Delhi Man Finds Mumbai's High Costs and Overcrowding Too Much to Handle

Moving to a new city often comes with curiosity and cautious optimism. But for one Delhi NCR resident, a few months in Mumbai for work brought more frustration than excitement. In a detailed post on Reddit, the Delhi man shared how revisiting Mumbai after years only strengthened his belief that, on a day-to-day level, Delhi NCR is far more livable. His comparison, based on lived experience, touched a nerve online as he broke down the realities of housing, infrastructure, healthcare, and daily life.

The Reddit user explained that he has spent his entire life in Delhi NCR. When work required him to stay in Mumbai for a few months, he expected the city to feel different this time around. Instead, from a practical standpoint, he found daily life harder and more exhausting than in Delhi.

Rent was the biggest shock. During his stay, he was quoted around Rs 25,000 for a single-sharing room that barely had space to stand comfortably. Meanwhile, friends in Delhi NCR were paying Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 for entire 1RK or 1BHK flats. He pointed out that even in Mumbai’s suburbs, not South Mumbai, 1BHK rents often crossed Rs 40,000. For the same amount in Delhi, one could rent a spacious 3BHK or even an independent house. To him, Mumbai’s real estate prices felt completely disconnected from reality.

Infrastructure was another major letdown. Roads, drainage, footpaths, and local markets felt overstressed and poorly planned. Overcrowding was constant, and walking was often difficult because footpaths were taken over by stalls or packed with people. He stayed in Juhu, considered a good area, yet daily commuting still meant traffic jams, unpleasant smells, and chaos. Outside premium neighbourhoods, conditions worsened sharply.

Healthcare also disappointed him. After researching and visiting well-known hospitals, he felt Delhi doctors were academically stronger on average. Despite this, Mumbai hospitals charged two to five times more. Consultation fees that cost Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 in Delhi often started at Rs 1,500 in Mumbai and went up to Rs 5,000, without noticeably better care.

Food and dining, he wrote, were overrated. Eating out in Mumbai was costlier, with smaller portions and average food, while Delhi offered a better variety at lower prices. He also highlighted the harsh living conditions in slums and chawls and the disturbing contrast between luxury towers and informal housing.

Traffic, flooding during monsoons, dust from constant construction, and poor cleanliness added to his frustration. He even mentioned areas near BKC, often compared to Cyberhub, where the Mithi River ran filled with trash. Culturally, he felt Mumbai was limited outside South Mumbai, while Delhi NCR offered history, parks, and open spaces.

What troubled him most was the denial, he wrote, where long-time residents romanticised overcrowding, high rents, and hardship as spirit. In his Reddit post, the Delhi man said that compared to Delhi NCR, Mumbai offered less space, weaker affordability, strained infrastructure, overpriced healthcare, and a much tougher daily life, while constantly asking people to glorify the struggle.

Several users echoed similar views in the comments. One pointed out that while Navi Mumbai is relatively better, most work still requires travelling into Mumbai, making daily commuting exhausting due to poor infrastructure and persistent odours. Another commenter expressed strong frustration, saying they would still choose Delhi despite its pollution rather than move to cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru. A third user shared a personal journey of living in Pune and Hyderabad after growing up in Delhi, and said none matched Delhi’s space, infrastructure, food, or overall vibe, adding that they decided to settle in Delhi permanently after returning during the pandemic.