House Hunting - Day 1

Today was the first venture into understanding the living choices one may have in Delhi.  I have moved before - actually many times before - and have even had to find accommodations overseas before, but even with my managed expectations, I was not prepared for the experience.  Let me set the backdrop - Delhi is hot and today was really hot - around 107.  The agents car had just enough air conditioning power to keep the vehicle at a balmy 80 degrees, but the driver kept turning the car off and opening the window when I was not in the vehicle, so it never really got cool. As well, the apartments we saw either did not have the air conditioning turned on or just plain did not have it installed, so they were also very hot.  But the real gem of the day was that some of these apartments are on the 4th floor and you had to walk up a sauna-like stair well to get to them.  There is no deodorant product you can use to offset that kind of sweat.  Apparently, that is why many here do not bother.

The basic apartment in Delhi is in a building that may have up to 4 floors.  Building regulations have been very strict since the 1960s (due to being a Seismic Zone IV area and prone to earthquakes) and you just do not find the Singapore style apartment blocks within the city.  You do get the occasional single home, though, but the typical dwelling is the low rise. The residential areas, or at least the ones I would consider are divided into colonies.  These are larger communities that are separated from the busier city by limiting the ingress and egress.  There are still main roads that run through these colonies, but these are not the major arteries of the city and are mainly used for traffic in and out of the colony.  Within each colony, you have "Blocks" which are neighborhoods in a more strict sense.  They typically have one side street entrance and have very little traffic.  Some blocks even have a guard at the entrance.  These, though, are by no means the modern gated communities of southern Florida.  The British set these up, so they would not have to mingle with the locals, so it is more about sequestering, than security.  These areas tend to be quiet, safe and quite leafy for a city neighborhood.  Some have parks (read large, treed dirt areas), whist others just have shaded, narrow avenues.  Again, please let me manage your expectations.  These are not the leafy boulevards and side streets of Paris.  These are roughly paved roads with trees along the side.  These are where the professionals in Delhi live and the neighborhoods tend to be very friendly.  Many of the blocks and colonies have clubs associated with them - again remnants of colonial Britain. These clubs are like up-scale community centers which offer activities like Tennis or swimming for the member families, as well as a restaurant and pub.  There are dues and fees to be paid if you choose to join.  I have not actually been in one, so I cannot as of now comment on the condition or level of service.

To be perfectly honest, the majority of what we looked at today was crap.  It was a slow process trying to calibrate the agent, but in the end, she now understands what I want and as the day progressed we got closer with one apartment that would be OK if push came to shove.  The issue is that the colonies that are near work, Defense Colony and New Friends Colony, are older and not many people have updated their rentals.  For me, it all comes down to the bathrooms and kitchen which apparently is NOT where they put their investments when renovating in India.  I saw beautiful apartments with new marble floors, huge new windows in great neighborhoods, but with bathrooms in which the shower head was in the middle of the room and the fixtures were moldy and rusty.  It makes not sense to a westerner.

The other aspect of looking at apartments which is fascinating is the servants quarters.  There are various ways apparently to keep your servants close, but not too close.  If the building has several units, the servants' quarters are typically in a central location, either the basement or the roof.  Most we saw looked like cells from Abu Ghraib.  One of the buildings, had the servants living in corrugated metal shelters on the roof with an open, common toilet surrounded by sheets on a close line.  It was explained to me that they do not mind the conditions as they are better then they would have otherwise.  I am not arguing that, but I am not sure I want my servant spending their free time in 100 degree heat and then coming in to prepare my dinner.  Maybe I am overly sensitive to body odor, poor hygiene and disease around my food.

The other issue you find in Delhi is that Indians generally like clutter.  They like a mix of heavy wood, lattice metal work and bright conflicting colors.  They accent with large pieces of furniture with fabrics that Tony Soprano would be embarrassed to have.  Even when you look at only unfurnished apartments as we are, most are still heavily decorated with heavy wood trim, gaudy chandeliers and misplaced victorian sconces.  We are looking for the more the minimalist, modern, deco design (which apparently exists in Delhi, just not on our first list).

So, overall, the first day was not a success, but it never is.  The goal of the day was to calibrate and I feel confident that Amrita, the agent, is now calibrated. We have our second outing scheduled for Tuesday, so I am hopeful to at least see apartments without rust in the bathroom. It is, after all, a process!