Living in India info needed

[ultrarunner]

Are they expensive/

fv

I don't know. Go to IRIDIUM.COM and find out. I just told you what I would do! ;-) as I'm into simplicity. If I recall, Iridium costs about a buck a minute or so. Can't tell you what a portable handset sets you back. But you can do some homework and let the rest of us know. Just seems MUCH more simple than screwing around with Sim cards, pre-paid plans, blah blah blah...just pick up the Iridium and "phone home". Simple is good.

 

[Vsf]

I spent much of my career overseas, and I think JohnnyP's advice in particular is good.

One thing I'll add: When you're overseas, you'll drive yourself crazy if you left any loose ends in the U.S. Your girlfriend or pals will be great about taking care of your car or your dog or your house for about 20 days...then they'll retain their normal focus in life and you'll be off the radar screen. Giving power of attorney to someone is really key, you need someone who can unf*ck things on your behalf if something happens, otherwise, it will mentally drain you as you try to push a string from overseas trying to fix something.

I'd also suggest making sure you have a top bank wherever you're going, financial snafus are common overseas and can be a bitch to troubleshoot. The shadier your employer is, the more true this is, since "the check is in the Internet" can require some good troubleshooting sometimes.

 

[gangdev]

For those of you who fly overseas, do any of you fly for an airline in India? I am curious of what the DGCA process involves now. Have they been simplifying the process at all?
I have been trying to obtain overseas citizenship of India, although it is extremely difficult - and I hear it is time consuming to get certificates transferred if you are an expat..

 

[JohnnyP]

phones

I was just looking into the phone situation again myself.

I checked into the Iridiums, and having a Sat-phone is good to keep in the plane as a back-up when your broke down somewhere and need a call. But what if your just stuck in a terminal or city, and just need to call the hotel, your company,etc?...If youve got a sat phone it might not work indoors. And I dont know about you all, but my previous attempts at getting our Thurahys (sp?) to work was frustrating. Seemed a bit touch and go as far as your chances of getting the call to go through.

My company gives us phones, but they only work in limited places, etc.

I think what im going to do, is just buy my own unlocked quad-band phone, and get seperate SIM chips for each place I frequent a lot. Just store all the sim's behind the battery area in the phone. Gets a little cumbersome but works. A downside is that your going to have 16 differernt phone numbers, so people will have a harder time getting ahold of you.

I looked into these international roaming sims, and they seemed to be quite pricey, like $3+ a minute.

Sometimes different SIMS work in other countries also.
For example, our Cyprus SIM works in Paris, the Kuwait SIM works in Switzerland, etc. I dont know how, but it just worked.

We'll see