Checklist For Newcomers in Mumbai – A Helpful Guide

“New city is equal to many questions, Mumbai is not an exception. 2020, Below is a small checklist to follow if you are new to Mumbai city, it’s a handy city guide that will help you with what things one must know about the place to get start with..”

A Handy and Simple Checklist For Mumbai City References

• AC local trains started running in Mumbai, For less crowd, luxury, comfort and less crowd, it is best to travel via these local trains.
• Residential Proof : Most important thing, get your address proof changed. Any important legal process will need your residential proof (Rented or Permanent address).
• Railway Network : Many or Most time a common people travels in the lifeline called local trains of Mumbai. To guide in easy and simple way, check out the Railway map of Mumbai which has 3 main local railway routes(Western, Central and Harbour). Next, know the station names of same..
• City Geo in General : Understand what’s the difference between staying in town area and western/eastern suburban. In simple words town area is the heart of city (South of Mumbai) and is the oldest commercial cum residential hotspot. Mumbai (Then Bombay) all started from this island area. U might already been through the station names, But here is a little more to the checklist. Station from Churchgate (including locations like Colaba, Nariman point etc) up to Mahim on Western route covers the main city area which is historically oldest.Then as soon you move ahead from Bandra towards north is all Suburban hotspots which had seen rapid development in last 1 decade. Stations like Andheri, Borivali are major stations. The far north stations / locations beyond Dahisar to Virar are connected but falls outside Mumbai. Same way there are eastern suburban city locations like Thane, Chembur, Ghatkopar etc.

  One more important point to remember is that every railway station has two sides for reference and easy access and identification of address. EAST and WEST, is what you may notice in major address you looking for. For example, Andheri East, Ghatkopar West etc

• Travel Options : The latest & happening to be a big travel relief is Mumbai Metro Project, Also refer major travel options article for regular commuting in Mumbai and keep the travel checklist handy as it will be required many times.To keep it short and less confusing Cheapest options are Local Trains and BEST bus. By road, regular taxi runs between South Mumbai only (Churchgate and Mahim) and there are private companies running taxi services to travel in any location within city or outside without any restrictions. Auto ride is good for short distances and runs in suburban locations.

  Although Google Maps are very handy, I put a lots of efforts before that for getting city road distance. Refer our distance calculator that will help u calculate city road distances. And if you are eager to know about distance between individual railway stations in Mumbai.

• Languages Spoken in Mumbai : Communication is the key to solve major things in new city like Mumbai, So it is a important point in this checklist too. Preferred language of Mumbai is Hindi and Marathi. People of all caste and creeds can be found in Mumbai and so it is easy for any one to settle down easy.People do interact in English, But then if you are a foreign national and do not know English, Then it will be little tough for you as other languages like Russian, French etc is not known here. City do have its own slangs, which is also called a Tapori (Kind of rude) language, But it is fun to know and talk sometimes at selective locations.
• Currency and Money : Know little more about Indian Currency and how one handles money (Coins, Currency and Change) in Mumbai. A tip for this checklist is, always keep some change (About Rs.20 to Rs.50) as many a times it a challenge to get exact change.Do not carry huge cash while travelling, Never talk about money you carry to other people. Keep your wallet safe while travelling inside local trains, buses and crowded markets.
• Accommodation Options : Mumbai accommodates every pocket, You have Small rooms, Classy Hotels and Budget stay options too. Just enquire around (Do not talk to people on streets, Better talk to shop owners or refer newspapers).The simple way to explain this is, South Mumbai and main hotspots of Western Suburban like (Between Bandra to Andheri) are costly for rental stay. Locations like Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali and Borivali are medium, still costly. Cheap rentals are at far north locations like Vasai Virar which required extra 45 minutes of train travel, But to be noted, lakhs of people do stay on rent, owned and travel to Mumbai daily since decades now.

  Some of the known costliest residency of Mumbai are Hiranandani townships at Powai, Thane, Borivali and other areas. Similarly, Many other known Builders and Developers groups like Raheja’s, Lodha, RNA, Rustomjee and many others make quality, luxurious and quality lifestyle residency at major locations of Suburbs.

• Commercial Locations : The main OR Major commercial hubs of Mumbai are Bandra Kurla Complex, Seepz and MIDC IT hub, South Mumbai’s Old Markets, Fort and Nariman Point area near Churchgate & CST station. Do not miss on South Mumbai markets located at Charni Road station. Major call centres and BPO’s are at Link Road area of Malad Goregaon Station (Western Suburban).
• Entertainment : Now as you get used to this city and little bored after busy routines, you will look out for some entertainment options and here is the guide to latest weekly movies in city, list of cinema theatres, discos etc.There are enough shopping malls, fun of street shopping destinations like fashion street and bandra linking road and South Mumbai’s Colaba Causeway and knowing the exact bargain skills for same.
• More : I will try covering all things happening in 2018 here, Still request to simple refer this blog and explore categories of your choice to know more about Mumbai and keep the checklist updated by being in touch with me socially.