Moving to Mumbai? New To The Group W/ Questions

Peregrine

Hello..
I am in the USA right now but my kids and I plan to join my husband in Bombay within the next 3 months( hopefully sooner then later). My hubby has been there for about 3 days now.

I have some questions. My husband has not found an apartment yet. We are looking for a farely nice 3 or 4 bedroom, secure, pool and maybe a kids play area. It would be nice to have other Expats living there to. Any info would be great.

I am also wondering about how I go about finding a cook/maid.

Thanks In Advance

Monica

steven_ber

Hello Monica and welcome to indiamike.com

Getting to/from work is probibly the single biggest factor to consider when looking for a place to live in Mumbai, so I think the first questions a local would ask you is: -

Where is your husband working and what are his working hours?

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Peregrine

Thanks for your reply Steven. My DH said the N.E. subarbs of Mumbai.

Thanks Peregrine

Fan of India

Hi Peregrine.

From your reply (N.E suburbs) it seems that your hubby is located around the Thane area. Well if this is so - it is good news; as it converts into a lot of benefits.

a) There are a lot of good housing complexes coming up in and around Thane. Many of these are self-contained with large parking areas, gardens and provision stores etc. You should be able to find a good 3-4 bedroom accomodation in these complexes.

b) There are a large number of excellent schools in and around this area and hence the commuting time for your kids should not be more than 20 minutes.

c) If your husbands office is also going to be in this area - it also means that he can avoid hours of torturous travel in the Mumbai traffic. Since this area has developed fairly recently as compared to the other parts of Mumbai - it is better planned with wider roads and better overall amenities.

d) Cooks or maids in Mumbai are very easy to find. You'll have to do that locally after you arrive here and finalise your apartment. The best way to find one is to have the word spread amongst your neighbours. Sometimes even the Watchmen (security guards) of the housing society have a good network of known / trusted maids.

The only compromise which you might have to make is on the point of 'staying with expats'. You'll not find expats living in this part of Mumbai. In fact there are relatively fewer expats in Mumbai than any other cosmopolitan city of the world. But - worry not - you'll love the Indian hospitality too much to miss that part!!

Hemmie

If your husband is working in N.E. suburbs, the areas with expats within commuting distance are Powai, Juhu and Bandra. The latter two are already a longer commute probably (depending on where exactly he works). But if you're child is old enough to go to one of the international schools (or will be during the period you plan to stay in Mumbai), that's also very important. The American school is located in Bandra, the Ecole Mondiale in Juhu.
For example, if your husband would work in Thane, Powai would probably not be a bad commute. But, the American school would be further away (many kids do it every day, but it's not perfect), and the Ecole Mondiale is no longer an option. So, you might also want to consider Juhu or Bandra.

squidward

My two cence is, forget Bandra/Juhu -- that could easily be a 2 hour commute for the hubby. Powai would be a good choice, much nicer than being stuck out in Thane, and commute probably wouldn't be more than 1 hour worst case.

Peregrine

We are going to homeschool so we are not worried about commuting for school. I think my husband has finally decided on an area. I am not sure where though. They have been taking him around to some nicer places to look so Hopefully they will find a nice place soon so we can come over........ Thanks for All the Reply..
Peregrine

Familyonthemove

Hi Peregrine,

If your Husband works in Thane - then try to live in Powai or towards Thane itself. The advice about travel distances is spot on. I live in Juhu but work in Navi Mumbai - which means I only ever see my daughter when she's asleep. Do you know where he's working yet?

Living amongst ex-pats is a mixed blessing ..... we tend to moan and bring each other down. I recommend you get to know the local Indian mums .... they know how to make the best out of a tough city and they also know where to shop.

Home schooling will limit your contact with other parents - so consider joining a gym or one of the clubs.

Housekeepers are usually found through someone who knows someone - so again getting some contacts is essential.

You'll need an indestructable sense of humour, the patience of a tree and a high tolerance to dust, noise, litter, stray dogs, beggars, floods, traffic jams, plugs that don't fit in sockets, random light switches, TV advertising and ants.

Most the people I've met in Bombay have been great, which nearly makes up for the TV advertising ...... 'Yellow yellow dirty fellow, it is a truth'

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CG_Max

I live in Powai and I have to agree that it is a good choice for a number of reasons:

*Nice clean parks for your child to play

*Sidewalks and a centralized shopping area (Pantaloons, a dept. store, is coming to the Galleria too)

*Relatively short commute time for your husband (you will see the traffic when you get here...Someties during rush hour it can take an hour just to get across Powai! )

*Nice apartments for different budgets are available (eg./Hiranandani Gardens, Lake Homes, Nahar's Amrit Shakti)

*The Hotel Renaissance has a nice club to join and is in Powai

*Great hospital very close by (Hiranandani Hospital)

*A few other western comforts that you might appreciate when you get here are in Powai too

*if you are a walking type, you can easily walk to any of the above mentioned

I don't know what Thane has to offer to be honest, but I don't hear of a lot of expats living there.