Before moving to Mumbai, this is what I had heard about the city:

1. People in Mumbai respect the value of time. For ex - If you have a meeting at 10am, they’ll be there at 10 am.

2. People in Mumbai have a strong work ethic

3. People in Mumbai are generally much nicer (than let’s say Delhi)

Here’s the reality:

1. Mumbai folks are very punctual and respect you time

REALITY: Ummm yeah? If people have to travel 2 hours just to get back home, they are bound to take time seriously. When you are poor, you have to travel 2 hours by local. When you are rich you have to be stuck in traffic for 2 hours. It doesn’t bet better even with more money.

2. Mumbai folks have a strong work ethic

REALITY: Umm yeah? Everything is so frigging expensive, you can’t survive here with a normal job that pays you approx a lakh. You have to work harder if you want to survive. Also, some of the richest people live here with their massive properties on the main road. In a city, where real estate is so expensive, half the population is just fuelled on FOMO that they’ll also make it big one day.

3. Mumbai people are generally nicer

REALITY: Umm yeah.. since most people are affected by the above 2 reasons and are in a constant “struggle” phase, everyone realises you are also facing similar issues and that you’re also tired, exhausted and you just want to go home.

Exception: But don’t you dare take a Dadar/ Virar fast local, or you’ll see a very different side of Mumbai locals.

Staying in Mumbai, I’ve tried to adjust. I’ve taken a place near public transport so I can travel to office quickly without facing traffic. I’ve tried to curb my ambition and my expenses. I dont want to work myself to death to become rich. I don’t want to be in a constant state of struggle and stress.

But seriously - my patience is waning, is this entertaining?

Having lived in both Delhi and Mumbai in the past, I can only say that Mumbai is just another normal Indian city, where you have people who come on time, and also people who arrive late, just like other Indian cities. No Indian city can come close to the German / Western work ethic, or respect time like they do in the West. And I have to say that people in Delhi are actually nicer, more friendly, warm, inclusive and accepting. Mumbai is, to put it bluntly, a ruthless urban jungle where it is each person to their own. Delhiites are also far more non-judgemental and happy-go-lucky when compared to Mumbaikars. The only good thing about Mumbai is that most auto drivers return the change on time, and one is not frowned upon when it comes to exchanging money (be it with the auto drivers or with a shop keeper - even 1 rupee is returned, unlike say a Chennai or at times, Hyderabad, where the attitude is more like "what are you going to do with 1 rupee", this is one good thing about Mumbai). Even as far as the pollution aspect goes, Mumbai has overtaken Delhi recently to become India's most polluted city, and the world's second most polluted city (Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina occupying the Number 1 spot).

Here’s the thing: every city in India is fabulous if you are among the top 5% of that city and every city sucks if you are not. For example, a person living in Kochi, who has a big house, lots of servants, connections with the powerful people of the city, membership to a luxury resort club etc would be quite miserable living in Mumbai with none of these privileges. However, people need to go to Mumbai because of compulsion. In the US, not every white collar professional needs to live in New York. You can get a great job and live a nice If your hometown is, say, Austin or Seattle. But, in India, none of the major firms have offices in Kochi or Chandigarh or Lucknow. This is the problem. We have had lop-sided industrial growth in India.

Typical Mumbaikar attitude. Refuses to accept the fault of his/her own city, and rather choses to blame those who complain, instead of introspecting and analysing the complaint. Take Bollywood out of Bombay, and literally, except for the financial institutions, there's nothing more to the city.

The irony baffles me: Mumbai would collapse without outside labour, skills and knowledge and yet somehow it is the outsiders who are undesirable in Mumbai. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. If your economy is run on the blood and sweat of non-Mumbaikars, either throw your economy into the water or stop this nonsense.