work culture in Nepal

Hi bidyutbarua,

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hi bidyutbarua,

You are welcome to Nepal. You can work in Nepal & very soon you will find lots of Indians working in Nepal on different sectors.

Hi,

Great question. The Nepali people blame India for a lot of their problems. So, yes, there is probably going to be a bit of prejudice. They are even prejudice against other castes of Nepali. For example, recently I decided to start a business, but being a foreigner I need a Nepali partner. I offered it to two young Newari men, one that was working for me as a driver and one that is a merchant but helped with the project.

They were so happy until I decided to give a cut to a Chhetri friend. Although they never confronted me about it, neither of them are speaking to me now. So, they refused to have any part of a business with a westerner and won't even call me to work through it. My saying I would give a part to a Chhetri was enough. This was a business that they would have had legal control over without having to pay any money for an investment and an income from the start.

Hopefully you are the kind of person that can make friends and blend with others. If so, you will be able to bridge the gap and bring the world a little closer to peace. It would be a good idea to come without the family for a little bit first, but Nepal is lovely and people are very nice. I had a friend come last year to visit me from India and everyone treated him very nicely.

Hi,

I was contemplating of moving to Nepal, would like to know about the life style, job opportunities and the general atmosphere. Can someone please help. Many thanks!!

As a tourist one is not allowed to work in Nepal. If you have a lot of money,living an expat life, it will be fine here. if you are on budget, Kathmandu is pretty expensive now. During the coming dry season you have to expect 21 hours power cut. People are nice and friendly, but they will never really accept you in their society. The general atmosphere in Kathmandu: noisy, dirty, traffic jams, pollution.

Why do you say they won't accept you in their culture?  Is it a race issue or?  I am Canadian and have been to Nepal many times and find that the people are very accepting.  I do know there are many scammers but just being careful and not flaunting money is good.

For non-Indians and people from just about anywhere else, it can be difficult to get a work visa. Look at the Nepali web site for professions that are needed here. I understand they are no longer accepting English teachers since everyone wants to come here to do it for free as volunteers.

I think it is very easy for a Westerner to come here on a business visa to earn a great income by bringing some western technology here. There are a lot of examples that I see everyday of things that are needed here. For example, they build homes next door to another tall house and neither home can have windows on two sides. I know there is technology to bring laser/fiber-optic light in and there is a growing middle class that can afford these things. I could go on and on about the possibilities. Think 'Infrastructure.' They don't have much here. There isn't even a sanitary landfill here near KTM. If you think about your own country 50 years ago you will get an idea of all the potential.

All the business people in KTM always say they want foreign partners, but be very careful because it's just like in any other country. Immigrants usually have less rights and the police don't care about them as much as they do for their own, so it's the same here. The only difference is it's us who have the money and them who need a job. They resent that; don't let their lovely smiles fool you.

I am always happy to help Westerners to come here. I love Nepal and see it as an incredible, unknown country for prosperity. Because I love Nepal so much I want to promote it for people to come here so the big guys of the world will not be able to grab so much when they come. There is a lot of money to be made here and a wonderful life awaits you in Nepal. Check out my blog at FrugalTravelsNepal.blogspot.com to learn about how great life is here.

You paint a grim picture of Kathmandu, why do you stay?

We are just trying to give a good, realistic picture of life here. Many tourists have melt-downs all the time and many expats go back home because they didn't know what they are getting into.

Think about the immigrants in your own country and how they are treated. It doesn't really matter if they have money or not. We just don't belong. So, there are things we need to accept and it's taken me a long time to get there, but I'm finally seeing some depth behind the smiles and friendliness. You have to look deeper and know that becoming an expat is a lot like becoming an immigrant.

There are a lot of issues to be addressed if you want to live in Nepal for the long term. Yes, we have major electric blackouts. But for $300 you can buy an inverter to make it go away. I have a lovely apartment for less than $200 and my monthly electric/gas/water bill is under $50.

There is a lot of money to be made here, too. They have a lot of catching up to do, so there are many opportunities to make a lot of money.

Bottom line: If you are looking for a lovely place to live, especially if you are retiring, Nepal can be a wonderful home. I'm an old lady and I have so much fun here sometimes I wonder how I could ever be so blessed... Then I need a new laundry lady or some other help and what stress!