Juhu vs. Bandra - does it matter?

gaganarora · Jul 13th, 2007, 11:32

Hi,

We are moving to Mumbai in August with 2 little kids. Our offices are in Santacruz (east), with a couple of days spent in Navi Mumbai. Schools will most likely be in Bandra or Juhu area so we are thinking of renting there. Not having been to Mumbai before, are there big differences between Bandra & Juhu? What about Khar (west) or Andheri etc.? Any of these areas more "suitable" for young kids (as much as possible in a city)?

Thanks,

Sal

capt_mahajan · Jul 13th, 2007, 11:37

Bandra will be more expensive than Juhu; you can find decent areas in both. Khar (W) too, but it can be more crowded.

There are no huge differences between Bandra and Juhu; both are good residential areas. Look at Andheri only if the other areas are unsuitable for some reason, it may be a little inconvenient, depending on mode of transport, for kids if they school at Bandra.

Santacruz (office) may be closer to some parts of Juhu, schools (if in Bandra) not too far away from Juhu either.

Of course, all depends on budget; you can get decent apartments in any of these areas.

If schooling is in Juhu, I would look around Juhu instead of Bandra. Close to office and school... thats half the battle in Mumbai.

sald · Jul 13th, 2007, 12:00

As Capt says, Juhu and Bandra are not too different. The sea is close, there are enough entertainment options, eating out and night life is great and of course, there are good schools in both localities. Bandra is more cosmopolitan though. Rentals in Bandra would be a trifle higher than Juhu. Travelling to Santacruz (E) from Bandra (W) will be simple is you use the Western Express Highway.

My suggestion is that you even consider areas in Vile Parle (East) or Andheri (East) also. Travelling to your office through the Western Express Highway will be much simpler that way. Plus you have some really good properties coming up there.

The schools in Juhu which have many students from Vile Parle (E) and Andher (E) so you'll have established school bus routes too.

TrinTrin · Jul 13th, 2007, 12:56

I started in Juhu and have been moving south ever since. My business keeps me in Navi Mumbai a lot as well and I've found Juhu to be the worst place to live in Mumbai if you have to travel anywhere but Juhu. There appears to be one road traveling out of Juhu and it is filled with rickshaws and yuppies who honk at eachother all day long. Also Juhu tends to have a smell on off days. Don't ask me to explain why.

Bandra aint much better when it comes to traffic although I find it to be almost like the suburbs you might get back home. The housing options there are quite good.

In the end I've settled for Dadar. I can get to Vashi in a half an hour. I can get to Colaba in a half an hour. I can get to worli in ten minutes. I can get to the international airport in 25 minutes. I overlook Shiwaji park and the ocean. I still wish I'd moved south but real estate prices there are prohibitive for luxury apartments.

gaganarora · Jul 14th, 2007, 12:31

This is useful - during the temporary housing, we will try out both Juhu & Bandra and see what commute, housing etc. feels like.

Also, for recreation, a few clubs have been mentioned - Otters, Khar Gymkhana, Willingdon Gymkhana, The Club etc. Any recommendations? Any others to consider?

capt_mahajan · Jul 14th, 2007, 12:39

On clubs, the closer a club is to your residence/office, the better.

In Mumbai, the effort of getting to a far away club is often not worth the hassle, even if the club itself is a better one than another one nearby.

TrinTrin · Jul 14th, 2007, 12:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaganarora

This is useful - during the temporary housing, we will try out both Juhu & Bandra and see what commute, housing etc. feels like.

Also, for recreation, a few clubs have been mentioned - Otters, Khar Gymkhana, Willingdon Gymkhana, The Club etc. Any recommendations? Any others to consider?

Another reason why I like Dadar. I can get to willingdon or chembur presidency golf course in 20 minutes. :-)

If I was a member of breach candy (maybe someday if I can ever get the application), than it would be a 25 minute drive.

If you live in Juhu these places are almost useless.

New-South-Welshman · Jul 14th, 2007, 13:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt_mahajan

On clubs, the closer a club is to your residence/office, the better.

In Mumbai, the effort of getting to a far away club is often not worth the hassle, even if the club itself is a better one than another one nearby.

I found almost all the clubs up north very posh, so sometimes it didn't suit me.

The south is the best to wet your whistle. Such as Colaba.

Familyonthemove · Jul 15th, 2007, 01:19

I live in Juhu with my wife and eight year old .... we looked at Bandra and Juhu - and prefered Juhu for the Beach .... but your deciding factor will probably be the school?

If you choose a school in Juhu - stay in Juhu. Bandra is slightly closer to the American school. The kids will not like a long commute to school, and most their little friends will live within range of their school.

Juhu to Santa Cruz East is fine - you just need to find the back roads routes to avoid flooded underpasses and traffic jams. Bandra to Santa Cruz will take a little longer. Juhu or Bandra to Navi Mumbai is tough, especially in the monsoon.

The Big B lives in Juhu - so that must say something!

The Club is quite good (but too far from Bandra) .... but lots of rules about what kids can and can't do.
The apartment above us in Juhu has just been fitted out and is ready for letting. If you want the details of the broker so you can see what's available - let me know.

You may want to see my Journal on here for a flavour of family life in Mumbai?

gaganarora · Jul 15th, 2007, 23:11

Hey - just checked out your journal - wow - I guess we are in for an adventure! It looks like we will miss the worst of the monsoon if we arrive in late August - but I'm sure we will experience the tropical treat next year!

For schools, we were looking at ASB & Ecole Mondiale - and chose Ecole for same reasons as yours. It has been an interesting experience selecting schools etc. while still so far away. How has your experience with Ecole been? Interestingly just in the last few months we have met a couple of families who recently moved from San Francisco to Mumbai whose kids are at Ecole.

We will be in temporary housing in August - but if you can send me the info on your broker, that would be great. We have tried to do a bunch of research on sites like magicbricks.com and realestatemubai.com - but like you said in your other thread, it looks like Mumbai has micro-neighborhoods where differences count so the best search will be on the ground.

pontesnm · Oct 21st, 2007, 09:50

How did the move go?

gaganarora · Oct 22nd, 2007, 12:48

Move has gone on mostly fine. Our sea shipment is still not here (almost 7 weeks now) so that is a downer - but other than that things are falling in place. We ended up in Juhu - closer to school, beach etc. and now are busy getting other things in place like phone line, broadband, TV connection etc. So far so good

pontesnm · Nov 1st, 2007, 20:37

Glad to hear that. I grew up in Bandra West and used to bike to Juhu and back virtually every morning during our summer vacations in high school and college (summer = April 25 - June 10). Came home for lunch and jumped into the shower. Don't think I would try that now!

Jul 13th, 2007, 11:32	#1
gaganarora Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 8	Juhu vs. Bandra - does it matter? Hi, We are moving to Mumbai in August with 2 little kids. Our offices are in Santacruz (east), with a couple of days spent in Navi Mumbai. Schools will most likely be in Bandra or Juhu area so we are thinking of renting there. Not having been to Mumbai before, are there big differences between Bandra & Juhu? What about Khar (west) or Andheri etc.? Any of these areas more "suitable" for young kids (as much as possible in a city)? Thanks, Sal

Jul 14th, 2007, 12:31	#5
gaganarora Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 8	What about clubs? This is useful - during the temporary housing, we will try out both Juhu & Bandra and see what commute, housing etc. feels like. Also, for recreation, a few clubs have been mentioned - Otters, Khar Gymkhana, Willingdon Gymkhana, The Club etc. Any recommendations? Any others to consider?

Jul 15th, 2007, 01:19	#9
Familyonthemove Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 274	I live in Juhu with my wife and eight year old .... we looked at Bandra and Juhu - and prefered Juhu for the Beach .... but your deciding factor will probably be the school? If you choose a school in Juhu - stay in Juhu. Bandra is slightly closer to the American school. The kids will not like a long commute to school, and most their little friends will live within range of their school. Juhu to Santa Cruz East is fine - you just need to find the back roads routes to avoid flooded underpasses and traffic jams. Bandra to Santa Cruz will take a little longer. Juhu or Bandra to Navi Mumbai is tough, especially in the monsoon. The Big B lives in Juhu - so that must say something! The Club is quite good (but too far from Bandra) .... but lots of rules about what kids can and can't do. The apartment above us in Juhu has just been fitted out and is ready for letting. If you want the details of the broker so you can see what's available - let me know. You may want to see my Journal on here for a flavour of family life in Mumbai? Last edited by Familyonthemove : Jul 15th, 2007 at 14:18.

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Jul 13th, 2007, 11:37	#2
capt_mahajan (in charge of navel affairs) Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 9,714	Bandra will be more expensive than Juhu; you can find decent areas in both. Khar (W) too, but it can be more crowded. There are no huge differences between Bandra and Juhu; both are good residential areas. Look at Andheri only if the other areas are unsuitable for some reason, it may be a little inconvenient, depending on mode of transport, for kids if they school at Bandra. Santacruz (office) may be closer to some parts of Juhu, schools (if in Bandra) not too far away from Juhu either. Of course, all depends on budget; you can get decent apartments in any of these areas. If schooling is in Juhu, I would look around Juhu instead of Bandra. Close to office and school... thats half the battle in Mumbai.

Jul 13th, 2007, 12:00	#3
sald Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: India Posts: 122	As Capt says, Juhu and Bandra are not too different. The sea is close, there are enough entertainment options, eating out and night life is great and of course, there are good schools in both localities. Bandra is more cosmopolitan though. Rentals in Bandra would be a trifle higher than Juhu. Travelling to Santacruz (E) from Bandra (W) will be simple is you use the Western Express Highway. My suggestion is that you even consider areas in Vile Parle (East) or Andheri (East) also. Travelling to your office through the Western Express Highway will be much simpler that way. Plus you have some really good properties coming up there. The schools in Juhu which have many students from Vile Parle (E) and Andher (E) so you'll have established school bus routes too.

Jul 13th, 2007, 12:56	#4
TrinTrin Somebody be my friend! Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 151	I started in Juhu and have been moving south ever since. My business keeps me in Navi Mumbai a lot as well and I've found Juhu to be the worst place to live in Mumbai if you have to travel anywhere but Juhu. There appears to be one road traveling out of Juhu and it is filled with rickshaws and yuppies who honk at eachother all day long. Also Juhu tends to have a smell on off days. Don't ask me to explain why. Bandra aint much better when it comes to traffic although I find it to be almost like the suburbs you might get back home. The housing options there are quite good. In the end I've settled for Dadar. I can get to Vashi in a half an hour. I can get to Colaba in a half an hour. I can get to worli in ten minutes. I can get to the international airport in 25 minutes. I overlook Shiwaji park and the ocean. I still wish I'd moved south but real estate prices there are prohibitive for luxury apartments.

Jul 14th, 2007, 12:39	#6
capt_mahajan (in charge of navel affairs) Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 9,714	On clubs, the closer a club is to your residence/office, the better. In Mumbai, the effort of getting to a far away club is often not worth the hassle, even if the club itself is a better one than another one nearby.

Jul 15th, 2007, 23:11	#10
gaganarora Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 8	Hey - just checked out your journal - wow - I guess we are in for an adventure! It looks like we will miss the worst of the monsoon if we arrive in late August - but I'm sure we will experience the tropical treat next year! For schools, we were looking at ASB & Ecole Mondiale - and chose Ecole for same reasons as yours. It has been an interesting experience selecting schools etc. while still so far away. How has your experience with Ecole been? Interestingly just in the last few months we have met a couple of families who recently moved from San Francisco to Mumbai whose kids are at Ecole. We will be in temporary housing in August - but if you can send me the info on your broker, that would be great. We have tried to do a bunch of research on sites like magicbricks.com and realestatemubai.com - but like you said in your other thread, it looks like Mumbai has micro-neighborhoods where differences count so the best search will be on the ground.

Oct 21st, 2007, 09:50	#11
pontesnm Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bardez/Mumbai/New Jersey (USA) Posts: 218	How did the move go?

Oct 22nd, 2007, 12:48	#12
gaganarora Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Francisco Posts: 8	Move has gone on mostly fine. Our sea shipment is still not here (almost 7 weeks now) so that is a downer - but other than that things are falling in place. We ended up in Juhu - closer to school, beach etc. and now are busy getting other things in place like phone line, broadband, TV connection etc. So far so good

Nov 1st, 2007, 20:37	#13
pontesnm Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bardez/Mumbai/New Jersey (USA) Posts: 218	Glad to hear that. I grew up in Bandra West and used to bike to Juhu and back virtually every morning during our summer vacations in high school and college (summer = April 25 - June 10). Came home for lunch and jumped into the shower. Don't think I would try that now!

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