Those people who are born in Mumbai want to have their grave dug here as well; no one can take their love for the city out of their hearts. However, for a traveler looking for peace , Mumbai is not the ideal place. Only the ones with a youthful heart can manage to survive here. Like everything is gigantic in Mumbai in its sheer size and grandeur, so are the pros and cons of the city. You can either make it big in the city or just think no more about succeeding if you don't set your feet right. While waiting for the right opportunity to knock their door, people don't forget to live a life in Mumbai. The Mumbai-kars are known for living their life like a knight, and they probably don't have any other option in a city booming with more than 18 million people living in just 603-kilometer square.  

While traveling to Mumbai, based on your perspective, you may love Mumbai at first sight, or just hate it forever. However, go there with an open mind, live there with a vibrant heart, and certainly, forget the meaning of peace for the time of your stay in the city.

Positives of living in Mumbai

Let’s forget the negatives for a while and focus on the positives of being in Mumbai. No city can thrive only on its demerits; it has to possess some merits to trigger a motivation for its people to stay there.

The civil society

Nowhere in India will you find more civility in people than in Mumbai. It is not without reason that the Mumbai-kars loathe the Delhi-ites; they find the difference in politeness even in just talking to each other. You will not find anyone, almost anyone, in Mumbai breaking a queue or being impolite to others. Even though the roads are crowded at every hour of the day, it is a rarity to find people indulging in road rage.

Professionalism

Honesty and professionalism are something you will come to appreciate in the city if you value these attributes. Whether it is a plumber, maid, cook, engineer, or creative designer; they are much more professional in their conduct towards work. They value their jobs and know the worth of time for everyone. Unlike the other cities, the auto-rickshaw drivers do not try to deceive or over-charge you for a small route.

Weather

Don't mind the rains if you can ignore the mess, and you will fall in love with the weather of Mumbai. Nor too hot and neither cold at all; the climatic conditions are just so ideal for romantic moods or just a long walk on the beach. And unlike other states and cities of the country, you will not find power outages or water shortage in Mumbai during rains. That is why; the suppliers of voltage stabilizers and inverters have no business being in the city.

The people

Mumbai-kars are the real reason Mumbai survives every calamity and grabs every opportunity. The focused, fast, professional, and hard-working folks of Mumbai mind their own business and are less judgmental. You will find an air of America in their mindset, even if the city doesn't resemble America at all. Mumbai-kars are more tolerant, accepting, and open-minded when it comes to trivial matters of life.

The food

Coming from Malaysia? Coming from Kerala? Or from Bihar? You will find the food in all sizes, shapes, and prices from almost every corner of the world in Mumbai. Very few cities around the world have this kind of provisions for food. Even if you want to cook the authentic cuisines of your region at home, you just need to know where you can get the raw material and there you have it. Global Village is what Mumbai actually represents regarding food and everything else.

The Nightlife

Every article about Mumbai is incomplete without mentioning its nightlife. Just come out of your house or hotel, and you will find the city bustling with life at every hour of the night. Whether you want to have a glass of juice, beer, food, Maggie, butter chicken, you can be sure to get it in almost every corner of the city. Other than food, if you are looking to pump up the adrenalin in the body, you can go to any of the pubs, clubs, and bars of Mumbai, you can let your hair loose until you feel tired.

Safety

We need to pay attention to our safety in any part of India, but you can feel relatively safer in Mumbai even late at night. We cannot ignore a few nasty incidents that make it to the headlines, but Mumbai gives more reassurance to the male as well as female folks at any given point in the day or night. Moreover, the Mumbai police, just like its citizens, are more polite and cooperative than their counterparts in, say Uttar Pradesh! Do we need to say more? The police will help a girl stranded at night rather than making her feel unsafe or scolding her for disturbing their peace .

Global exposure

Do you want exposure in your life and career? Very few Indian metropolitans are capable of giving it, not to mention Mumbai. Just come to the city for a job or a creative career; you can be sure of meeting a myriad of people that can open your mind for the good and the better. For many people coming from other states, it may be a cultural shock. However, once they get accustomed to the open-mindedness, it is a great liberation for life. After living in Mumbai for a few years, you can adjust in any urban city in the world without faltering.

Religious Acceptance

Since people from all walks of life come to Mumbai, they bring their cultural values as well. Since ages, the best part of the city has been its large-heartedness; the city has embraced immigrants at all times in the history. And folks of all religions have established their shrines in Mumbai; you can find places like Japanese Cemeteries, Afghan Church, Parsi Agiaries, etc. If you come across the Chinese inhabitants or the fisher folk in the city, you will be amazed to find them at such ease in the city. Various civilizations have left their imprints on the architecture in South Bombay, which has still preserved its heritage.

The Mumbai Local

The overcrowded lifeline of the city, the Mumbai Local trains, are the cheapest mode of transport that run across over 400 kilometers. The trains, serving millions of people from all corners of the town, are undoubtedly crowded, especially during the office and college commuting hours. For the first-timers, the Mumbai local maybe a nightmare to understand and accept, but its various versions of speed and gender categories make it convenient to travel. More so, you can find strangers developing a bond just because they go on the same train every day. It is not strange for the Mumbai-kars to cut vegetables on their way back home, sing religious as well as Bollywood songs, or share meals with each other. You cannot feel nostalgic in Mumbai for a large part of the day if you choose trains for your commuting, ignoring the maddening crowd.

The Education System

Like everything else in the city, you can choose from various Boards of schooling your child. You have the Local State Board, the Central Board, and the International Board for educating children. Most schools have an enjoyable and expansive syllabus for their students, who are also inspired to appear for various competitive examinations. In addition, the entrepreneurial bug is biting almost every college graduate, many of whom are budding nationally and internationally.

Negatives of living in Mumbai

The cost of property

The sky-rocketing prices of houses in Mumbai are notorious in India. For an average middle-man, it seems difficult to rent a decent house in the city, forget to buy it. A comfortable house may cost in crores, which is way too much given the overpopulated regions and filthy living conditions in many areas of Mumbai.

Congested roads

The roads in Mumbai are unbelievably encroached and congested, which makes it worthless owning a car in the so called metropolitan. Thanks to the various modes of public transport such as taxis, auto-rickshaws, local trains, and Self-Drive Car Rental Mumbai that the city remains functional. Otherwise, if everyone starts owning a car, the city will soon become an urban jungle. However, the car owners in the city have recently received the gift of toll-free roads in 2015. The major roadways and freeways in Mumbai do not charge any toll, which used to be crazy high earlier.

The unreasonable distance for basics

While not denying the fact that we can get anything we need at any hour of the day in Mumbai, we cannot ignore the unreasonable extent of the distance we have to cover the basics sometimes. Shops in each locality have an odd pattern; you may find dozens of shops selling the same goods in just one region, but you may find it challenging to find something as basic as a chemist nearby. Probably, the shopkeepers have encroached the residential colonies to establish their specific commercial places, but the unplanned scenario of the city is clearly visible in every arena. Moreover, you can easily find almost every other road dug up and in horrible condition, not to say anything about the sudden mushrooming of settlements at any vacant space.

Even if you hate Mumbai, you cannot abhor the Mumbai-kars. Long after you have left the city, you will miss the people you met and even those you didn’t bump into. Everyone in the city has the capacity to make an impression on your mind, even via stories. The spirit of Mumbai is emboldened after the 26/11 attacks, and the people have emerged out stronger than ever. Even though Mumbai is not a perfect metropolitan, it still has the power to make you long for it forever.

Author's Bio: 

The author of this article is fond of roaming with Self Drive Cars on his own for exploring the India. Here the author shared his experience and some advice while travelling with a self drive car in Mumbai.