For a non-Mumbaikar this city at first can seem a bit cruel and even unrelenting, but it will make you fall in love with it and will start showering opportunities on the worthy. Night out at Marine Drive is a best experience for a outsider. Exploring food joints and new places is exciting. Also one will enjoy the festivals celebrated here. The city challenges you; it’s a race for everyday, a race to cross the roads, a race to board the locals, a race to be alive at the end of the day. It’s about the magic that transforms you, the magic that you feel when you manage to cover your work, college, internship, gym etc. The satisfaction when you sleep without trying, being able to live to the fullest.”
The Cost of Living Index is very high compared to other metropolitan cities of India. The cost of living in a rented apartment is very high, especially for bachelors. Generally, localities with lower rent are located far away from the colleges and business parks and the bachelors staying in these localities have to travel long distances to reach their work place. Along with several dreams like becoming a millionaire, becoming a Bollywood star or starting up a multinational company, Mumbaikars also see the dream of getting the window seat in the local trains daily. The train is the most popular and quickest way of commuting in Mumbai. Mumbai's local railway transports an astonishing eight million commuters per day! There are three major transportation systems in the city; private transport, bus facility, and local trains. Due to the constant road jams, private transport and bus systems are not dependable means of transport, especially for students or working professionals who cannot afford to get late. Locals are considered to be the fastest means of transport in Mumbai.
Cost of Living
Now that you are moving into this crazy city, let us breakdown the major cost of living that you should keep in mind.
- Housing
Most part of your income will be spent in renting a house in Mumbai. Your housing options varies from PGs from a starting range of Rs.6000 to 1BHK flats from starting range of Rs 12000 depending on the area. There are a lot of options available to suit your needs. The rent of flats in Mumbai varies from area to area. Usually it increases as you move towards the south part of the city. Here is the estimated average cost of flats according to the area.
Western Mumbai: Rs. 12,000 or more
Navi Mumbai: Rs.7,000-15,000 or more
Central Mumbai: Rs.15,000 or more
South Mumbai: Rs. 30,000 to 60,000 or more
It is best advised to find an accommodation near the place of your work as you can cut down on your commute time. You can find someone to share your accommodation and divide your expenses. In Mumbai the rate of brokerage and security deposit is very high. Ideally short list some houses which are suitable to your needs and go personally to see the house before finalizing anything. Check the housing conditions, rental terms, security and locality before locking down anything.
- Furnishing
Once you have finalized a house the next thing to think about is the furnishing. You can opt for fully furnished of semi furnished houses to keep things hassle free. If that is not the case you can rent furniture and electronics from a third party to complete your house. Rent of furniture and electronics can cost you about Rs.2000 to 3000 per month.
- Food Expenses
Mumbai has no scarcity for delicious food. The options are immense to suit anyone from any part of the country. Restaurants and cafes can be found everywhere around the city where variety is never a concern. Most PGs provide you food as a part of their monthly rent. You can get your tiffin service starting from Rs1500-3000 on a monthly basis. There will be times where you will be going out to eat. Overall, your food expense should range somewhere from Rs3000-5000 per month.
- Utility Bills
Electricity cost is on the higher side in this city. You can take practical steps to conserve electricity. Utility bills can range you from Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 that can be dividedwith flatmates.
- Transportation
Local trains and BEST buses are available always available and have a good connectivity in the city. Others options for daily commuting are taxis and autos which cost Rs 18-22/km. You can definitely opt for an Uber/Ola as a more premium option. If you commute daily via the same route it is recommended to have a commute pass as it can save your cost.
- Entertainment
You will not function well if you work continuously without giving yourself breaks. Mumbai is known for its nightlife and has a wide range of options to enjoy and relax. You can keep a budget of Rs 2000-4000 for weekends for the purpose of entertainment.
Sharing a home is the first step to independence for millions of young people. Some join forces with strangers to build homes and others prefer youth hostels, but the most innovative opt for co-living spaces which support entrepreneurship by providing an atmosphere for sharing ideas, knowledge and experiences. Co-living is a modern form of live/work housing where residents share a set of interests, values, and/or intentions. The community between residents is cultivated by a professional host. Co-living helps people live with purpose and share their passion. Some of the major advantages are that co-living spaces offer are
- Lower deposits: One of the biggest advantages that co-living space providers are offering to the occupants is the freedom from paying huge deposits to the landlord. Co-living space providers charge no or very little deposit which is a big benefit to students and working professionals.
- More facilities: As compared to hostels or paying guests co-living comes with a huge number of facilities in the shared home. The hostels, paying guests are usually associated with bare shell accommodation whereas; the co-living space operators are willing to provide a lot of facilities that make your life easy. In certain paying guest accommodations, even food is not included whereas co-living options come with food. The atmosphere in co-living is usually more alive than in a paying guest accommodation. Common areas in co-living provide a separate space which may have a TV, games, etc. They provide you furnished flats and you could even customise your space. There are laundry, lockers and internet facilities also.
- More freedom: Co-living comes with more freedom to the occupants than many other options. The occupants can come in and leave any time of the day and can choose to live on their own terms. There are several restrictions imposed on the tenants by a landlord but in co-living, one can be free from a disruptive landlord.
- More social: The co-living spaces provide a lot of opportunities to the occupants to socialise and have regular interactions with each other. There can be a lot of exchange of ideas and opinion among the occupants. Co-living helps overcome the problem of loneliness for the occupants if they were to rent similar accommodation individually.
- Events: There are several events that the co-living space operators provide to the occupants which are usually beneficial to the millennial population. Some of the operators connect the occupants with leaders in their chosen fields or profession. There are several events organised by some of the providers where occupants can show their skills, talents and hone leadership qualities.
Let us calculate the minimum range that a single individual need to survive in Mumbai if he/she shares a 1BHK flat with someone on a monthly basis.
Rent: Rs 10000-15000
Furnishing: Rs 1000-2000
Food: Rs 3000-5000
Utility Bills: Rs 1000-1500
Transportation: Rs 900+
Entertainment: Rs 2000-5000
Other Expenses: Rs 2000-3000
Total: 20,000 – 33,000
