Cost of Living in Mumbai

The absolute shittiest city in the country (bar none).
And I say this after having been born, raised, and living here for 30 years. Been to many cities across India and the world, but I have to say that Mumbai is on it's way to becoming Kolkata pt. 2.
The delusions of grandeur that this city's people harbour of being the BEST CITY in the world is truly astounding.

Prices:
All the figures given are completely outdated and haven't been updated (or some over zealous right winger patriot types deliberately keeping it low to make it appear cheap). With the recent GST of 18%, all the prices shown have gone up. You'd be hard pressed to find a meal at 400 and 1500 lol. A pint of beer or a 30ml drink at one of the hipster places (Bombay Stock Exchange, Socials, etc) would set you back by nothing less than 500-700 (excluding tips/service charge and GST). About the same price as bars in NYC Meatpacking District of Lower East Side ($7-10)
Utilities are definitely between 5000-10000 per month

Salaries:
NO WAY IN HELL the average salary is 55,000. Who puts in all these figures? The bulk of the working class makes not more than 20,000 per month. An average starting salary for a college graduate in a small firm is just about 10,000. Same for janitors, peons, and bottom rung workforce.

Real Estate:
This is probably the biggest ponzi scheme. Now, Indians are crazy only about two things - real estate and gold. But it seems that in this city, people forsake their families, health, social connections, everything to own a matchbox size 500 sft apartment on a 30 year mortgage. The logic being they will find another sucker to offload their investment at a higher price. For a city that has the shittiest infrastructure, the rents and the purchase prices are most unequal in the world (by both average salaries and cost of living). An artificial shortage created by a sick and greedy trifecta of politicians, bureaucrats, and builders has led to the most expensive real estate market in South Asia. For commercial land / offices, the rents are even higher than Dubai / London. Every single ad on the newspaper, TV, or radio is about real estate. Can't wait for the bubble to burst and prices to fall back to the crap that this city really is. Landlords not only look upon tenants with derision, especially single women, but go so far as to put insane rules and at worst, badmouth and slander ones that do not agree with their view. House hunting is truly a nightmare and this city takes the cake.

Socialising:
The Thaneites look down upon ones further beyond, the Western Suburbanites on the Central ones, and the South Bombay ones on everyone else. The city is divided into mini ghettos of South Indians, Marathis, Gujaratis, and the Parsis. Everyone is judged by WHERE in the city you stay which accordingly puts you into a bucket / label that you'll never get out of. Entertainment taxes are the highest in the country. The live music / theater scene is nearly dead. People's lives seem to consist of going to the mall, shopping, stuffing their face, and getting shitfaced drunk. There are no weekend getaways or outdoor activities. Pune, Bangalore, and even Delhi score much higher. People walk around with just two expressions - smug or grumpy. Maybe it's the shitty weather, or being crowded like sardines in the smelly local trains.

SOLID advice to anyone looking to move here - DON'T! Your 100000 salary is the same here as a 30000 in the aforementioned cities. Leave office at 5, be home by 5.30, enjoy a good time at the park with your wife and kids. Go on a long drive on the weekend, invest in your own land / spacious home, in a clean green and friendlier city!

im not from Jessie but I agree rajaj your my brother we live together we rich

@anonymous - True but at the same time the rate of interest on deposits will be comparable to the rate of interest on mortgages. plus there is not concept of interest only mortgage in India. The rental yield on property though is very low in Mumbai, but the property prices are very steep. you are right about the black money part (as this also makes it difficult to buy with mortgage as banks will only lend based on the circle rate/ registration price). There is some hope of reduction in black money use in real estate as the circle rates in most states has been revised to match the market rate, thus removing the incentive for registration at lower price. Plus the demonetization has made it difficult to procure cash (still have limits on cash withdrawals), the real estate bill will also help stream line this sector which has largely remained unregulated for so long. No measure is 100% full proof but it is getting better.

2 bhk cost in main mumbai like matunga/sion/santacruz andheri etc in 2016 was 20000 to 24000 rs rent/month..then you ill get a neat and clean flat to live..... plus deposit of 1 to 3 lacks , plus brokerage of minimum one month .............on very outer side of mumbai 8000 to 15000 rent plus 30000 to 60000 deposit(but then you will have to face crowed flood in trains to reach your office).........very costly place.......if you go for lower prices you get a single dirty room in dirty society that too rent 7000 to 13000 per month...........in uttar pradesh you can survive with 12000 income per month but you cant in mumbai...beware...before going to mumbai....think 100 times

I find Big Metros like Mumbai in India very very expensive w.r.t New York City. The reason is that author has simply given data according to the cost and not effective cost by completely ignoring the Mortgage interest rate.
Just for example the author has got data cost of apartment but ignored mortgage interest rate which is very low in the US(less than 4 percent) w.r.t. India(10 percent) at the moment. So, the author should calculate effective cost of apartment. Along with this, the author should consider the hidden cost in the form of black money which exits in real estate in India.
Just see the Average Monthly Disposable Salary (Net After Tax) of NYC which is more than 5 times that of Mumbai.

A city where you pay more and get less.... Yes that's what is Mumbai guys...Let me do a simple comparison below with Bangalore where I stayed for 10 years and now moved to Mumbai....
1) Hotel stay- A filthy room where you can barely enter with no balcony and an age old AC at 2K per night in Mumbai. Similar quality room in Bangalore- Rs.600 but room will be still larger
2) Food- barring Vada Pav, samosa and Thelas. A dark low light restaurant- Minimum dish rate 150 as against 70 for Bangalore for the same class of restaurants. Normal restaurant with AC and bar will have an average dish at 300 and peg rates at 300 per 60 ML in Mumbai and for Bangalore it will be 180 for food and 180 for 60 ML of liquor.
3) Rentals- please close your eyes since for 15K 50 kms from city centre you will stay at a 1 BHK with no woodwork or kitchen work. No balconies off course. In Bangalore at 15 kms from city centre you can expect a 2 BHK with all amenities with 2 Balconies and off course
spacious. Woodwork and kitchen work will be there for sure.
4) Public Transport- Mumbai here beats Bangalore since all Autos and Taxis are metered and if you can adjust your body you can try the local train as well to reach your destination on time. Public transport in Bangalore is comparatively poor with Autos demanding double the metre fare normally.
5) Private transport- it's same for both cities since you will face kilometres long traffic jams during peak hours

Overall if you are a family of 4, with car, rented house in a city apart from Mumbai. Even with a 30% plus salary hike you will lead an inferior life here in Mumbai

I'm looking to relocate to Mumbai on a work permit I would like to know of an average rental for a one bed apartment

Thanks

Leaving London moving to Mumbai it's a big change income will be a lot less! Andheri is the best place to stay for the younger generation who's moving from uk to Mumbai it would cost 1 lakh a month or more same as London to rent and have a decent time!!

our government is completely corrupt no improvement. they are not bother for poor peoples

Hi, I am moving to Mumbai for 4 months from June 2015. I need to find accommodation, can you recommend good websites etc for shared accommodation around the centre?

Hi,

I can assist in finding suitable accommodation, office space, rental car etc.. in Mumbai & anywhere in Gujarat. Feel free to get in touch.