Posted by: guynepali December 31, 2011
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To go or Not to go:
I went to Kathmandu twice this year after a long stay here in the US. Besides celebrating Dashin and meeting my loved ones, partly - my goal was to expolre the prospects of returning. I have been talking to few of my friends and relatives about the idea for a while. After spending more than a decade here studying and working, I am thinking may be its time to go back OR give-back to the place where I was born,raised, and belong.I was trying to gauze the job and entrepreneurship environment.
I also met a few of my friends who had gone back. One completed masters in the US and now teaches business at a private college outside Kathmandu. He is also involved in some social work. He told me that he choosed to come back because of the priority over his family rather than the life out in America. He is content with the decision. He lives in the house that his father built and rides a motorcycle. He said he is glad to be contributing to the society where he grew up.
Other friend based in Kathmandu told me the starting a business entity could be a nightmare however. He works for a private firm in Kathmandu and makes a decent pay compared to the local standard but of course, nowhere near what he was making. He also lives in his parent's house as well and also rides a bike to commute. He said the bureaucratic hurdles one can face could be challenging. Most of his blame was the troublesome nature of government entities/officials. He was baffled when bribe was asked to for simple tasks such as paying property taxes and electricity bills. If you are eying to work in a private sector job, you may need a some political/network backing. He is mostly satisfied with his decision and is hopeful that the decision he made will be rewarding in the long-term. He kinda anticipated the challenges. He had left a lucrative job and was nearing to get green card.At the time he said "If I don't go now, I probably never will". Thankfully his wife was on same page and they had no children. He is also glad to be fulfilling his parents desire that he come back.
As for decision to Go/No go is purely personal. My advice to you is that you need to have a pretty solid tolerance of local situation where you wish to operate; especially if you have been out from the country for some time. If you are waiting for this or that to change, to make a certain amount of money, want to have an American born kid, or even have a bucket list of pre-conditions, its likely that you will never make THAT decision. You must be willing to step outside the box, i.e; your upper-middle class mindset. If you truly want to stand out for yourself. It is fairly possible to work even outside the valley to start a business, teaching youths, or coaching sports. Or, you may simply want to do some volunteer work just to acclimatize yourself for a while before you can finally figure out what to do. I have seen a few Japanese/Westerners doing it. And, you probably know US peace corps is returnig back to Nepal. After all, if they can do that why not we, For ourselves ?
Its easier said than done - But it will a bold decision that could turn out to be rewarding later. I was told by one Westerner that I met on my return flight that- she wishes she could stay in Nepal and work. She told me it was a beautiful country with so much resources and potential. I really felt it when she told me that that young guys like myself that are educated and have experiences abroad must come back and help the country. Quite frankly she told me, "Your country needs guys like you more than US or Europe".
Its some thing to think about very seriously. Right now it may be a tough decision for one to make but 10-20 years from now, you will be glad you made it. After all if we won't then who will ??
I went to Kathmandu twice this year after a long stay here in the US. Besides celebrating Dashin and meeting my loved ones, partly - my goal was to expolre the prospects of returning. I have been talking to few of my friends and relatives about the idea for a while. After spending more than a decade here studying and working, I am thinking may be its time to go back OR give-back to the place where I was born,raised, and belong.I was trying to gauze the job and entrepreneurship environment.
I also met a few of my friends who had gone back. One completed masters in the US and now teaches business at a private college outside Kathmandu. He is also involved in some social work. He told me that he choosed to come back because of the priority over his family rather than the life out in America. He is content with the decision. He lives in the house that his father built and rides a motorcycle. He said he is glad to be contributing to the society where he grew up.
Other friend based in Kathmandu told me the starting a business entity could be a nightmare however. He works for a private firm in Kathmandu and makes a decent pay compared to the local standard but of course, nowhere near what he was making. He also lives in his parent's house as well and also rides a bike to commute. He said the bureaucratic hurdles one can face could be challenging. Most of his blame was the troublesome nature of government entities/officials. He was baffled when bribe was asked to for simple tasks such as paying property taxes and electricity bills. If you are eying to work in a private sector job, you may need a some political/network backing. He is mostly satisfied with his decision and is hopeful that the decision he made will be rewarding in the long-term. He kinda anticipated the challenges. He had left a lucrative job and was nearing to get green card.At the time he said "If I don't go now, I probably never will". Thankfully his wife was on same page and they had no children. He is also glad to be fulfilling his parents desire that he come back.
As for decision to Go/No go is purely personal. My advice to you is that you need to have a pretty solid tolerance of local situation where you wish to operate; especially if you have been out from the country for some time. If you are waiting for this or that to change, to make a certain amount of money, want to have an American born kid, or even have a bucket list of pre-conditions, its likely that you will never make THAT decision. You must be willing to step outside the box, i.e; your upper-middle class mindset. If you truly want to stand out for yourself. It is fairly possible to work even outside the valley to start a business, teaching youths, or coaching sports. Or, you may simply want to do some volunteer work just to acclimatize yourself for a while before you can finally figure out what to do. I have seen a few Japanese/Westerners doing it. And, you probably know US peace corps is returnig back to Nepal. After all, if they can do that why not we, For ourselves ?
Its easier said than done - But it will a bold decision that could turn out to be rewarding later. I was told by one Westerner that I met on my return flight that- she wishes she could stay in Nepal and work. She told me it was a beautiful country with so much resources and potential. I really felt it when she told me that that young guys like myself that are educated and have experiences abroad must come back and help the country. Quite frankly she told me, "Your country needs guys like you more than US or Europe".
Its some thing to think about very seriously. Right now it may be a tough decision for one to make but 10-20 years from now, you will be glad you made it. After all if we won't then who will ??