Mumbai - May 2025

 

Just when we thought we had our expat life figured out, a curve ball was awaiting us. What I am learning about expat life is that there are few certainties. The surprise that is coming at us now is an opportunity to relocate to Mumbai for Ryan's work. Given that we have never been to India (and Ryan and Sam have not been to Asia at all) we felt an exploratory trip was in order before making this major life decision.

Biggest concerns we need to assess:  1) Heat (we were going during the hottest time of the year so it will be a good indication of a worst case scenario) 2) Pollution 3) Walkability (or lack thereof) 4) Dirtiness and, most importantly, 5) whether we be able to find good wine?

One week to figure all of this out! Staying at The Four Seasons was probably going to help give us a positive impression. 

More Mumbai photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/4cRxWdv1nbifFK8CA

Sunday, May 4 

We landed at 12:15am and you might think the airport would be calm at this time but that's not the case. I think that half of Mumbai was at the airport, and that is a lot of people.

Monday, May 5 

On the first day we did a city orientation tour.  Our guide was the relocation person hired by Ryan´s company and he took us to several parts of the city including the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel.  

This was our first test of dealing with the heat and walkability. At first I thought the heat wasn't too bad.  But it did not take long for my feelings to change once we were out of the air conditioned car and walking in the sun. Still, we survived.

For walkability, certainly the sidewalks are not ideal since they tend to either not exist, be in bad condition or be full of people, garbage and/or literal poop (animal, I hope 😬).  But we did learn from our guide how to simply put out our hand when crossing the street and that somehow drivers tend to obey that and don't run you over. I can't say with certainty how reliable that method is but I am alive so there's that.

We also explored some urban green spaces which were definitely more walkable but would require a drive to get to.  Overall not good walkability but the solution to that is the opportunity to walk and be active within the luxurious apartment complex in which we would be living.  More on that in a couple of days. 

Malabar Hill Elevated Nature Trail:

Hanging Gardens:

Tuesday, May 6 

After our city tour, we needed a "chill day" while Ryan went into the office. Sam and I went to the spa which included his first massage.  He is definitely getting used to the finer things in life, including room service at The Four Seasons. 🙄

Wednesday, May 7 

Today we considered schools in Mumbai. We toured the American School of Bombay as it has been presented to us as THE school to send your kids to in Mumbai. We were a little skeptical because it isn't in the neighborhood we would want to live in so it would involve a 30-ish minute bus ride to and from school each day (more or less and also unpredictable). Also, it is super expensive even in the world of private international schools we've been living in for the last few years.  But we got the impression we would be wowed when we did the tour and it would be an obvious choice.  That was not the case.  

Even though the facilities were quite nice (and should be for the tuition they are charging!), the lady who gave us the tour was a real interesting (British meaning) piece of work.  She had limited patience for our questions, giving the impression that the school was exceptional and we shouldn't question anything.  This was very off-putting and we felt a negative vibe, even though I am sure the academics, infrastructure and programming would be great. And while she was responsible for admissions and not someone we would deal with regularly, it gave us enough pause to decide to look at other schools. Sam also wasn't in love with the school but I think that has to do solely with the rock climbing wall that he has no desire to scale. 

Given the timing, we would not be able to tour any other schools this week but Ryan is looking at the German School and French School next week - both very close to where we would want to live.

Thursday & Friday 

These days were dedicated to exploring neighborhoods and apartments.  Bandra is a "suburb" of Mumbai, although not really like a suburb you would think of.  It is still very busy and city-like.  We had heard that it is similar in feel to European cities.  I would not go that far but it is more ´walkable´ than other areas of Mumbai and has many cafes and restaurants.  It is also where many of the Bollywood actors live, so that's something.  It is connected to Worli (where Ryan´s office is) by the Sea Link which is a bridge built back in 2009 that makes travel between the two neighborhoods much quicker than it used to be

Worli, closer to Ryan’s potential office, had many high-rises ¨compounds¨ with security and access to all kinds of amenities. This is likely where we would want to live and what we envision for life in Mumbai.  Bandra is nice but I want the experience of living in a pristine complex with a gym, swimming pool, tennis courts, playground, etc. It is definitely living in a bubble but it is a bubble I think I would enjoy for a temporary period of time. 

Saturday, May 10 

A 2:15 a.m. flight took us back to Amsterdam and away from chaos, other than the chaos of the constant fear of getting hit by bikes in Amsterdam (after which you would likely not get access to medical care 😠). Ryan will stay for another week to work and look at a couple more schools.

The summary of Mumbai is that it is a contradiction, such as:

• Garbage-filled = yes.  Also super luxurious = yes
• Great customer service = yes. Also challenging to get things done = yes
• Obnoxiously wealthy people = yes.  Also home to the biggest slum in the world = yes

We have only seen a portion of India but we get the idea.  More to come ....