Home Sweet Home - Beverly Park 400709

When someone dear relocates, it’s really not until I can stalk see them in their new digs either in pictures or in person that I can truly understand their new reality.  I’m a visual learner, and those pictures in my mind are what allow me to make connections and relate to someone else’s experience.  For me, knowing other’s surroundings makes a difference.  What can I say?  Call me nosey!  I prefer “informed.”

I guess it might be a lame excuse for sharing pictures of our own home here on the blog, but we thought that giving a peek in to our happy abode would shed some light on one aspect of our expat life in India.  Consider this post one third of a “House Hunters International” episode where you already know the outcome.  At the very least, I know my mom will get a kick out of these pics!

Beverly Park exterior

Beverly Park is primarily inhabited by employees of Reliance and their families (when the latter chooses to come).  There aren’t very many expats here working in the same Reliance Digital retail branch for whom Todd works; many of the folks here are doing contracting/consulting work with Fluor or Bechtel for Reliance, or are part of the HUGE 4G project that you’ve probably heard Todd mention along the way.  Expats here come from the States, the UK, Canada, Australia, and Germany, to name a few countries, along with Indians who have moved here from other parts of the country to work for this very large company that has it’s “fingers” in many different areas of the economy.  We’ve grown to really appreciate the fact that we can have a very “Indian” experience whenever we go out to shop, for dinner, to explore, and sight see, but then get this very “international” experience and perspective on our home turf by interacting with the many expat friends we’ve made here at Beverly Park.

Overlooking our Kopar Khairane neighborhood in Navi Mumbai.

Honestly, there is a huge advantage to living in a complex like this when undertaking an international experience, especially here in Mumbai.  Some very veteran expats might say that it’s a cop out (you should live in a flat amid the locals), but - hey - when you’re dealing with a THOUSAND things EVERY day that pull you out of your comfort zone, having your home be “easy” is one thing we’ll take without question.

A view of the walking trails, pool, tennis court, and club house.
That white building just below that taller hill in the background is a
mosque from which we can hear the call to prayer five times a day every day.

While Beverly Park is run by a large international serviced residences company, the employees go out of their way to make sure the residents feel at home.  Most of the  staff with whom we interact on a regular basis know us by name, and we enjoy having conversations with each other about family and day-to-day comings/goings.  On site, there is a pool, tennis courts, walking trails, work out facility, and little theater where they will occasionally do a “movie night.”  Recently, a “restaurant” was added that is open 24/7 and serves three meals a day, plus take-away during the rest of their non-meal hours.  For just a couple hundred rupees, we’ve enjoyed some pretty tasty dinners, and have been grateful to have that option since 1) we don’t yet have gas service set up for our cooktop, as a very lengthy process is involved for setting up propane service due to security issues in India; and 2) we’ve heard that getting around and access to grocery items can be more challenging during the monsoons, set to start in about 2 weeks, so having an on-site source for meals will be crucial.  If there is a problem (such as sitting with no power like I did for 30 minutes earlier today), a quick call to Guest Services results in a very helpful maintenance person coming up and rectifying the situation.  We’ve got some creature comforts too, including A/C, satellite TV, internet (albeit VERY slow until 4G comes along...Todd says it’s AT LEAST as blazin’ fast as AOL 5.0...), full size refrigerator, convection microwave, and in-unit washer/dryer (well, actually, those are on the balcony...).

The entryway.
We do our best to never wear our shoes in the house in an effort to avoid tracking greater Mumbai in to the house.

The Maid's Room.
Uh...yah, we use it store luggage.

View of the hallway from the entryway.

Kitchen.
That's a pass through to the dining room above the counter.

Kitchen.
Full size fridge decorated with Sconnie swag, water bottle, rice cooker, toaster, microwave convection oven.
That little door goes to the balcony where the washer/dryer are. 

In-unit laundry!

Spare bedroom awaiting guests....hint hint!!!
I promise I won't make you iron...

Dining room.

Living room.

Living room.

Master bedroom.

There have also been a few “quirks” with which to contend, but that’s just part of the “Hey, we’re not in the US anymore” learning process.  The mattresses are all very thin, so we discovered after talking to a friend that we could request a “Western style” mattress...thank goodness!  Like many non-US countries, each water source runs on it’s own geyser (a small water heater), so you have to remember to turn it on about 10 minutes before you want hot water...it’s different, but far more efficient.  We’ve got a dehumidifier that runs constantly, and we empty it at least twice per day!  Tap water is not at all potable, so we only consume bottled water, and a filter connected to the kitchen tap allows us to wash/rinse dishes safely without having to use up the bottled water.  Power, as we understand it, is a lot more reliable now than it was even a year ago, but we still lose it on occasion.

His bathroom.
Note the geyser in the upper left corner.

Her bathroom.
Note the bottle of water...We always have a full bottle ready for teeth brushing.

In the grand scheme of things, especially when you consider the intense and extensive poverty that is all around us, these “quirks” are just different ways of getting things done at best, or minor inconveniences at worst.  Either way, we consider ourselves very fortunate to have made our home here at Beverly Park.  We’re looking forward to collecting some treasures along our journey in order to personalize it a bit more.  In the meantime, we hope you enjoyed taking a peek.

Cheers!

Todd & Melissa