Moving to Delhi

By Kay McMahon, 25 July 2003

What’s available?

Before moving overseas many people are concerned about what to bring with them. There’s nothing so frustrating as lugging cases full of Marmite only to discover that it’s readily available when you arrive.

The good news is that almost everything is readily available in Delhi – although, in the case of some imported goods, at quite a high price.

Please see our shopping section for more detailed information, but basically you should be able to find what you need.

All the following are available if you just know where to look:

Food

Pork, beef, lamb, chicken, fish and shellfish (although most recommend purchasing fresh fish only in the winter).

Fruit and vegetables: you name it, chances are they’ve got it. All the basics are available as are virtually all the things you’d expect to find in a supermarket back home. Avocados, kiwi, asparagus, mushrooms (before the pedants write in, I know they’re not vegetables), nuts, fresh herbs, etc, etc.

Dried and tinned goods: locally produced spices are cheap and excellent, dried goods are abundant, tinned goods are widely available although they tend to be expensive. And yes, you can easily find Marmite here.

Clothing

Gents: There is an abundance of good quality gents’ clothing and shoes. If you don’t like what you see you can always get a tailor to run something up for you.

Ladies: Not such good news here. There are some places which sell ladies’ western clothes but the choice is limited, and top quality clothing can be very expensive. If you want to “go native” there is a huge choice of beautiful clothes. Again, you can get a tailor to copy things for you. Some tailors do an excellent job of this and you can get decent copies made quite cheaply. There are plenty of fashionable shoe shops but, again, there’s not as much to please the western woman as the western man.

Casual: Shorts, T-shirts, and the like are cheap and abundant.