Expatriates love Bangalore for its cosmopolitan lifestyle, salubrious environment, food and people. Loic Lecomte, an expat from France, shares his experiences here
Loic Lecomte, a French national, moved to Bangalore with his family in 2009. The family confesses that it didn't take too long before the members gelled with the culture and ethos of the City. Barring a few hitches, the family says that its decision to move to Bangalore has been by far the best.
After Mumbai, Loic feels that Bangalore is a good City with an easy going, adaptable way of life and great weather. And having lived in Mumbai, the family is no stranger to Indian food and culture. They love everything that is Indian. "It was quite easy to adjust to the City, since we had been living for a year in Mumbai before coming here. We feel our children are more comfortable in Bangalore because the way of life and the weather are pretty good," explains Loic.
Like any family that moves into a new city, Loic too faced some issues in the beginning. Most expats have a problem adjusting to the food and it takes a while before they settled down to food of their liking.
"We had to find places where we could get specific products (French food) that are not so common in India. We had to go to several places before getting the products we were looking for. Now, we know the City very well and this is helping a lot," says Loic and adds, "things are moving forward thanks to the big malls that are opening one after the other, offering more and more imported products."
The family has specific places where they like to hang out and even shop. "My wife Anouck loves shopping at Russell Market and Commercial Street. She feels shop owners there are very nice. We go to UB City and enjoy the food at two nice restaurants there, which offer good French and Italian cuisine," notes Loic, who also wishes that Bangalore's growing pubs, lounge bars and discos could remain open a little bit longer than what they do now.
Loic says he and his family have more Indian friends now than what they had in the beginning. "We love being invited to Indian weddings or celebrating Holi and Deepavali with our Indian neighbours. This gives us a better understanding of the Indian culture," he says.
The Loic family lives on the outskirts of the City, far away from all the maddening crowd and noise. This, they say, makes life peaceful. They're excited about the growing malls, pubs and hangouts in the City but point out that their only concern is that the infrastructure is not growing at a similar pace. They hope the government will piece its act together to ensure that the City is extended to accommodate the growing populace.
"Urban planning is a huge issue in India and things are moving at a very slow pace because of reasons that we all know about, including corruption," he says. Loic's three children — Capucine, Eloi and Malo — ask him a lot of questions about the City, its culture and religion. "In Mumbai, they had many questions about all that they would see on the street. Most of the questions are related to Indian culture and religions," he says.
Loic Lecomte, a French national, moved to Bangalore with his family in 2009. The family confesses that it didn't take too long before the members gelled with the culture and ethos of the City. Barring a few hitches, the family says that its decision to move to Bangalore has been by far the best.
After Mumbai, Loic feels that Bangalore is a good City with an easy going, adaptable way of life and great weather. And having lived in Mumbai, the family is no stranger to Indian food and culture. They love everything that is Indian. "It was quite easy to adjust to the City, since we had been living for a year in Mumbai before coming here. We feel our children are more comfortable in Bangalore because the way of life and the weather are pretty good," explains Loic.
Like any family that moves into a new city, Loic too faced some issues in the beginning. Most expats have a problem adjusting to the food and it takes a while before they settled down to food of their liking.
"We had to find places where we could get specific products (French food) that are not so common in India. We had to go to several places before getting the products we were looking for. Now, we know the City very well and this is helping a lot," says Loic and adds, "things are moving forward thanks to the big malls that are opening one after the other, offering more and more imported products."
The family has specific places where they like to hang out and even shop. "My wife Anouck loves shopping at Russell Market and Commercial Street. She feels shop owners there are very nice. We go to UB City and enjoy the food at two nice restaurants there, which offer good French and Italian cuisine," notes Loic, who also wishes that Bangalore's growing pubs, lounge bars and discos could remain open a little bit longer than what they do now.
Loic says he and his family have more Indian friends now than what they had in the beginning. "We love being invited to Indian weddings or celebrating Holi and Deepavali with our Indian neighbours. This gives us a better understanding of the Indian culture," he says.
The Loic family lives on the outskirts of the City, far away from all the maddening crowd and noise. This, they say, makes life peaceful. They're excited about the growing malls, pubs and hangouts in the City but point out that their only concern is that the infrastructure is not growing at a similar pace. They hope the government will piece its act together to ensure that the City is extended to accommodate the growing populace.
"Urban planning is a huge issue in India and things are moving at a very slow pace because of reasons that we all know about, including corruption," he says. Loic's three children — Capucine, Eloi and Malo — ask him a lot of questions about the City, its culture and religion. "In Mumbai, they had many questions about all that they would see on the street. Most of the questions are related to Indian culture and religions," he says.