Mumbai area advice

SitaParityaga

A question for those of you who know all about Mumbai and the area around it.

I love Mumbai, and I'd ideally like to find a place to stay for 6 months out of the year that is:

close enough to Mumbai to drive in for the day to get the city ammenities

but

far enough away to get better air, lower population density, definately cheaper rents! Is it crazy to think it can be done close to the coast?

ks_bluechip

I live in Thane ... just outside Mumbai city limit. The drive into mid-town, say Sion-Dadar, by Eastern Express Highway is 45 minutes. approx.

Thane is a nice place. No pollution but a fast-growing residential area with many multi-story buildings coming up.

Best part (from my view point) .. the Yewoor Hlls (part of Sanjay Ghandhi National Park) is just behind this area on Pokharan Road-2. I go up those hill for a daily walk-trek of 3-4 Kms. Once you climb up the 600ft hill, you will think you are in a hill station . In monsoon (coming soon) the greenery here is amazing. Can't believe this forest is so close to Mumbai.


Will attach some pictures taken at Yewoor, once I figure out how to do that.

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OK see this link to see Yewoor:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ks_blue...76751041/show/

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Sadanand Kamath

I live in Borivali, the other side of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park - which is within the Mumbai municipal limit. I go for my morning walk upto Kanheri caves about 7 kms up. If one stay in the vicinity of National Park, one does not need an alarm clock to get up early in the morning. That job is being done by lions and tigers from Safari Park .
Both Thane and Borivali are about 40 kms north of the city centre. But I will go along with ks_bluechip for Thane as Eastern Express Highway is less crowded than the Western Express Highway. In peak hours, it takes about 90 minutes to reach Borivali from the City centre.

The other option is Navi Mumbai (New Mumbai).

Sadanand

SitaParityaga

KSB....loved the slideshow of Yewoor! I have spent time in Thane before, but never when it was green. Looks lovely...what are all the buildings with the blue domed roofs?

SK...Will also check out Borivali...isn't this an area with alot of recent residential development too? Seems like I've heard about it in the past year. Hmmmmm.

ks_bluechip

Just to clarify; the greenery in the pictures is inside the Park area, which is just a Km away. Thane town is also sort of green.

The building with blue domes are the new "Row Houses" built by Neelkanth Builders in the foothills. About a year ago I was told these Row Houses were priced Rs 1 Crore each .... now I am told they are 2.0 Cr each Can you believe that?

capt_mahajan

Havent been to Thane for many years, but by the looks of it, it seems a better option than Borivli, which is largely very crowded and not green at all, except in very small parts. The national park at that end has been destroyed.. used to visit it regularly 30years ago, volunteering for the World Wildlife Fund. Today, I wouldnt even stop there.


Ksb, has Thane developed better and cleaner than the western suburbs? And is it as crowded?

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SitaParityaga

I can believe it! Mumbai is a hot town and the real estate seams to reflect it. In my area, when the boom happened seven years ago, all of the home prices doubled.

What do you get for your 2 Cr ? They looked big in the photos.

ks_bluechip

Thane is quite good and green as of now (was better 5 years ago ) .... and there is a huge growth of multi-storey (20+) buildings happening here ... so its going be under over-growth pressures pretty soon. Several IT Coy Offices & Units have come up here (e.g. TCS in Pokharan-Rd-2) and so there is corresponding influx of well-off IT employees and with all their Cars.

I can't compare Thane with Western suburbs ...as I have'nt been to those Western Areas, in last 3 years, myself. My guess is they may be worse off as compared to Thane.

ks_bluechip

I havent seen the Row Houses myself and the prices I quoted are hearsay. But I am sure they are the priciest place in Thane; as located right in the foothills of beautiful forest. If you are really interested I can checkout details. Also I see there is some real estate price correction, right now.

SitaParityaga

Thanks KSB...I checked out their website...looks polished and very, very big!

Sadanand Kamath

The residential developments have taken place in Borivali East as Borivali West areas have, more or less, saturated. In fact, major residential developments have been taking place in the Western Suburbs from Borivali to Goregaon close to the boundaries of Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Sadanand

SitaParityaga

Thanks for all the response.

Anyone know what lies south of Mumbai along the Konkan coast?

capt_mahajan

the coastal road to ratnagiri and goa, besides alibaug, murud etc

Afraid that will be many hours from mumbai, just can't 'drive into mumbai for amenities' for the day easily.
But then, depends what you mean by 'amenities'. If Vashi/New Bombay is good enough, you can save a few hours each way.

AvidTrekker

Although i now feel Mumbai is tooooo crowded [whether Thane or Borivali] here is my tuppaise worth...

In the order of preference....

1. Apartments in buildings below Yewoor Hills.... there are others avlble for less than two crores... say around 50 lakhs, but they will be smaller.

2. Somewhere between Vashi and Panvel [Navi Mumbai]
Parts of these are still almost a village, and Vashi, Nerul, Belapur have ALL amenities.... rents will be the least in some of these places, as you have actual villages here.

3. Goregaon at the edge of the National Park... generally better quality of buildings than Borivali and still a lot more "jungle view"

4. Borivali at the edge of the National Park. Too many buildings have come up here and its getting crowded, but still quite livable.

My choice:

It would be a toss-up between nos. 1 & 2.

If money was no problem, 1 is preferable... else i'd go for 2

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SitaParityaga

Amenities is a broad topic! Being a medical person, I'm always wondering where the fastest and best medical care can be found...I consider this topic at home as well!

Is that hospital a day away or a couple of hours. Are there good doctors close by.

AT: will check out Vashi, Nerul, Belapur on my next trip, as well as Yewooor Hills. Are those places where the train out of Mumbai stops? I've been looking on the web at maps of Mumbai's commuter train network.

Capt: Are these places: alibaug, murud, on the coast south of Mumbai?