This is a very interesting thread. I have been living in this country for more than 8 years now. I do have greencard and a decent job.

It really baffles me when someone who comes here for undergraduate/graduate studies and start saying that life is impossible back home. It really surprises me when someone starts talking about lack of water supply, noise/air pollution, and so on. We all lived there for long time before coming here and our parents still live in same environment. Most of us came here thinking we would have a good life after getting a good education. However, we realize that life is not easy on this side as well. 

As few pointed out, once you are in 30s you may start thinking about something else that you had never thought about when you all came here in late or early 20s. Being a son/daughter of our society, it becomes our responsibility to take care of our parents when they need help. They poured all their saving to make our life better and we are here enjoying life (for some) leaving them behind on their own. This is a story of many of us.

An extra ordinary person can make big anywhere he/she goes. There are so many success stories back home also. I have many friends who stayed back home and they have decent life. They live in family, have a good job, don’t have to worry about job security and have some respect in society. I do have a decent job here and I probably make more money than they do, but with all insurance, and expenses, I am just living an average middle class life. I could have very well lived similar life back home, had I stayed back home and started job there.

To be honest, most of us fear to return back because we fear competition. I strongly believe that competition is much higher in Nepal to get success in any field. Our folks or relatives would not know what we all are doing here and back home they would just stay happy saying that my son/daughter is in the USA doing such and such thing. Reality is, a few who came here have seen real success. Many people have struggled. 

So, there are pros and cons on both sides. What I like about the USA is system; there is system in place everywhere you go, which we don’t have back home.   For me, money is not an issue; money is important factor, but not the biggest factor to determine a good life. Now, I learned that family is very important in one’s life.

I agree that things have changed so much in Nepal these days, in terms of living expenses. Kathmandu has become very expensive to live. Forget about buying a piece of land or home, it’s almost next to impossible for one who earns mediocre salary in Nepal as well as USA. 

I think dilemma for many is, how much do we need to earn back in Nepal to live comfortable life like we are living in USA and is it possible to get that kind of  money in Nepal doing a job? 

I would love to see some entrepreneurs going back to Nepal and creating jobs for Nepali back home.