Changing Places is an independent relocation service for individuals and families moving to Chennai, India.
We deliver a professional, personalised, and friendly service, at highly competitive prices. Relocation packages are tailored to suit each client's individual needs and we will provide ongoing support throughout an international assignment. Thus, ensuring a seamless transition into your new life

Services

Homesearch / Realty

The rental market in India can be confusing to an expatriate. Unlike other countries, there is no multiple listing of properties. Unreliable and out-of-date content makes internet searches frustrating and inadequate. There are also wide regional variations. Our realty consultant will save you time and effort by short-listing properties to suit your requirements. Once you've chosen a property, we move efficiently to secure it and to complete the lease and deposit formalities.

Services

Short Term Stay

If your relocation involves needing a short term stay in Chennai, whether to find a new home, or you need time for your home to be ready to move in, or you have a short term assignment and you would prefer not to stay in a hotel, then Changing Places has the perfect alternative - fully furnished centrally located short term accommodation.

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Services

Furniture & Furnishing

We offer a furniture/furnishing purchase service, which presents the client with an extensive selection to suit a variety of tastes and budgets. Once the client has made a decision, Changing Places can arrange acquisition and installation.

Services

Area Orientation

The orientation, or preview trip, provides the company executive or relocating employee and his/her family, an insight into daily life at the new location. An unfamiliar location raises numerous concerns about housing, schooling, lifestyle, social networks, setting budgets, the availability of daily necessities, consumer goods, and many more. The orientation program addresses these concerns positively. It introduces the employee to the new destination and begins to refine his/her requirements to a particular area or neighbourhood, ensuring the most effective use of subsequent home search time.

Services

Practical Settling-in

We ensure that an independent inventory check and outstanding maintenance work is completed in your new home prior to your moving in. We can arrange utility connections, and offer assistance with banking and insurance, health and safety, and school education.

Services

Cultural Awareness

Going on an international assignment can be a unique opportunity for an employee, and his/her family, to experience life within a different culture. Living and working in a foreign country can be truly rewarding, on both professional and personal levels, providing you are sufficiently prepared for the challenges you will face in adapting to your new life. Recognition of cultural differences at both professional and social levels, will minimise the risk of miscommunication and misunderstanding. We provide a comprehensive insight into the target country, culture, and people to equip the employee with the necessary skills and knowledge to ensure a successful relocation.

Services

Departure Services

Repatriating or moving on to another international assignment requires coordination. Certain tasks can only be completed after you leave. In such cases, Changing Places can provide a thorough and organised departure program, which will include lease termination, recovery of security deposit, closing accounts, and cancelling utilities and subscriptions.

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Sumita, I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality and help (as coach during my residency program) during my stay. Not only were you always available and efficient, but you were also very quick to understand my needs and put me in touch with the right people. Your apartment is like a little piece of paradise. I felt like in a cocoon which is for me perfectly suitable for working. It is spacious, clean, calm and cosy. And what’s more, it is perfectly located, which allowed me to explore the area by foot- whether to go to restaurants, shopping, or even concerts. Nothing to add, it was an impeccable stay. I hope our paths will cross again. Wish you all the best !

Gilles Grimaître Swiss artist -in- residence, Pro-Helvetia.

Sumita, I wish to commend your company and thank you personally for the excellent service you have provided to my wife and myself in relocating from the UK into Chennai. This clearly will always be a stressful time but this was made much easier and survivable by your professional but sensitive and understanding support. Businessmen are used to dealing with the harsh realities of life but in issues such as this where our families are involved then the element of care and consideration you bring is essential.
We are now happily settled in our new home, a process which I think we must have achieved in record time due to the professionalism of your service. Because of this I am referring further expats joining us in Chennai from Europe to you for assistance and I am sure that they will receive a similar level of service.
On behalf of my wife and myself, many thanks.

Bob Hudson Managing Director, Enersys Battery Private Ltd.

Changing Places is a very good relocation company. The CEO of Changing Places, Ms.Sumita is very helpful and guides her customers with her insight of the City and her useful orientation. She understands the need of her customers and get things organized to fit their requirements. She is frank and direct and I was able to rely on her to handle my relocation process. I am happy with her services, and at the end of the day, I am at my comfortable place / location.

Piero Rizzo Chairman, Saipem India Ltd/Eni Italy

I would recommend Changing Places à la Sumita Chesetty to anyone.
Prior to being introduced to Sumita and her company Changing Places, (probably the most important introduction I have had in Chennai) I had worked with a number of Realtors to find my ideal property with no success. On meeting Sumita, I sensed an immediate difference. Her energy and knowledge of the area where I wanted to live was first class, and she invested time and effort in the first instance to understand exactly what I was looking for and to explain the mechanism of the Indian rental market.
Within a few days she had short-listed 3 properties and we were out and about viewing. Two of the three were of immediate interest. The property I really wanted was over my budget but Sumita set to work with the owners and managed to negotiate an affordable rental package. Thereafter she organised all the contract details and was very hands-on throughout, constantly visiting the property and providing updates during the days preceeding and during the handover.
The information pack about the house and the local areas was excellent and I still refer to that today. Even after the handover she was on hand sorting all the minor problems out on my behalf, providing advise on Furnishings and the like.
In my experience the difference between Changing places and the other Realtors is not just their excellent local knowledge and professionalism, but the fact that do actually care about their clients. Even today, some 5 months on, I know that if I had a problem, I could pick up the phone to Sumita and she would help. They just go that extra mile which makes all the difference. All in all a first class service. - a complete relocation service company.

Mark M Seager BEng(Hons) CEng MIET RCDD , Director of ICT Solutions UK., working on behalf of IPM on the construction of the new International and Domestic terminals at Chennai Airport

Sumita Chesetty and Jo Frogbrook from Changing Places helped renovate my house in Chennai and did a fantastic job with an eye for detail on every aspect of the renovation project. Both of them are extremely talented and well-connected professionals and had a great balance of managing aesthetic beauty with an affordable budget. I am located in the US, and at no point during the project did I feel like I was not informed or updated on all details of the upgrade works done on my house. Weekly email updates, phone calls and photos taken at every stage of the renovation gave me a sense of the work being completed on time and to my complete satisfaction. They also interacted extremely well with the other service providers and utilized a lot of the existing infrastructure as much as possible. They were my voice in Chennai and I couldn’t have been in better hands!.

Sangeetha Narasimhan Principal Product Manager, Network Solutions, Virginia, USA.

Being a property owner I have been dealing with realtors in this city for over 10 years and working with Sumita has been such a refreshing experience. She is very professional, pleasant and efficient. Most importantly she is very even handed in her dealings with both tenants and owners and aims to make sure that both parties are well represented.
Her intuitiveness of client requirements, insights and inputs provided, the time and effort that she puts in for each client, and is also available afterward, would make me choose her first over anyone one else here.

Dr. Sharon Krishna MS FAGE,FAIS., Chennai

Sumita Chesetty has been a most precious ally to us during our short but intense stay in Chennai. She quickly figured out what our intentions were and soon anticipated our every need. She’s fast, discreet, well connected, very reliable and last but not least, a wonderful person!
With Sumita, we felt we were in the best hands possible.

Malcolm Braff
Claire Huguenin Swiss Artists-in-Residence, Pro Helvetia

I recently relocated from the UK to Chennai and I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Sumita Chesetty. The professionalism and support shown by Sumita was second to none: from finding the right property for me and helping me with the lease agreement and associated negotiations, to sourcing furniture, electrical items, light fittings etc., even taking me shopping one Sunday. Throughout the process, Sumita was totally hands on and constantly kept me up to date on progress. Nothing was too much trouble for Sumita and whilst I did have previous knowledge of Chennai, she was able to provide me with good, honest, practical advice on living in Chennai.
Within one month of arriving in Chennai, I was happily installed in my new home and it is all thanks to Sumita and her excellent service.
I would heartily recommend Sumita to anyone relocating to Chennai as I feel her honest, friendly and personal service is what gives Changing Places its unique selling point.

Karin Thomas Head of Operations, Merit Group Limited

about us

Sumita Chesetty - is a native of Chennai with extensive experience of living and travelling abroad. She obtained a tennis/academic scholarship to complete her undergraduate studies in Business Administration at Lander University, S. Carolina, and subsequently gained a Master’s degree in Management Studies from Northeastern University, Boston. After a period of working in the U.S.A., Sumita returned to Chennai, where she has been in the property management field for over a decade. For the past several years, additionally, she has been a consultant for a multinational relocation company.

Having lived and worked overseas, but with strong roots and ongoing life and work experience in Chennai, Sumita is uniquely able to relate to the requirements of employees and their families on overseas assignments. Combining high levels of achievement in academics and sport (she was formerly ranked #1 in Indian women’s tennis), she is a well-rounded, focused individual, who can think ‘outside the box’ in dealing with a variety of personalities and needs. She is known among her clients for her approachability, empathy and strong practical sense, and as someone who can be relied on absolutely in stressful or pressured conditions.

our team

Our team has an extensive expertise in all the diverse aspects of the relocation process. Members of the team have lived in Chennai for several years, and belong both to the Indian and the expatriate communities. Having been through the process of relocation and repatriation ourselves, we can empathise fully with your needs and concerns. We will be your single point of contact during your relocation process, liaising with all other professionals and service providers involved in your move. Our unique combination of perspectives and knowledge will ensure a seamless transition into your new life. We provide a hands on approach, spend time and listen to your requirements and concerns to make sure that we can match your needs and be with you every step of the way.