The Earth Vagabonds are wrapping up another six months in India.
We arrived in Kochi, Kerala on November 16, 2023. Next week we will fly out of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Actually, we ended up in India after the war in Gaza caused us to cancel our plans for a similar extended stay in Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.
India was a great ‘fallback’. We already had five-year visas, the airfare from Türkiye was reasonable, and the cost of living in India can be near the lowest on the planet.
Here’s proof. The video below is our current Airbnb apartment rental near the internationally renowned “universal township” of Auroville.
To be clear, we are technically in the village of Kuilapalayam – which borders Auroville. All of which is about 10 kilometers north of the city of Pondicherry.
Price of this accommodation for the month; $570 – plus the electric bill.
Here is the Airbnb ad for that unit.
And check out the figures below — the lodging summary of our six-month stay in India.
Housing costs are in the news and on the rise everywhere (including India), but the rates we’ve paid over the past half-year are excellent values in our opinion. Can you rent anything furnished, including utilities and taxes in the USA for such amounts?
Accommodation prices in southern India
Kochi – 33 nights / $847 = $25.66 per night
Goa – 15 nights / $559 = $37.26 per night
Pondicherry – 42 nights / $1460 = $34.76 nightly
Mahabalipuram – 14 nights / $299 = $21.36 nightly
Chennai – 44 nights / $1119 = $25.43 per night
Auroville – 30 nights / $570 = $19 per night + electric
Totaling it all up, we stayed 178 nights for $4854. That averages out to $$27.27 per night. (The only added charge is the current electric bill expected to be about $45).
A few more notes
My mom Diane was with us for nearly three months. We rented larger, two-bedroom, two-bathroom units for those months (and mom kicked in for rent).
All units had great AC in the bedrooms at least (a necessity southern India). Some places had AC in other living areas too. All had numerous ceiling fans throughout.
All the properties were modern, clean, safe, comfortable – with kitchens, and furnished in western style – with WiFi, hot water if desired, and many with smart TVs. Only the Mahabalipuram unit was slightly below our USA living standard.
All rentals were found using Airbnb – and include the Airbnb booking fee (usually about 12%). Taxes were also included by Airbnb as required by some specific Indian states. We were charged only one $6 “cleaning fee”.
Below are links to the “Kortn’s Crib” video tours I produced at the longer stays. And links to the Airbnb listings for all.
As always, be thankful and generous, happy trails & more beer.
Life is NOW!
Video tours & Airbnb ads for month-long rentals
- Kortn’s Crib Kochi
- Kortn’s Crib Puducherry
- Kortn’s Crib Chennai
- Kortn’s Crib near Auroville (video above)
Airbnb ads for stays less than one month
- South Goa Airbnb listing
- North Goa Airbnb listing
- Mahabilapuram Airbnb (Ellen + Tedly’s room)
- Mahabilapuram Airbnb (Mom Diane’s room – around the block)
About Theo
Tedly (Theo) retired early from the news business to wander the planet with wife Ellen. He enjoys exploring all Earth has to offer: jungles and beaches, volcanoes and deserts – always drinking beer along the way.