Hyderabad - Post Report Question and Answers
What is your housing like? What are typical housing sizes, locations, and commute times for expatriates?
We lived in an older low-rise residential complex or “society” about 20 minutes drive in good traffic from the Paigah Palace, where the “old” US Consulate was located. The housing was nice, but the property is being taken out of the consulate pool. Most housing is either in high-rise residential towers or villas near the site of the new consulate (very short commute) in the Gachibowli neighborhood to the west. Residences are very large and need constant maintenance. Unfortunately, it seems that landlords do not hold to their contracts in this regard as repair people sent by them often do not fix problems despite hours of work and multiple visits. I once watched dumbfounded as two gentlemen sent to fix a cabinet oiled the drawer track using my own olive oil. Patience is advised, but make concerns known. Keep telling facilities and GSO what’s happening until either the issue is fixed or the consulate sends someone. Issues range from electrical issues to A/Cs breaking to drawers sticking. - Jan 2023
We had a beautiful apartment in Banjara Hills. My spouse commuted 30-45 minutes each way, depending on traffic and weather. The apartment felt huge and had a gorgeous view over the city. We had a great rooftop for flying kites. Fruit bats flew by each evening and a favorite activity was spotting them from our balcony. The floors in the apartment were all marble and our kids slipped and fell a few times resulting in injuries of various severity. If you end up in a similar place with kids, bring big carpets! We had termites twice. Once it was in consulate furniture and we were lodged at a hotel during treatment. The second time the termites were in items we owned and we had to resolve the issue on our own. Overall we were thrilled. The apartment was far more luxurious than anywhere we had ever lived stateside. Other families were in similar apartments nearby or in townhouses farther out in the suburbs. We were very lucky in that our apartment had a view. Most others did not. The townhouses had more greenspace than we did and some were in neighborhoods where kids could actually play on the street or ride bikes. We definitely could not do those things. But their commute times were much longer. The consulate will be moving to a new location in the suburbs sometime in 2021 (maybe later with the pandemic?) and that will dramatically change commute times and likely the housing pool. - Dec 2020
Housing is generally very large, well above the space requirements dictated by the Department of State. Construction is generally middling with odd features (e.g. in my apartment it's common for the light switches to be located well inside the room at around shin height). Housing is generally located in two locations, large apartments in Banjara Hills and single family homes in Gachibowli. As it currently stands, the Banjara Hills locations are much closer to the Consulate (about a 20-40 minute drive depending on traffic) than the Gachibowli homes (30-70 minutes depending on traffic). Within those two respective locations, housing is generally spread out - it's common to have only one or no neighbors from the mission. There is an effort underway to consolidate housing in the Gachibowli area, which will be where the new consulate is. Newer apartments have been located to move folks into, but new doesn't necessarily mean quality construction. - Jul 2020
Housing with the consulate is adequate. In our case, it was luxurious. We had a 4 BR / 5 Bath apartment in a residential neighborhood close to the Consulate (15 mins). The "neighborhood" was unlike the housing for other members of the community who live further out in houses; they have actual neighborhoods, with neighbors. We lived more "downtown" - if we left our apartment complex (which was very well manicured, but had very little space to hang out outside - lots of the locals hang out in the garage), we were a few steps from a busy intersection with lots of life, construction, chickens, camels, food stalls, etc. But given the short commute time to/from work, I wouldn't want it any other way. - Jul 2019
Really great housing! We love our house as it's very spacious, modern, and it's located in a fantastic community with lots of green space, kid-friendly amenities, and nice neighbors. Those with children are usually housed between the consulate and school, so it's around a 45 min-hour commute in either direction. That said, the new consulate will open in 2020 and then the commute will be 15 minutes from the housing. Those without children are housed closer to the consulate. - Jan 2019
Housing is INCREDIBLE! Options are 6,500+sq ft huge houses for families with school aged kids to 3 bedroom 1800 sq ft apartments for non-school age families/no kids. The apartments are approximately 15 minutes commute to the US consulate each way, while the houses are approximately 30 minutes commute in the morning and 45 minutes in evening. We've never minded the commute.
It's also important to note a new consulate is being built out near the large houses and expected to open in January 2020; at that point, the families will have a 5-minute commute and those in apartments will have a longer commute until all housing eventually moves out that direction. Where the new consulate and family housing is in the city is the new area of the city: lots of US company headquarters, US hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses, etc. - Nov 2017
Most people live in spacious apartments, although there are also a few houses. Apartments are fairly large, located 20-25 minutes from the consulate. Houses are at the half way point between the consulate and the International School - minimum 60 minutes commute but more like 90 minutes during rush hour. Houses are big, but have recurring maintenance issues. None of the houses have adequate yards, and few allow dog walking on premises -- consider this when bringing a dog. Traffic is the worst part about living here, it takes way too long to get anywhere - it takes the fun out of everything. - Sep 2016
They are moving more people out towards where the new Consulate is going to be, so people are kind of spread out. Some people are out in Banjara Hills, an older, more established place, about 20-25 minutes from the now-Consulate. Some people are out in Hi-Tech city with a lot more expats and all the new, shiny things, but it's about a 40-45 minute commute to the now-Consulate, with it being probably a 10-15 minute commute to the new Consulate. Some are in-between. All the houses - even the apartments for singles - are huge and spacious with multiple guest bedrooms. - Mar 2015
Most people live in apartments, although there are a few houses left in the pool. I'm lucky to live about 20 minutes from the consulate. Others live a bit further away and it can take between 45 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic and time of day to go to or from work. Once the metro rail opens in 2016, traffic should reduce significantly. - Jan 2015
Hyderabad has enjoyed a boom in residential construction providing some good housing options. For U.S. government employees, housing may be stand-alone houses within a gated community or a spacious apartment. Commute times differ and can be anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. - Nov 2014
Large and fairly decent housing. Many singles and small families are in apartments roughly 20-25 mins from consulate. Families in larger, rambling, older homes about 40 minutes away. No swimming pools except at the apartment complex. This is a shame, because there's little else for families to do here on the sweltering weekends. We have access to a UN research facility about an hour outside of the city, which has a nice pool. But that's about it. Traffic is India. Enough said. - Jul 2014
When I first arrived, I spent two months in temporary housing, but now all incoming officers should avoid that. Housing is very spacious and nice. Families have houses and couples or singles have apartments. Commute to the Consulate is 15-20 minutes in the morning when there is no traffic and 30-45 minutes in the evenings when the traffic is awful. - Mar 2012
There are apartments and single-family houses within gated communities. Most are within the city or close to it. The commute to the Consulate is between 20-45 minutes depending on traffic patterns and how far away your home is. The international school is a good 45 minutes away from most houses. - Feb 2012
U.S. Consulate housing is large and in acceptable condition, however most employees are in temporary housing for 1-3 months before they are moved into their permanent housing. This has been an ongoing problem and doesn't seem to be anywhere near being resolved. - Jan 2011
