Others like me live here in Mumbai

Entertainment
At a time when most actors lived around Bandra, Amitabh Bachchan’s Juhu home was considered out of the way. When Bandra and Juhu couldn’t accommodate any more television, theatre and film personalities, people invested in property in Versova and Lokhandwala. Now, Four Bungalows, Oshiwara, Malad and Goregaon seem to be where the fraternity is shifting.

“With the extension of Link Road up to Malad and Kandivli, and with Film City in Goregaon, many TV and film personalities choose this stretch,” says Pankaj Kapoor, property consultant. Actor Shruti Seth, of Sharaarat and Rajneeti fame, recently bought a house in Four Bungalows. “I saw a lot of places before I found this one. It was close to my mother’s house. Since I travel so much, it helps if I know that my mom is nearby,” she says. “With all the malls, restaurants and pubs in Andheri, I barely ever need to go into town.”

Sulagna Panigrahi, who played the lead in Do Saheliyan, has lived in Malad since her first TV show went on air. “I have lived in Colaba, Santa Cruz and Four Bungalows, but this one suited me best. It’s well connected with Madh Island and Mira Road where I travel for shoots, and Andheri, where I go for meetings. Also, I like that Malad is peaceful and quiet,” says Sulagna.

It/BPO
Ever since IT companies, BPOs and call centres opened offices in Malad, the geography of this area has changed considerably,” says Kapoor. “Powai too is getting more traction by the year thanks to IT offices and call centres in the area. Other areas that are coming up are Vashi, Nerul, Kharghar and Thane,” he adds.

Sanoop Chandrababu owns an apartment in Panvel. But five years back, the IT professional rented a place in Malad to be closer to his office in Mindspace, which houses a number of IT offices, BPOs and call centres. “I moved here because commuting from Panvel took me six hours every day,” he says. When he first moved to Malad, he used to pay Rs7,000 per month. Now, he pays Rs16,000 in rent. “With so many people moving into the area, the prices have skyrocketed,” he says. Two years ago, Neha Vinayak moved to Mumbai and into a one-bedroom apartment in Malad, close to her workplace in Mindspace, Malad.

“Here, even when I work late hours, I feel safe enough to travel alone,” she says, adding that though the office has shifted to a building in Goregaon and it now takes her 45 minutes to get to work, she chose to stay on in Malad. “I don’t find Goregaon as safe for single women.”

SINGLE WOMEN
Though Mumbai is considered safer than cities like Delhi, the first thing a woman looks for when searching for a house, is security. “The western suburbs offer this security. There are hostels for women in Chowpatty, Bandra, Juhu and Borivli. Those looking for apartments also prefer these areas,” says real estate consultant Ashok Narang. Devika Goel, a PR executive, initially stayed as a paying guest in Matunga. “But it was horrible, with 14 people sharing the house,” she says. So she moved to Bandra. But when that became too expensive, she and a roommate rented an apartment in Juhu Versova Link Road.

“My roommate leaves at 10am and returns as late as 1am. We’ve found that Versova is quite safe,” says Devika. Journalist Sayoni Bahaduri has been living in Sher-e-Punjab, Andheri (E), for three years now. She used to stay as a paying guest, but once she started to work, she moved out because the PG had a 10pm deadline. “I looked at a lot of places from Colaba to Bandra, but these were either too expensive or not suitable for women,” says Sayoni. So she settled for Andheri. “I find transport easily, and it’s not deserted even during the wee hours.” It helps that so many single women from the airline industry also live in the area.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
For the professionals who rent apartments, the biggest priority is proximity to the workplace. But when buying, their priorities change. Between 2000 and 2005, a lot of people bought apartments because real estate was affordable. “People started looking for options beyond Andheri, Juhu, and central and south Mumbai, because those places were still expensive,” says Kapoor.

“A lot of young professionals bought houses in Kandivli, Malad, Mulund, Borivli and Powai.” Aditya Das* decided to take advantage of the boom and bought an apartment in Thakur Village in Kandivli. “The area had everything we needed, including a north Indian community and Durga Puja celebrations. While it gets really hectic commuting to Lower Parel and back from Monday to Friday, our weekends are very pleasant,” he says. “But this place has changed too. When I moved here four years back, there was hardly any traffic. Now, there’s a traffic jam when I leave for work at 8am every day.” Alok Kalra had a tough time finding a house that fit his budget and requirements. He hunted in Wadala, Chembur, Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road and Goregaon, before finally choosing a place in Andheri. “I chose the west because it’s more homely than the east, which is more industrial,” he says.

*Names have been changed on request

STUDENTS
This is one group that resides all over the city, mostly dependent on how much money they get from home. “Around the university at Kalina and colleges in Matunga are the most sought-after areas, but these are also expensive, so a few students move beyond the western suburbs to places like Mira Road, Virar, etc, because it is cheap,” says Kapoor, adding that places like Kurla and Khar Danda are also popular among students because of their proximity to colleges.

Kuthu Anar, a student from Nagaland, recently graduated from a Bandra law college. He lived in Mira Road for a few months and later moved to Khar Danda, when he found a place within his budget. He shares the Rs9,000-a-month apartment with two other students.

“I have a very small partment but I live here because it is affordable, and I’m only 10 minutes away from Carter Road. I know it is not a posh locality, but that doesn’t bother me. Mira Road, while affordable, was too far for me,” he says.
Dhananjay D’Lima, a BA student at St Xavier’s, says he had to shift homes every six months before he finally found an apartment in Bandra. It’s expensive, but still close enough to college, and its much nicer, he says.