u/Dr_Cooper_73

Maybe it’s just nostalgia talking, maybe growing up changes how we see places, but honestly… Vadodara doesn’t feel like the same city anymore. Especially compared to around 2015–2016.
Back then the city had a completely different energy.
Not in terms of infrastructure or rules or development all that is mostly the same but the feeling of the city was different.

I still remember my engineering days. Me and two of my friends used to randomly travel almost 20–22 km at night just to sit at some tea stall till 3 or 4 AM. Funny thing is, I don’t even drink tea. We literally had no reason to be there. No “plans,” no Instagram stories, no trying to look cool, no networking.
Just sitting there, talking nonsense, laughing at stupid things, watching empty roads and feeling peaceful.

And somehow that simple thing felt enough.

Vadodara back then had this calm, warm, almost effortless social vibe. You could roam around late at night and the city felt alive in a very comforting way. Not crowded alive. Not event-alive. Just… human. It felt like people had time for each other.

Nowadays whenever I roam around the city, everything feels weirdly artificial. There are more activities now, more cafés, more events, board game meetups, social clubs, etc. but somehow the soul feels missing. It’s like everybody is present physically but mentally somewhere else.

Even social interactions feel different now.

Sometimes you meet people thinking you’re just building a normal friendship, but later realize expectations were completely different from what you thought. With girls, if you casually try talking or becoming friends, half the time you feel judged immediately like you’re some creep. With guys too, genuine friendships feel rare because everyone seems emotionally unavailable, distracted, or trying to fill some void temporarily.

And whenever you actually start forming a real bond with someone, things become complicated. Either feelings get involved, misunderstandings happen, or people slowly disappear into their own lives.

Earlier friendships used to feel simpler.

Back then we didn’t need “activities” to enjoy the city. The city itself was the vibe. Midnight chai stalls, random drives, Fatehgunj chaos, empty roads near Sayaji Baug side, sitting on scooters talking about life for hours, roadside food after midnight, no destination, no pressure just existing peacefully.

Now everything feels rushed, curated, and performative. Every place feels like people are either trying to escape boredom, seek validation, date, network, or post content for social media. Genuine human connection feels rare.

Maybe the city didn’t change.
Maybe we did.

But honestly, old Vadodara had a different kind of peace that’s really hard to find now.

Would love to know if anyone else who lived here around that time feels the same way or if I’m just stuck romanticizing the past.

Am I the only one who feels most food influencers/reviewers in Vadodara are complete bullshit now?

Every single week there’s a new
“best cafe,”
“must visit place,”
“hidden gem,”
or “craziest food in Vadodara”
and when you actually go there, the food is mid, overpriced, badly cooked, or straight up disappointing.

At this point it’s obvious most of these influencers don’t care about honest reviews.
They care about:
free food
paid promotions
brand collaborations
views and reels
And the funniest part? Every review sounds exactly the same:
“10/10 vibes”
“Highly recommended”
“Must try”
“Best in the city”
Bro, EVERYTHING cannot be the best in the city.
Nobody talks honestly about:
bad hygiene
frozen ingredients
terrible service
fake ambience over actual food
ridiculous pricing
cafes surviving purely because they look good on Instagram

Half the restaurants in Vadodara are running on aesthetics, neon lights, and influencer reels instead of actual food quality. Owners know if they invite 4 influencers and give free mocktails, people will line up anyway.
And because of this, genuinely good places with consistent food and reasonable pricing get ignored while average places become “viral.”
What’s even worse is that many of these influencers clearly have zero understanding of food. Every dish is either:
“loaded”
“cheesy”
“fire”
“crazy”
or “worth the hype”
No criticism. No honesty. No standards.

At this point, Reddit reviews from random people feel more trustworthy than these so-called food bloggers.

I’ve been into coffee for 10+ years, and honestly, every year I keep hoping Vadodara’s café culture will evolve… but it somehow feels exactly the same.

There are plenty of cafés now, sure aesthetically designed spaces, overpriced menus, the usual “vibes”
but very few places actually care about coffee itself. Most cafés here still serve the same average espresso based drinks with no focus on sourcing, roasting, brewing methods, or even consistency.

What surprises me is that a city like Vadodara absolutely has the audience for a genuine specialty coffee café. There are enough people who appreciate good food, good spaces, and are willing to spend on quality experiences.
But somehow nobody seems interested in building a café
that’s truly coffee first.

No proper pour overs, no rotating beans, no real brewing culture, no experimentation
just the same generic café formula everywhere.

At this point, it feels like Vadodara has café culture, but not coffee culture.

Would genuinely love to know if anyone else feels the same or if I’m missing some hidden gems.

​

A Friend of mine started a WhatsApp sports community in Vadodara with one simple idea:

Sports should feel social again.

Not everyone has a fixed friend circle to play with, and many people want to play regularly but don’t know where to find players, groups, or games nearby. So this community was made for the people, by the people.

Inside the community, there are separate groups for different sports like:

Football ⚽

Cricket 🏏

Badminton 🏸

Tennis 🎾

Table Tennis 🏓

Basketball 🏀

Pickleball

Chess ♟️

Skating 🛼

E-sports 🎮

Padel

…and growing continuously.

The goal is:

Help people connect through sports

Organize games easily

Build active local sports circles

Welcome beginners as well as experienced players

Create a positive and respectful sports culture in Vadodara

This isn’t a business or academy promotion.

It’s a community built by people who simply love sports and want more people to play.

If you’re from Vadodara and want to join games, meet players, or help grow the sports culture here:

Community Link:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/CfJek8ymUNGK86wkGKczqZ

How long this Reddit community has been in existence!

And

Who owns it!🥹