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Rent in Dharavi is $4/month[1]. Not $4000 - $5000 for pretty much the same square footage and nearly identical neighbourhoods. If you are a resident of Atherton

Rent in Dharavi is $4/month[1]. Not $4000 - $5000 for pretty much the same square footage and nearly identical neighbourhoods. If you are a resident of Atherton or Los Altos Hills, you probably never noticed how the rest of Bay Area is. Dharavi also has functional public transport. Bay area has 'bullet' trains that take 1 - 2 hours to go 30 miles. Almost all of bay area is in the mobile home parks/zones, which is for all intents and purposes considered slums anywhere in the US and are pretty far off from the main city and suburbs (and horrible school district). Usually, rent at these places is a couple of hundred dollars, but in bay area, these are a few thousand dollars. Source: I lived in the bay area (all 3 bays). I also lived in ~20 other cities all over US. [1]From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/dharavi_slum/html/dharavi_slum_intro.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/dharavi_slum/... Today's Dharavi bears no resemblance to the fishing village it once was. A city within a city, it is one unending stretch of narrow dirty lanes, open sewers and cramped huts. In a city where house rents are among the highest in the world, Dharavi provides a cheap and affordable option to those who move to Mumbai to earn their living. Rents here can be as low as 185 rupees ($4/£2.20) per month. As Dharavi is located between Mumbai's two main suburban rail lines, most people find it convenient for work. Even in the smallest of rooms, there is usually a cooking gas stove and continuous electricity.

anon291 1y ago
My grandparents bungalow is literally a block away from Dharavi. Guys... You are completely off base on this one. Everything you say is right about cheapness and such, but let's be honest about where you'd rather live. The increase in bay area prices is from the fact that it's a nicer place to live due to the infrastructure
- thelastgallon 1y ago
  > The increase in bay area prices is from the fact that it's a nicer place to live due to the infrastructure Is it because the high speed trains for public transit? Or is it the mobile home parks + landfills + sewage processing plants? https://www.reddit.com/r/SanJose/comments/orsaky/why_does_milpitas_smell_bad/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SanJose/comments/orsaky/why_does_mi... This claim is understandable for NYC, NYC has a subway. The money you don't spend on car payment + insurance + gas, plus the convenience helps justify the higher rent/mortgage.
  - anon291 1y ago
    The jobs, the buzz, the popularity... That's all part of it. Mumbai has some of that appeal within India obviously. In SF you are competing with the world. I'm not sure why there is such an unwillingness to admit Mumbai and SF are on different levels of desirability. Mumbai also has a lot less infrastructure. Many people don't have 24/7 water. The crosswalks in SF and San Jose exist and work. The sidewalks are usable and not falling apart. Why is this even up for debate.
    - sometimes_all 1y ago
      > Why is this even up for debate There was a time when this wasn't. The thing is that it _is_ now, especially for people in the upper-middle class and above, who can and do live a WAY better life in Mumbai, however much you try to deny it. There are people who've told me they wouldn't bother living in the Bay Area had it not been for the money, weather and inertia. I am now also seeing a lot of NRIs who are grasping at straws to justify their living in California, something which they didn't even need to bother with 20 years ago. > The crosswalks in SF and San Jose exist I find it funny that you have to reach all the way to crosswalks to make a point. The places where you cross the road? What makes you think they don't exist in Mumbai? What about so many places in the US where you cannot even walk on the road if you don't have a car? You can try and convince people who haven't been to Mumbai at all, or don't live there regularly. People who are well-off, have lived in both places, and especially those who might _now_ consider starting a life in the States: you'll pretty much need to provide a utopia or an extremely high-paying job to convince them to move there. Mumbai is hell, there is no denying that, and even locals will not fight you on it; I personally would not try to convince a non-local to consider Mumbai as a place to live. The problem is that the Bay Area is not the heaven, perceived or real, it used to be any more.
      - anon291 1y ago
        I mean perhaps fair enough. Mumbai is looking really nice these days. Legitimately to the point where i think it would be fun to visit (as opposed to our visits growing up which I dreaded). > What makes you think they don't exist in Mumbai? Attempting to walk in Mumbai lol. > The problem is that the Bay Area is not the heaven, perceived or real, it used to be any more. Fair enough. It has a lot of problems but the class of problems is different. You are probably correct that those working in tech probably live better in Mumbai than the bay area. I mean having any money at all means having domestic staff and such.

anon291 1y ago

My grandparents bungalow is literally a block away from Dharavi. Guys... You are completely off base on this one. Everything you say is right about cheapness and such, but let's be honest about where you'd rather live. The increase in bay area prices is from the fact that it's a nicer place to live due to the infrastructure

thelastgallon 1y ago
> The increase in bay area prices is from the fact that it's a nicer place to live due to the infrastructure Is it because the high speed trains for public transit? Or is it the mobile home parks + landfills + sewage processing plants? https://www.reddit.com/r/SanJose/comments/orsaky/why_does_milpitas_smell_bad/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SanJose/comments/orsaky/why_does_mi... This claim is understandable for NYC, NYC has a subway. The money you don't spend on car payment + insurance + gas, plus the convenience helps justify the higher rent/mortgage.
- anon291 1y ago
  The jobs, the buzz, the popularity... That's all part of it. Mumbai has some of that appeal within India obviously. In SF you are competing with the world. I'm not sure why there is such an unwillingness to admit Mumbai and SF are on different levels of desirability. Mumbai also has a lot less infrastructure. Many people don't have 24/7 water. The crosswalks in SF and San Jose exist and work. The sidewalks are usable and not falling apart. Why is this even up for debate.
  - sometimes_all 1y ago
    > Why is this even up for debate There was a time when this wasn't. The thing is that it _is_ now, especially for people in the upper-middle class and above, who can and do live a WAY better life in Mumbai, however much you try to deny it. There are people who've told me they wouldn't bother living in the Bay Area had it not been for the money, weather and inertia. I am now also seeing a lot of NRIs who are grasping at straws to justify their living in California, something which they didn't even need to bother with 20 years ago. > The crosswalks in SF and San Jose exist I find it funny that you have to reach all the way to crosswalks to make a point. The places where you cross the road? What makes you think they don't exist in Mumbai? What about so many places in the US where you cannot even walk on the road if you don't have a car? You can try and convince people who haven't been to Mumbai at all, or don't live there regularly. People who are well-off, have lived in both places, and especially those who might _now_ consider starting a life in the States: you'll pretty much need to provide a utopia or an extremely high-paying job to convince them to move there. Mumbai is hell, there is no denying that, and even locals will not fight you on it; I personally would not try to convince a non-local to consider Mumbai as a place to live. The problem is that the Bay Area is not the heaven, perceived or real, it used to be any more.
    - anon291 1y ago
      I mean perhaps fair enough. Mumbai is looking really nice these days. Legitimately to the point where i think it would be fun to visit (as opposed to our visits growing up which I dreaded). > What makes you think they don't exist in Mumbai? Attempting to walk in Mumbai lol. > The problem is that the Bay Area is not the heaven, perceived or real, it used to be any more. Fair enough. It has a lot of problems but the class of problems is different. You are probably correct that those working in tech probably live better in Mumbai than the bay area. I mean having any money at all means having domestic staff and such.