The cost of living in India and in the U.S.A. - a comparison

chillibreeze writer — Meera Iyer

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Moving to India? Join the bandwagon!

The flat world might be a cliché, but it is a fact. So, while thousands of Indians make the westward trek every year, hundreds of people are moving to India— some posted here by their companies, some because they want a piece of the action in India’s fledgling markets, some because a stint in India looks good on a resume. And the question in everyone’s mind is: Will I be able to maintain my lifestyle in India? Is India cheap? Short answers: ‘Yes’ and ‘It depends’.

Assuming that you are moving to a big city in India (and not a rural area) with a job that pays you the same as your American job (yes, it is possible), or that you are taking up a high-level managerial job, you will probably want to maintain a lifestyle to match what you had back home. So, let’s take a quick look at what are likely to be your main expenses.

Rent: If you are moving from New York, the heart of Chicago, or San Francisco, or some of the other major US cities, you may well be accustomed to living in an apartment, and the transition will be fairly painless. For Rs. 30,000 – Rs.50,000 ($750 – $1,250) you would get a good 3-bedroom apartment in a decent neighborhood in Bangalore, Delhi or Chennai— certainly a lot bigger than the 2-bedroom you shelled out $2,500 for in New York City.

In Mumbai though, expect rates only slightly lesser than New York. However, if you are moving from the less expensive, more expansive mid-west, or even, say, New Jersey, where the norm is a 4 or 5-bedroom house, then scale up the rent in India by half or more and slash the rent in the US by half or more: the Indian city would cost you more.

Schools: All those who don’t have children, skip this section. But if you do, then this is going to be a fairly major expense. In all likelihood, your kids went to a public school in the US, which is free.

The system in India is different of course, and though there are government-funded schools, you wouldn’t want to put your kids there. There are a wide variety of schools you could put them in though. If you stick to a traditional Indian public school (modeled after the British public schools), you are looking at anywhere between Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 70,000 ($750 - $1,750) a year in Bangalore, Bombay or Delhi and half that or less in Chennai.

However, alternative schools, which are usually less structured and more relaxed, might be less of a traumatic change in the learning environment for you children: in this case, you will be poorer by between Rs. 90,000 and Rs. 200,000 ($2,250 - $5000) per year. Schools that follow the International Baccalaureate system will charge between Rs. 200,000 and Rs. 500,000 ($5,000 - $12,500) a year.

Domestic services: Definitely cheaper here. We paid $50 for a visit from the housemaid to clean our apartment in New York. Of course, in other cities, you could get someone to come in once a week to clean up for $60 – $75.

In India, you can get someone to do your dishes and all cleaning everyday for Rs. 4,000 ($100) or less a month. And in case you’re wondering, a once-a-week routine just doesn’t work in India – it’s too dusty for that.

You can also get a cook for just a little more. Trust me, this is definitely worth it! If you are moving to Bangalore, Bombay or Delhi, you will almost certainly want a chauffeur, just so you don’t spend too much of your life stressed out behind a wheel, when you could easily be catching up on some shut-eye or even work. Relax. For about Rs. 10,000 ($250) a month, you could get a good, English-speaking chauffeur, who will even run odd errands for you, such as paying your telephone bills!

Food: As a rule, food is quite cheap in India: expect to shell out about Rs. 15,000 ($375 - $500) to Rs. 20,000 for a couple with two children.

Vacations: It all depends on what you want to do. If, like most Americans, you enjoy the great outdoors, you’re in luck. Rates at some good nature resorts, such as the highly-recommended Jungle Lodge and resorts at Kabini are in the range of $65 to $95 per person per day, including food. When you compare this to the $70 – $140 cabin at Yellowstone, which does not include food, you’ll appreciate the difference.

The concept of campgrounds has still not caught on in India, so by default, your only choice would be rustic camping, which is absolutely free! But if you’re the typical Chicago or NY city-clicker who can’t bide by the quietness of the countryside, then prepare to pay for it!

Five-star comforts don’t come cheap in India. Bangalore’s Leela Palace is reputed to be among the most expensive hotels in the world. If you are willing to go forego some of the five-stars comforts (no swimming pool, no hair-dryers in the bathroom, no cocktail lounge), then you can get a good, clean hotel room in most places for fairly reasonable prices, around $50 a day.

Eating out: In the metros, a visit to a good restaurant with your companion will set you back by about Rs. 3000 to Rs. 6,000 ($75 - $150), which is still less than a good restaurant in NY or San Francisco. Of course, there are places where you could splurge Rs. 25,000 on two people, with drinks, if you wanted, just as there are places in say, Chicago or Seattle, where you could blow a hole in your pocket if you wanted to.

If you are in the habit of also dropping in at places like Denny’s or IHOP, then a similar joint in India would cost you about the same, though you also have the option of even lower-brow, yet clean joints, where you could get a meal for two for $6 - $7.

Healthcare: Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last couple of years, you have heard about medical tourism in India. Just as dentists across the border in Mexico don’t bat an eyelid now at Americans who come for teeth-cleaning, Americans and Britons coming to India for their medical needs is now an almost old hat. Medical care and especially medications are cheaper in India.

When my dad had to have an operation in the US, it cost a whopping $80,000 (he didn’t have insurance). The same procedure here would have cost about Rs. 300,000 ($7,500). Of course, you have insurance cover in the US, but for some procedures and medications that are not covered, India is definitely going to be cheaper.

So, the bottomline is that you spend more of your money on food, vacations and maybe healthcare in the US, whereas in India, a larger chunk of the pie will cover rent and schools. Some years ago, India would definitely have been cheaper than the US.

Today, at the end of the day, you will have approximately similar amounts, or slightly more left over in your kitty in India as you did in the US. So what are you waiting for? Come on over!

 

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—About our writer:

Meera Iyer,
"An ex-journalist with a PhD in ecology, Meera has lived in Africa, Central America and the USA but loves being back home in India. Her interest are writing, reading, environment, history, ecology, travel, science. Having with her two kids, so many passions, so little time!"