We Traded Texas for Kerala: One Year Later

My last post was on August 20, 2025, when I wrote about why I moved from Houston, Texas, to Kochi, Kerala. Well, this post is a long-overdue update on how life has been going since then.

Honestly, I was so happy to receive messages asking me to write another blog post about my life in Kerala. Yes, I read every message you send me! :)

I’ll try to keep this short, but here are some of the things I genuinely love about living in Kochi:

1) Affordable Uber rides

We don’t own a car in Kochi, so we rely heavily on Uber and auto-rickshaws. Most trips from Point A to Point B cost less than $1. For comparison, a 20-minute Uber ride in Houston could easily cost $30 or more. In Kochi, I can leave the house without mentally calculating whether the destination is “worth the fare.”

2) Full-time household help

When I first hired a maid/nanny, I paid around $230 per month. Over the past year, it has increased to about $290.....and honestly, I still consider it money extremely well spent. Cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for five people, cleaning, doing laundry, folding clothes, and keeping an eye on the kids is no small job. I don’t know how she does it all, but I am very grateful that she does.

3) Affordable healthcare

Our family does not have health insurance in India. I cancelled my U.S. health insurance because I don’t plan to return to Houston anytime soon, and we use our HSA to pay medical bills here. A doctor’s consultation usually costs $3–$5, and medicines are inexpensive. It still amazes me that a doctor’s visit costs less than a fancy coffee in the U.S.

4) School and extracurricular activities

My kids love going to school here and have made lots of friends. They also attend basketball and dance classes. Each basketball class costs $2.19, which works out to about $26 a month.

5) Villa rental

Here’s something I found interesting while writing this: last year, I paid ₹90,000 per month in rent, which was about $1,030. When we renewed our contract, the owner increased the rent to ₹94,500 ....but thanks to the current dollar exchange rate, we now pay around $994 per month. So technically, our rent went up in rupees but down in dollars. Special thanks to the Indian Finance Minister.

6) Instamart/Zepto/Blinkit apps

This is convenience at its finest. Groceries arrive at my doorstep in under 10 minutes, which means I rarely have to step out to buy anything. Between school runs, activities, and daily household chaos, having groceries appear almost magically at my door feels like a small miracle.

7) Cake Hut

No matter what anyone says, Cake Hut makes the best cakes I have ever tasted in my life. I flew all the way to Vienna to try the famous Sacher Torte, and honestly, it did not come close to Cake Hut in Kochi. I know taste is personal, but Cake Hut will always have my loyalty.

8) Clothing and Accessories

I find the quality of clothes better in India (depends on the shop you go to). Our friend had visited us from Houston for a week and this is what it looked like when we took him to a mall.

9) Friends and Family

It is always a blessing to have our friends and family close by. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise kids. One of the biggest joys of moving to Kochi has been watching my kids spend more time with their grandparents, and extended family.

10) Electric Scooter

If you own an electric scooter, getting around Kochi becomes so much more convenient and economical. In Kochi, where finding a parking spot can feel like winning the lottery and traffic can test your patience, an electric scooter is a game changer.

Our average monthly cost ($1 = 95 rupees, when writing this)

Alright, so here are somethings I don't like and sometime makes me regret moving to Kochi.

1) Pollution and littering

I cannot stress this enough. Kochi is a beautiful city, but it is genuinely heartbreaking to see our roads and beaches littered with garbage. You might think I have developed a holier-than-thou attitude after living in the US for almost 13 years. And honestly, I used to litter too. But after years of living in a place where throwing trash on the ground isn't the norm, I can proudly say that I no longer do it.

2) Low quality in fruits and vegetables

Finding good-quality fruits and vegetables in Kochi is surprisingly difficult. We try to buy our fruits from Lulu Hypermart whenever possible, hoping for better quality, but even then, the experience can be a little underwhelming.

3) Traffic

Traffic in Kochi has always been a challenge, but with the ongoing metro construction, getting around the city sometimes feels like an extreme sport.

4) Inflated housing prices

2.3 Crores for an 3 BHK apartment in Kochi?? The housing prices here genuinely surprise me, especially when you compare them with what you can get in certain parts of the US.

When buying a house or apartment, you're not just paying for four walls and a roof. You are also investing in the neighborhood, the infrastructure, the quality of life, and what the city has to offer. Kochi has plenty of potential, but when you look beyond the glossy apartment brochures, the reality can be a little underwhelming. Narrow, cramped roads, potholes, traffic congestion, and questionable urban planning make me wonder how property prices have reached such astronomical levels.

5) Electricity Disruptions and Unreliable Internet

The power supply here can be frustratingly unpredictable. Sometimes, all it takes is a little rain for the electricity to disappear. And then there's the internet. We have a 1,000 Mbps Airtel plan, which sounds impressive on paper, but every couple of weeks, we run into speed issues.

6) No Noise control

I am not sure how strictly noise pollution laws are enforced in Kochi, but sometimes it feels like there is absolutely no volume control. Churches, other religious places, and movie theaters can get ridiculously loud, with very little regard for anyone's eardrums.

I was once at a church where the noise level reached 120 decibels. For context, sound at that level can cause immediate hearing damage, especially with prolonged exposure.

Movie theaters aren't much better. Apparently, the louder the speakers, the bigger the hype. Forget a good storyline or good acting.

I have now reached a point where I carry earplugs wherever I go. Yes, earplugs have officially become part of my everyday essentials, right alongside my phone, keys, and wallet.

So far, I’ve been really enjoying my time here. Life has been so relaxing that I’ve genuinely transformed into a couch potato. Turns out, moving back to Kerala comes with an unexpected side effect......my productivity has taken a vacation, and apparently, it has no plans of returning anytime soon!

Byeeeee!

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