s furnished, has 24/7 security and a swimming pool. There is wifi, satellite tv, a full kitchen, and a fitness area.
Rentals in New Delhi on the “Expats in Delhi” FB Group
I’m scrolling through the FB group for expats in Delhi and I’m seeing some good options.
Rent a Room (single women only): You could get a room in Jangpura with a woman for 25,000 rs a month (~$350 USD). You’d have a fully-furnished place with a private bathroom in a place that’s close to the market and a short walk to the metro. Wifi, hot water and 24-hour electricity (still makes me chuckle to include that 😉
Fully Serviced Apartment: You could stay in a three-bedroom apartment for 150,000 RS (~$2,098 USD). You’d have housekeeping services, a nice living room, a kitchen, and plenty of bedrooms for friends or family.
The Food is Healthy and Inexpensive
I can get a nice South Indian style dinner for less than $2. If I want to go to a mostly organic restaurant for a three-course meal, then I’ll $7.
The typical dinner might include:
- Masala dosa: Dosa is a savory rice pancake, and they put cooked potatoes with onion, vegetables, and masala spices.
- Parotta: A chewy layered flat-bread, as if a tortilla ate a bunch of eggs and got chubbier 🙂
- Tomato chutney: Creamy and spicy dipping sauce.
- Coconut chutney: Creamy dipping sauce.
- Sambar: Spicy dipping sauce.
- Mint chutney: Fresh creamy dipping sauce.
I ate that dinner every day for months and loved it. I would add eggs for protein and all that with a couple of chais or coffee… and the price would come out to ~$2 USD.
I rarely eat meat. Chicken is available, so is mutton and I have eaten a little beef. But for the most part, I stick with local vegetarian foods and they’re very good and satisfying.
Alcohol is available but difficult to get. I haven’t drank since I’ve been here. If you wanted to seek it out you could find it though. If you were in a city like Bangalore or Mumbai, there are pubs everywhere.
Masala chais on the street are 10 RS too (14 cents). You can get them on most street corners, they are one of the safest things to drink since they’ve been boiled… and are very delicious 😉
–Chai Nomad Tip
The Low Cost of Transporation
For daily transportation, I rent a 50-cc motorized scooter or a “two-wheeler” as it’s called here for 2800 rs a month (~$40 USD). This is a long-term rental price, and if I wanted to rent for just one month, I’d pay about ~$4000 rs a month.
In the USA, I did not have a car, but I would use a service called Car2Go. There were cars scattered across the city and I could use an app to get in one, drive to where I needed to go, park it and leave it. I would pay by the minute, but an hour’s drive would be over $50 USD.
I also had a vintage Puch moped in the USA which cost me ~$700 USD. It was a lot of fun.
Soon I may buy a little moped here in India, but for now, $40 USD a month is well worth having the option to turn it in and not have to worry about repairs.
- If I need to go to the airport, I pay $40 for a taxi to go 4-hours.
- If I want to go shopping for the day in a city a few hours away, I will pay about $50 USD.
- If I want to get a bus a few hours away, I can get a ticket on Redbus for ~$10 USD.
- If I want to fly across the country to Goa for a beach vacation, it’s less than $50.
- If I want to take a 40-hour train from the southern coast of India to a big city like Delhi, I can get a second-class A/C ticket for less than~$50 USD, or a third-class A/C ticket for ~$32 USD.
- If I want to buy the Royal Enfield motorcycle the price starts at 121000 rs (~$1,700 USD) for the cheapest model.
The Mobile Phone and Internet Services Are Good and Inexpensive
I meet travelers who hear that I’m living in India and working online and they say things like… “I could never do that.” Their main concern is that the internet not being reliable or fast enough. But it has been good enough for me and at a far lower price.
I pay $2.64 for a Vodaphone mobile phone service with 3 GB of data, unlimited calls and 100 texts a day. I can use my phone as a hotspot and work +8 hours without running out of data.
I paid $21 for my part of an AT&T family cell phone plan with unlimited data, calls and texts.
I pay $15 a month for internet in India that is basically unlimited (2000 GBs a month, so if I watch 667 hours of Netflix I will use it up 🙂 The speeds are good, often +80 Mbps. The service goes out with power and cuts more than in the US. I can work +40 hours a week though online without too much annoyance.
I paid $46 a month for internet in the USA (which was the initial discounted price, that went up to $70 a month after one year). My speeds were +100 Mbps and rarely had an issue.
Spirituality and Faith is Everywhere
A big reason I came to India was I wanted to commit more fully to what some people call spiritual or faith.
I won’t go on a tangent into my own experiences, but I will say that I am so happy to be surrounded by people who consider this important. In the US there are McDonald’s restaurants every mile or so, and in India, there are temples every mile or so.
I work a lot, but I’m constantly reminded of what is really true and important and to me, that’s priceless.
Enough English is Spoken
I live in a small town with a significant tourist population, and many people speak enough English that we can communicate.
I can ask directions, buy things that I need, and even hold general small talk conversations with the locals.
Tamil is the primary language spoken here and I’ve learned a few things and will learn more. It’s very convenient though that even in a small place, English is one of the main languages spoken.
The History Dates Back Thousands of Years
A historic fort in Texas, near where I lived, is the Alamo. It was founded in the 18th century and the site of some historic battles that were significant in the USA’s history.
When you look at it, it seems really really old too. It’s awe-inspiring to look at the worn walls and picture the people who performed such brave acts hundreds of years ago.
But what makes India so interesting… is that the historic ruins here can be THOUSANDS of years old, not hundreds.
Mahabalipuram, which is near where I stay in India, was built between the 3rd and 7th centuries and is over 1,000 years older than the Alamo. Not far from Chennai, it’s an ancient city that once had a bustling seaport, beautiful art, and a thriving culture. There are temples to honor the Pallava kings that were built to honor the spiritual texts of the day that are hard to put into words.
India reminds me of a wise old grandfather, whereas America is like a curious teenager 🙂
The Culture Is Fun, Beautiful and Often Celebrating
On paper, India has 16 holidays each year with three national holidays. The USA has 11 federal holidays each year.
But as I’m living in India, I have the impression that Indians are always celebrating something.
In the small city that I live, hundreds and sometimes thousands of Hindus will make a pilgrimage here for every full moon. All night long they walk and drive around the local holy mountain, and sometimes the road is so full you can’t drive down it.
There are also many local holidays. There is a small temple near my house that has its own festivities and people who live nearby come to celebrate.
There are big multiple-day festivals like Pongal and Diwali. On New Year’s Eve, fireworks are shot off from every direction.
When someone dies, their body will be placed in a cart and there will be a parade through the streets. The people will be drumming, shooting fireworks, and flower garlands are broken as they walk.
It seems like everyone’s always celebrating here!
There Are So Many Animals
I like how the animals live amongst the people. The cows are sacred and respected and allowed to wander the streets as they please.
There are also horses in my neighborhood. Peacocks walk along my porch and perch on my roof.
The monkeys are cute from afar, but they can be trouble in tourist areas. They are always looking for food and a friend said he saw them jump on someone.
The dogs can be cute as well but be aware they can be aggressive. At night they howl and are more aggressive in packs. I haven’t had any trouble though and you can just throw a rock in their general direction and they scatter. Most are cute and just want you to give them a treat.
There So Many People
I love people and am inspired to shoot street photography. Walking down the street in India is full of creative inspiration. There are so many people!
In the USA, it’s hard to do street photography if you want to shoot people unless you’re in a big city like New York City.
Here I live in a small-ish city and I can drive 5 minutes, and I’ll be surrounded by people and beautiful moments. The people seem genuinely happy to have their photo taken, or at least rarely upset by it… which is different than shooting in a city in the USA like Austin (the hipsters were too cool and jaded, haha).
The Disadvantages of Living in India
India isn’t a utopia though and at times it can be super frustrating to be here. Here are my honest impressions of the disadvantages of living in India:
There Are So Many People
People are a blessing and a curse. I still love people, but I also LOVE being away from them sometimes.
I’m lucky to live outside of a small city, so I never get stuck for hours in traffic or get jostled in crowds. It’s still overwhelming to be surrounded by so many people though.
Read more: Maybe Traveling India Is Not For You? Read the Reasons To Not Visit India
You Can’t Drink the Water
It’s kinda scary knowing that if I drink the tap water, I could get a parasite that might stick with me for months or years.
I have to be always thinking about the hygienic conditions of restaurants and have to resist the urge to eat some genuinely-delicious looking street foods.
Stomach Troubles Can Be Consistent
I’ve never puked here but for months, I had stomach gurgling issues every week or so. Often this would lead to being tired and not feeling like myself.
At first, I ate at a lot of local restaurants and wasn’t aware of how to protect myself, so it’s my own fault really.
Now I eat mostly at home or at a nice Western-style restaurant that never causes stomach troubles, so I’ve minimized this disadvantage.
Soon I’ll be traveling around Delhi and North India though, so I’ll be trying many restaurants and I imagine will get some of the dreaded Delhi Belly.
You Can’t Eat Salads
The biggest cause of stomach troubles or sickness is contaminated water, which is more likely to have been found on lettuce in raw salads.
I like to eat lettuce and there isn’t any lettuce in my grocery store. If there was lettuce, it would be challenging to eat.
Pesticides are commonly used here and chemical fertilizers are used on many farms (same as the USA), so I could never be sure I was getting fresh organic lettuce.
I also miss having a green smoothie, haha.
There is a Western-style restaurant here where I can get a nice big salad. But for months it wasn’t available since it was summer time, and they grow their own lettuce.
In big cities and nice hotels, you will be able to find salads more often, but this is one problem I’m running into.
The Sanitation and Trash Collection Aren’t the Greatest
When I was a kid, I would walk around with my family picking up trash on our road. We would also recycle regularly.
This upbringing makes it hard to see how often trash is dumped wherever there is a free place to dump it.
There is no trash service at my home (there would be in bigger more modern cities), so I drive my trash bags to a small dumpster that is emptied regularly.
The locals near me often burn their trash though.
Another thing is people going to the bathroom. I feel bad saying negative things about India because I feel so grateful to live here, however where I live it is true that people often go to the bathroom outside.
As I was working on a video for my Youtube channel yesterday, I saw a man pooping outside my window. That was the first butt that I think I have seen. Most of the time people are more discreet, but it is common to see men peeing by the side of the road.
I know many cities and communities are working on this, so you may not find this to be true in the future.
Wearing a Pollution Mask is Not Sexy
With COVID-19, masks are everywhere now and I’ve gotten used to wearing one. But before that, I didn’t want to wear one even though the pollution was visible at times.
New Delhi has been called “the most polluted city on Earth.” Where I live it’s relatively pollution-free, although sometimes a farmer will burn a field and it can get very smokey. Or I’m driving my scooter and a truck has black exhaust fumes pumping out. Or it’s just super dry and dusty sometimes.
If COVID-19 subsides, I may go back to not wearing a mask but if I move to a big city or travel it is helpful to have one.
I’m Most Likely To Die By Getting Hit By A Bus
I think if I don’t survive my India trip it will be because I get hit by a bus or something (ugh, I hope this premonition doesn’t come true 🤞)
The driving here can be crazy.
I actually really like it most of the time now. It’s just fun. I feel like a kid in a go-kart race at an amusement park. Anything goes. Most drivers seem incredibly skilled too.
But it’s full-on and I remember counting “near-death” experiences on my fingers at first, as I was getting used to driving here.
Final Words:
If you’re thinking of moving to India or traveling long-term around India, the advantages have far outweighed the disadvantages. I know many people who agree, and others who hate India. It comes down to whether India is a good fit for you, and I hope my experiences have helped inform your decision.
As I said, I have had some amazing experiences. I live in a beautiful home, I eat good food and mostly hang out with hilarious fun people. I’ve saved more money than I ever have and can work online without too many troubles.
There are some moment where I get frustrated by the disadvantages, but similar moments happened in the very nice city of Austin too.
Related Questions:
Is It Worth Living in India?
Many people enjoy the emphasis on spirituality in the culture and the low cost of living (housing is 79% less for me). The food is good and even a nice restaurant meal is ~$5 USD. There are many beautiful historic attractions and flights across the country cost less than $100 USD. It can be challenging constantly negotiating, dealing with crowds, fewer sanitation services, and poor quality tap water though.
How Is Life in India for Foreigners?
The unique culture has many advantages, such as beautiful temples, a focus on faith, and colorful celebrations. The cost of housing 79% less for me than in the USA. The overall cost of living is 61% less. It can be challenging to deal with locals who will try to charge you more for things. You will often have to negotiate and deal with people wanting to sell you things or asking for money. The crowds, traffic, and noise can be overwhelming. But there are many opportunities for foreigners in India!
What Are the Challenges of Living in India?
The traffic can cause delays, the air can be polluted, there is more trash on the ground, you will often be negotiating for a fair price, it can be noisy, and there are a lot of pushy salesman at tourist destinations. As a foreigner, you will stand out so be on alert for thieves or pickpocketers or young men on a motorcycle who could drive by and grab your purse. As a woman, you may experience sexual harassment or more on the streets (many say it’s safer than the US but it has happened to friends). There isn’t always hot water, the power cuts sometimes, and the insects are tough.
Is India a Good Place to Live?
The culture of India makes it a great place to live. It is one of a kind and there is so much to learn. The way they focus on their faith and spirituality is inspiring. You can find very nice places to live for reasonable prices (I pay $160 USD for a two-bedroom flat). You can hire a cook or maid for about 2000 – 4000 rs a month (~$30 – $60 USD). The food is delicious and healthy. There are many unique tourist destinations and it’s inexpensive to travel around.
