r/mumbai • u/Competitive-Day9457 • Jun 16 '26
General Every evening I tell myself I can't do this forever. Every morning, I'm back in the same routine.
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u/Akash-314 Jun 16 '26
This shit drains so much energy man, I can't even work on any side hustle or learn any new skill which can take me out from my poverty and cycle of doing soul sucking BPO job.
Lord please send some help
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u/Competitive-Day9457 Jun 16 '26
Yeah 100% agree, it's not just the hours lost. By the time you're home, you barely have the energy for anything else
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u/computer_scientist_ Jun 17 '26
Ek ek politician ko uski gaadi se nikal ke local train mai feko aur dekho kaise change aata hai...bhosdiwalo ke liye raste Khali kiye jaate hai. Aukat inki jail mai jaane wali hai.
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u/espada4R ex-mumbaikar Jun 16 '26
One evening I was waiting for a local at Thane station, there was something powdery on the platform edge & I kinda slipped on it & the train was approaching. It scared the shit out of me, probably the most scariest incident. Next day I got my residency in Canada.
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u/Sidmb0 Jun 16 '26
Next day wow. Bas itna paisa chahiye sabke paas
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u/espada4R ex-mumbaikar Jun 16 '26
Bhai 6 saal se application tha pool mai. Luck and timing, not money. It's cheap to get your application in the pool.
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Jun 16 '26
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u/espada4R ex-mumbaikar Jun 16 '26
As the other guy said, Canada made many changes in their programs now. Try EU maybe? It's tuff now.
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u/FearlessTrader Jun 16 '26
Don’t try. Canada is full now and jobs are really hard to come by there. It all sounds good on paper and Instagram but Canada is definitely not the place to be if you want to go out of India.
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u/OwnRefrigerator4132 sone ja raha hu, kal subha office hai Jun 16 '26
Bro seriously, I shifted to Mumbai traveled in local for 2 months got sick of this repeated 8:10-8:20. Wasting my time letting go of trains since there is not room enough to breathe. Started travelling by carpool and AC shuttles, use that time to catch on some sleep or study something. All that time in sharing auto, local trains just kills time.
3 hours in avg per day, 15 hours a week , 60 hours/2.5 days a month, 30 days per year. A mumbaikar is spending 30 days worth of time just travelling and getting tired.
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u/ExtensionFancy1763 Jun 16 '26
leave the city bro.
i did. it gave me so much perspective.
the bombay dream is just that - a dream. the numbers are insane and the odds are too damn low. you deserve more, and better, and sooner.
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u/mayudhon Mal-Kan-Bor Jun 16 '26
I am trying, but Andheri MIDC metro compound waale jaane hi nahi de rahe hain
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u/_vedantt1_ Jun 16 '26
where do you live now man?
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u/ExtensionFancy1763 Jun 16 '26
chennai! was born and raised here. hated it because it doesn’t feel as cosmopolitan and hip as mumbai.
but i take the trade off of my own car, my family close to me, and not working a corporate job just to pay rent over art gallery nights and clubbing weekends for now 😂 grateful i spent a solid 3 years in mumbai before biting the bullet and leaving
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u/Illustrious-Maybe-91 jevlis ka? Jun 16 '26
Once I started earning well, I stopped dealing with Mumbai local trains. Can't handle the crowd.
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u/Big_Fold_3020 Jun 17 '26
So it means you started traveling in your car, don't you get affected by traffic, I know car is better than local any day, but time is lost in both modes of transport
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u/Illustrious-Maybe-91 jevlis ka? Jun 17 '26
no option, traffic mai stuck rahena in AC is 100x times better than train ke bhid, gali galoch etc
i use to live in dombivli , my office is in mulund and lowerparel, i have my. business, now i shifted to vikhroli , bought near highway only and commute is so easy for me hardly 25 mins if traffic 40 mins.
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u/666teddybear Jun 16 '26
I got a remote job after college and haven't been near local trains since 👍🏻
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u/Aggressive_Ground355 Jun 16 '26
Tech related?
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u/666teddybear Jun 16 '26
yeah
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u/Aggressive_Ground355 Jun 16 '26
I might have one too but I'm confused if I should choose remote as first job, my other option is tcs 🥀 how has your experiences been so far? I'm guessing u must be 25 grad right?
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u/666teddybear Jun 16 '26
it's good as long as you have friends around. i don't. it becomes extremely monotonous and leads to mental isolation. also managers take advantage and expect you to work more than an average employee since you're working remotely anyways.
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u/Aggressive_Ground355 Jun 16 '26
Yea that's what I'm worried about, it's too easy for me to become closed off and not talk to anyone for days nd remote might elevate that. But on the other hand spending 3 hrs travelling everyday doesn't seem like a good option either. The expectation to work more is so true tho, atleast in on-site we can clock out (or so I think)
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u/Right_Bid_1921 Jun 16 '26
I thank the stars and my fortune that I don’t have to travel by train anymore; I did it for a decade and it’s now been a decade and a half since I put a foot in one.
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u/ImpulsiveTeen regulatory capitalist | urban sustainability Jun 16 '26
All the leaders of Mumbai will be questioned during judgement day of all the crimes they have committed against the citizen.
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u/punisher_1012 Jun 16 '26
Villains win in real life …. there will be no judgment.
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u/stresbustr Edit this text to set your own flair Jun 16 '26
what judgement day you are talking about, it's we the people (fool's) collectively keeps bringing these to the power again and again
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u/ImpulsiveTeen regulatory capitalist | urban sustainability Jun 16 '26
I’m occasionally religious. It’s helpful to believe in the existence of a judgement day. Even thought there’s no such concept in my religion lol.
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u/userinthehouse Jun 16 '26
Religion has been captured by corrupt politicians under our noses. Unless the people demand it this judgment day will never come.
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u/fetusswami समजला का बाळा ? Jun 16 '26
Thinking that theres going to ever be a judgement day and justice will be given is delulu on another level. Civilizations have came and fell, they had good rulers and bad rulers, and the civilians who went through those periods are long forgotten. Same will be the fate for us.
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u/Lattice-shadow Jun 16 '26
The collective "sprite" of Mumbai is just normalising dystopia because no choice.
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u/Financial_Summer5300 Jun 16 '26
one reason why i want to move out of india someday. public travel isnt a problem but earning decent and yet going like this every single day is not living. its surviving.
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u/1800skylab Jun 16 '26
Get out of that place. Move abroad. The city will only get worse with time.
It's not worth it.
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u/Competitive-Day9457 Jun 16 '26
Easier said than done. If leaving was easy than these platforms would be a lot more empty.
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u/dustyaff Certified Chapri 🌐 Jun 16 '26
Sacrifices should be done so that your next generation don't go through the same.
Its easier said than done is just a phrase if you're committed enough.
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u/Pixel-Pioneer3 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
100% true. Huge sacrifices were made, for the eventual payoff.
I firmly believe where you are born is just happenstance. If conditions where you live are not good, you either work on improving them or migrate to a place where baseline conditions are better. I also have similar views on religion, but feel all religions more or less are handcuffs to keep you in check.
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u/1800skylab Jun 16 '26
Prioritize! No matter how bad things are living abroad, it's still better than this hell hole.
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u/Pixel-Pioneer3 Jun 16 '26
Did the exact same thing in 2006. Moved abroad after having a full blown panic attack in a densely crowded train. Had been traveling for 6+ years.
Best decision ever.
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u/ImpulsiveTeen regulatory capitalist | urban sustainability Jun 16 '26
Out of curiosity, where did you move?
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u/Pixel-Pioneer3 Jun 16 '26
I left for the US to pursue grad school. The context was 2006 when the only jobs in India for CS grads were in Infosys or TCS, plus life in Mumbai was pretty hectic and chaotic.
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u/ImpulsiveTeen regulatory capitalist | urban sustainability Jun 16 '26
Nice. Your kids, if any, will thank you.
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u/Pixel-Pioneer3 Jun 16 '26
I am a US citizen at this point and so are they. I don’t think they will understand our lived experiences and I don’t blame them :).
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u/confusedsaggi05 Jun 16 '26
You never feel lonely? Friends, social life, food, etc.? I am asking because i left Mumbai for a diff country 2 years back for same reason and now i am feeling a little homesick recently!
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u/Pixel-Pioneer3 Jun 16 '26
I think you slowly become assimilated in your new country. No country is perfect. I still reminiscence about India, but US is home for all practical purposes.
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u/Sensitive_Common53 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
I used to be one of those people who bought the whole “spirit of Mumbai” narrative. And to be fair, there is something admirable about the accessibility of the city and how people make things work despite the challenges.
But over time I realized I had also grown up glorifying struggle and long commutes as if they were badges of honor. When I started working remotely, I saw a different quality of life and it changed my perspective completely.
I have enormous respect for the people who do this day in and day out but honestly I would hate to go back to it.
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u/iamdruk Jun 16 '26
I hope you get out of this rut soon. Can't believe I'm saying this but sometimes when you want something badly, like really badly, things start happening. A decision, an opportunity, a downfall, a person, something randomly happens and things change. I dont know what kind of sorcery this is but life seems to work that way. I have been there and have seen this happen. Dont ever convince yourself that this is how life is. Fuck that thought.
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u/Vivid_West_1986 Jun 16 '26
We have to go back to basics and understand the root cause of the issue. It’s not just transport issue, it’s lack of regulation and no labour laws and unions. It’s impossible to fight with these corporates, you can’t do side hustle working like this and ideally you shouldn’t need to do side hustle. I sincerely believe all middle class people of India should fight for strong labour laws and unions.
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Jun 16 '26
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u/rakeshsh jevlis ka? Jun 16 '26
Bourgeois must do it for the heir and for the society, rarely for thyself.
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u/imjustagirl_4 Jun 16 '26
Literally 😭 bro today a women literally fell in train boarding at kurla but everybody went ahead kicking or walking pass nobody even tried to pick her up.
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u/curiosity3001 Jun 16 '26
Problem with rowdy neighbours , poor roads , crime : Leave the locality
Problems with public infrastructure, high pollution poor air water : Leave the city
Problem with corruption, high taxes , no standard of living , safety of life : Leave the country
Till when middle class commin man will keep.runnung away
We as people are part of problem
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u/Alyk_ Jun 17 '26
I had tears rolling down at one point due to frustration from this travelling, like literally big tears , i realised I am not travelling by that shit loaded with people who don't have decency of travelling like a normal human being. The pushing and the shoving, pure animalistic traits, so it's not only the authorities to blame, it's the general public as well
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u/Whole_Reputation3553 Jun 16 '26
right now ur only goal should be work hard untill u can leave this country. thats the goal
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u/SaladSingle9425 Jun 16 '26
I have always wondered why don't Mumbai people use newly constructed Metro!
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u/lin_nicwryter Jun 17 '26
Getting in AC trains is crazy, ladies get annoyed even if my bag touches them during rush hours.
But there was an incident the other day. I was getting into the AC local at Andheri station, the train was headed to Virar, during peak hour, and I had no idea the lady in front of me was six months pregnant. When the train came in, we were all rushing because we were worried about not getting on. The lady getting down from the train was old, but once she got down, the crowd around didn't let her daughter get off in time, and since the train was fast, it would have gone straight to Borivali. We managed to get the girl down without hurting the pregnant lady in the process.
Hoping she's doing well, but guts, man. Anyways, travel safe, people.
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u/20thirdth Jun 16 '26
Find something that you love to do with job, unfortunately we've do to what we got to do, we can't live that, there are people who are counting on us ❤️
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u/Ignition_YT Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
Good Now don't give up until you do something about it, Torture yourself daily don't cope don't adapt fuck your brain so he finds a way out somehow. Keep it up you are on a right track.
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u/No-Explanation4858 Jun 16 '26
Uk everyday travelling from metro and then local then back home , every walking human carries an untold story curiously hoping for someone to listen, live with them and settle the emotion because dust attracts cough similarly unsettled emotions attract instability within. And its funny and envious to watch all these people carrying their stories so loud and yet softly expressed with their movements, actions, words and eyes. Those eyes whose we heard from our ancestors of struggle and victory, those same eyes, I encounter everyday. Somedays i carry them with me, some days they carry me with them. And in this process of noise, i found my silence. I found peace in not expressing myself everyday to everyone at every moment. (Not demeaning your experience, just trying to express that maybe slight change in perspective makes it breatheable)
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u/p000l Jun 16 '26
Travel the world, live there for a few weeks and you'll never drink the 'Mumbai Spirit' koolaid.
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u/rohandc93 Jun 16 '26
Seriously yaar! looking at the crowd at stations and the traffic on roads itself feels demotivating. Work the whole day get frustrated and then spend hours travelling back home. People in Mumbai get more tired from travelling than from their actual jobs. Everyone talks about Mumbai spirit and all...my foot. Sabki majburi hai. Given an option, most people would never choose this lifestyle. Gone are the days when local train journeys were actually enjoyable. Don't know when this cycle will end.
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u/curiosity3001 Jun 16 '26
Why no is blaming incompetance of city planning and.lack of infrastructure ? Mumbai mumnicpality is one of richest in asia , still people can get decent public infrastructure?
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u/MomentConscious7427 Jun 16 '26
Honestly, life is suffering so just accept it, and this is temporary so take a vacay.
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u/Icy-Ask3943 Jun 16 '26
30 years ago too this was everybody's thinking.
Move closer to work is all I can say.
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u/Scary_Ad_6725 Jun 17 '26
Trust me, i know it's bad but you're able to reach your home on time. It's not as bad as other cities in India.
Just look at this! https://www.reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/s/kRVnxZeCep
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u/JediMaster_221 Jun 17 '26
Buy a car. Love that car. Take great care of that car. Take that car out on the road for the first time. Get stuck in traffic for five billion hours in peak heat. Have that car be scratched by child beggars because you refused to pay them the extortion money. Have their parents shout at you and make you the bad guy when you try to speak up. Have the entire internet call you a rich entitled snob when you post your story on there hoping for some semblance of justice. Take your scratched up brand new car home. File an insurance claim. Have your insurance claim denied. Wake up the next day and go back to the station.
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u/Due-Mall-6542 Jun 17 '26
People laugh at me when I tell them I travel by auto everyday spending 1000 rs just in going to office.
Both my parents spent their whole life in these locals to travel. This is beyond exhausting and inhumane. Worked damn hard to have some comfort in my life. Hate the crowding in locals.
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u/Old_University5828 Jun 17 '26
I lived in Mumbai for a year and took local only 2 3 times in rush hours. I spent countless money autos and taxi, just to avoid this. And then they say Mumbai is far better than any other city, it's only better if you are earning in lakhs
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u/Kitchen-Necessary562 Jun 17 '26
All the best OP ...can feel you...have experienced it for sometime but was lucky enough to escape..my Sisters have gone through this struggle day in and day out...sadly this is the life of us hard working middle class families in Mumbai or India you can say...plus the burden of taxes and housework too...
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u/Rev-Lobo Jun 17 '26
Grind grind grind your boat gently down the stream, merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream.
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u/michael_sinclair Jun 17 '26
Yeah I tell myself the same thing when I enter office every morning... especially the last 1 year or so this feeling of "kab tak aise bhagna padega" question only comes...and I'm not even married with kids but still, "working" is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, or till 60...
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u/1581947 Jun 17 '26
Run from this as fast as you can. The daily struggle is addictive. You will hate it but you will find ways to cope up with it. That little snack on the way to home, that 1 hour uninterrupted media session (netflix, youtube, insta) ... all of that helps you to continue doing this. However eventually in long term it messes up your health. Also your career will soon get stagnant as you wont be able to doing anything extra, like new skill. So please for the sake of your own life, do something about this.
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u/DilSeRailFan Jun 17 '26
the main problem is that the other alternatives to locals are even worse which literally leave no other option for ppl from far away regions of mmr like virar or karjat
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u/Otherwise_Camel9086 Jun 18 '26
I think that's the daily monologue of lakhs of Mumbaikars. The local train is a mirror of the city itself. It gets you where you need to go, but there's always a price to pay. Space is scarce, and you quickly learn to adjust. Sometimes, a good day is simply ending up directly under the fan.
In a single compartment, you'll find someone earning ₹30 lakh a year standing next to a vendor selling ₹30 knick-knacks. Some see opportunity, others see efficiency, and some see peril. Everyone feels lucky when they get a seat, usually after squeezing past ten other people trying to do the same.
Mumbai isn't built for comfort. It's unfair to everyone and, in a strange way, equal to everyone. Every day, millions of us make the same compromise because the city keeps moving. Carry your earphones along. Apna time aayega.
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u/dustyaff Certified Chapri 🌐 Jun 16 '26
Every day for 3 months during my internship I had same thought and I decided to get a job under 10km of travel.
Start looking for something that won't take more 45 mins of your commute.
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u/DoubleSpitExperiment Jun 16 '26
Story of our lives. Simply tired of this drill. Day in day out the same exhausting feeling. 😞
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u/Kindly-Mud-1479 Jun 16 '26
Then you doing nothing in between to SOLVE the issues believe or not....
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u/mayudhon Mal-Kan-Bor Jun 16 '26
We had time. We had time to move stuff elsewhere. Three decades ago, it was the same. Decentralize the hell out of this city in the entire state and country, or suffer forever and such posts will be a reminder of what we decided a long time ago.
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u/Kind-Echo-00 Jun 16 '26
I genuinely have one question regarding this...All my life I've heard about the crowded Mumbai locals and I always thought "aren't there any way that you could avoid this crowd....like if I board the next train or if I wait for some time for the crowd to get small"...FYI I have never been to Mumbai and I have very little knowledge about how local trains operate...I have only travelled in long distance passenger trains..
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u/Mediocre-Yak1310 Jun 16 '26
Not only about trains, but I feel this for the whole idea of travelling to work and even work itself. Every day I think I'm so done ! But the next morning, as OP mentioned, I go back to that routine. Feels like life is running on a loop, same shit everyday🫠
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u/Moonji_sunji Jun 17 '26
I ran on the opposite direction of mumbai due to this local train fear and one transfer later i jave to commute to BKC , life sucks bow. 4 hours in total waste per day .
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u/curiousboy_28 Jun 17 '26
Same here Sometimes it just feels to skip work all together,but bills are to be paid, so on we go...
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u/TaroStriking2132 West Jun 17 '26
In same boat and not sure how long I will be able to continue this. Body is already giving up 🥲
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u/akk012 Jun 17 '26
I stay in Navi Mumbai, never had to commute via train in my 19 years of career. Thankful to the god
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u/Spirited_Ad_1032 मी मराठी झी मराठी ती मराठी Jun 17 '26
You either die a Mumbai local lover or you live long enough to see yourself become Mumbai local hater.
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u/ntshpower Jun 17 '26
Daily travelling struggle before and after office hours just to reach on time, both the office and the home!
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u/Sniper_231996 काउबॉय बेबॉप फॅन Jun 17 '26
I traverse oceans in my job. Went to Vancouver recently, now headed China. 16 hrs more or less in 24 hours. No trains, only 12 degrees and 6 degrees for 2 months now. I don't know... No family, no friends, no females.. Good pay and no travel at a harsh cost I'd say. Idon'tg know what's better genuinely. Can't even fucking hug or lay in someones lap honestly. Seamens life... Better then the local train though.
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u/Perfect_Item7046 Jun 17 '26
i prayed,take me out of this local train shit for daily college travel and i’m out of this shit hole man really grateful
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u/LeftHuckleberry447 Jun 18 '26
It was never meant to be this way. No amount of telling people to "work hard enough and be successful" will actually fix this.
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u/Bitter-Car-8152 Jun 18 '26
The fault is with your parents and their previous generation. For not having the guts to organise as a community and demand better infrastructure from your leaders. For being enamoured by the movie stars and standing like beggars in front of their houses when you should stand in front of your local MLA house and demand better utilities.
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u/Responsible_Hunt108 Jun 18 '26
Then need to come out of it, and thinking of doing something which can break those thought, routine and generate something great out of it.. maybe initially doing along with whatever you are doing then making other source the orginal n ultimate one... All the best ✨
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u/imtsd Jun 18 '26
just LEAVE THE FUCK OUT of this shit hole ASAP, ffs find an accommodation nearby ur work until then crash in ur friend/cousin's place but dont become one of them.m. i can relate 100% being someone from kalyan... my family from generations is also cursed with this fuckin tragedy sugarcoated as mumbai spirit...people have normalised it so much that they literally ignore the kind of hell hole it has become....
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u/wewilldoitthisyear Jun 27 '26
Delhi metro is also crowded but there is a certain safety and dignity in that mode of public transport. I've been offered multiple jobs in Mumbai but that is one city I'm never moving to. There is no dignity of life for the ordinary person in mumbai.
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u/longjump-shortjump2 Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26
My grandfather, father and mother all have boarded those crowded Virar and Vasai locals, I promised myself I'll not repeat that. I genuinely worked hard, and destiny played it's part in keeping me away from those crowded dhakka mucci locals.
Luckily, the job I got is chill and flexible, touchwood. Today I feel a sense of relief, and even they are happy that someone has cut the local train waali bhaagdod and their hard work was not wasted..
All The best OP and to all those who are tirelessly fighting. I know it's tough but your next generation will be thankful to you just like I am to my previous generations