need advise on living in Mumbai

Dynamico

Hi all,

I'll be moving to Mumbai this summer.

As this is volunteering, I'll be earning about Rs.10,000 per month, and my accommodation will be paid.
Apparently, Mumbai is quite expensive in terms of going out to pubs, etc.
The office is based 5th Lane, Back Road, Khetwadi. Is that an expensive area to live, and what can I expect?
I was wondering whether I can get myself a scooter to travel, is that advisable?
What are your experiences?

Thanks a lot,

Danny

TrinTrin

That will be a bit of struggle but you can manage on that I think. You're not gonna be living lavishly that is for sure but if you live like an Indian thats plenty of money. If you try and live like a westerner you end up spending tons and tons and tons of money.

pennylessinindia

If your accom is paid you should be ok with rs 10000
but you will need to check what the accom covers does it include
electricity and other charges .
You can eat out quite reasonabley cheaply if you know where to eat.
Not sure motorised vehicle will be of much use and worth the expensive. Train is cheap and easy to use.

Would be worth check out exact costs that are covered

Which organisation are you working with ICMH?

Dynamico

Hi,

thanks for your replies so far.
I will be working with VSO as an advisor.

Noodle

I find 10,000 awfully little.

I don't eat out at all (well, very rarely, because I can't tolerate chili), but I buy imported foodstuff, which is expensive. Monthly bills: phone, Internet, Ayah and electricity come to about Rs 3,000 a month. If you rent a scooter and buy petrol as well 2,000 will be gone for that already.

And if you want to eat good food at hygienic places you'll easily pay 2-300 for one meal, now that already adds up to more than 10,000 per month for food alone (if you have two meals a day). You will be better off eating at home. Don't eat at cheap places, it's often not hygienic and not worth the risk.

All considering, I find 10,000 very tight.

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GoanCanuck

Driving a scooter in Mumbai is not easy to do. Have a look at the traffic patterns and ask yourself whether you will be able to cope with the horrendous traffic as well as the nasty pollution. As a European, you should be prepared to wear a gas mask while driving a scooter otherwise you could end up damaging your lungs.

palerider

Traffic is not for th faint hearted. It's probably, as someone has already said, cheaper to get the train, and the occasional rickie.
In Bangalore, it's about 50 rupees to eat all you can at a reasonable restaurant, just look for the crowds. I've never been sick, yet.
I was only in Mumbai for three days, but even the hotel room service was only 150 rupees, and that was a lot of food, Fruit is very cheap, a whole pineapple is only about 30 rupees.
You should be able to scrape through, but I don't drink. I'm not sure if it's expensive or not.
Hope this helps.

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noflylist

I think for Mumbai light travel with 3, 4 kilometres of base scooter IS a good idea. Ofcourse with all the usual warnings like traffic. You may be better off buying used scooter. As per food you can combine splurging with home cooking. But I would stay away from roadside vendors for food.

GoanCanuck

Drinking at a pub or bar in Mumbai is very expensive. You can of course save money by buying at the liquour store and drinking at home.

capt_mahajan

Yes, it is. 10000 will not cover pub trips.

You can eat cheaply at Irani/Udipi resteraunts in Bombay, but it is an expensive city to live in by Indian standards, so even that is more expensive than elsewhere. Or home cook.

It is also not cheap to travel except by buses and trains (passes). Khetwadi is a downmarket area in central Mumbai, No 3 wheelers/autos ply in this area, so it is buses or cabs.

A bit of the 10k will go in utilities, internet etc.

All in all, as noodle says, 10k is pretty tight, but I think doable without (m)any luxuries.

You may not be comfortable with Bombay and that budget, though.

Jaxy

I am afraid your 10,000 rupees per month will get you very little here. We have a maid and she gets 6,000 per month. She is local and can cope with that amount. As an expat - well our hotel bar bill was 5000 rupees on the first night!! That was about 5 drinks each - there was two of us. A bottle of wine at a locals store is about 800 - 1,500 rupees (for exported wine). A meal at red box in Bandra can cost around 300 - 500 rupees.

If you have to live off 10,000 rupees you will have to shop carefully, find out all the cheap places and never go to a fancy restaurant unless someone else is paying.

Mumbai was a shock to us, in the cost of things.

Good luck

mani

Your maid is paid Rs. 6000/- thats way too high

Where are you living in mumbai. What are her duties and hours of work.

I am from Colaba mumbai, We pay our maid Rs. 800/month to come every day for 2 hours to clean the house, wash utensils, wash clothes etc.

Hope this is of help
Mani

icetea

Mani, I don't think it's of much help comparing what locals and foreigners pay for maids and so on, there will obviously be a big difference. Needs might be different, the maid will ask for more and usually the foreigner will also be comfortable with paying more.

Dynamico, that's an interesting form of "volunteering"...ahem....i f you are actually paid for it. I thought the very definition of volunteering is performing work without being paid for it

Have you been to India before, btw? You are asking about Mumbai and our Indian forum members are tempted into praising the city as a friendly one, but for a foreigner Mumbai/India can be quite hellish. So you see, it all depends on what you are used to.

It can be cheap and "easy" to travel by bus/trains, but I wonder how many foreigners are willing to do that. There is more to it than just what you can afford and what not. Can you eat very spicy food? There is no use discussing about eating at cheap local eateries if in fact you don't like spicy food.

So a lot of that budget depends on things like are you willing to travel by bus or crowded trains? Can you eat what the locals eat?

Rs. 10.000 for 1 person with accommodation already paid can be a lot of money, even in Mumbai, even for a foreigner, if you know what you're doing. But yes, it won't include much of pubs and such...

Nick-H

I hope that Jaxy is getting a full-time maid for that! Not a couple of hours a day.

TrinTrin says that one can live like an Indian on Rs10,000 a month. Indeed, I know many people here in Chennai (OK, it is a cheaper city...) who survive on a fraction of that.

Trouble is, it takes local knowledge, practice, and experience to live on a very little.

I haven't taken much interest in our day-to-day budget, recently ---hardly any point in quibbling about the price of rice when we're spending lakhs decorating a house--- but I think that Mrs N and I could live on 12-15,000 a month plus accommodation. That would mean almost all home-cooking (much less of a hardship when not alone). Anyway, on our small appetites we can eat out for 150 to Rs200 for two.

If we had to do it on 10,000 we could. No... my wife could! She is Indian and local.

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icetea

Well, now I recall that I did live on less than 5000Rs/month for a couple of months, when I first arrived here: 2500Rs/month for hostel, including 3 meals a day (good food), a prepaid sim card, toiletries, occasional fruits and snacks and no other shopping except the basics. Not difficult at all...