As an expat be prepared to hear “this is normal in Georgia” every time something goes wrong. No one is in a hurry to fix anything - from broken lift in the building (I even got stuck once on a Sunday night and was told “maybe someone will come tomorrow to free you”! - had to break out myself) to your wifi (stopped working for almost 2 weeks, not until we threatened to change companies that they decided to send a technician). We didn’t find it very friendly. People don’t smile, staff in stores are surly and unhelpful. The taxi drivers are the worst in the world (including Uber). Utter maniacs. The cost of living has risen steeply because of inflation. People also constantly thought we were Russian and we got yelled at several times by locals who don’t want Russians around (for obvious reasons). Overall, it’s not the most pleasant place to be an expat. However, the food is delicious (if heavy), the scenery is gorgeous. The mobile data is cheap, but groceries ans eating out is more expensive than we expected. I’d recommend it for a month or two, but no more.
Pros and Cons of Living in Kathmandu Nepal
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Pros of Living in Kathmandu
Affordable to live Pretty safe Lots of fun stuff to do Warm now Warm in the spring Nomad List members liked going here Many Nomad List members have been Spacious and not crowded Good hospitals People can speak basic English Safe for women LGBTQ+ friendly Not many people smoke tobacco
Cons of Living in Kathmandu
Freedom of speech is weak Not very democratic Very slow internet Not many Nomad List members right now Difficult to do business Quality of education is low Roads can be dangerous Not family friendly -
Kathmandu has frequent power outages as of December 2019 even though everyone says otherwise as does Pokhara. The old outages are referring to the load shedding issue which were routine power outages for the majority of the day. Now power outages are not routine and can last unknown amounts of time, even the main (and only) airport loses power often. Buildings are unheated, water for showering is generally unheated or lukewarm, many houses get their water from urban aquifers which may be heavily polluted, as city water is yellow and oily. Many roads in the city are dirt, and air quality is extremely poor, especially during the crop burning season. Locals are friendly and helpful and many outside of tourist areas may have never met a foreigner before. The locals and the mountains make the place special, everything else about it is quite bad, notably hygiene, food safety, traffic danger, and exposure to all sorts of environmental pollutants. That said, I will be returning to visit the local friends made while there.
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Kathmandu is an upcoming destination in the digital nomad community for its cheap living great outdoor opportunities and its vibrant expat community. After the earthquake the country had to recover and with it came some major improvements: Internet connectivity has reached levels similar to many places in Asia such as Bali and the Philippines. Power cuts have been brought down to a minimum. And more and more places have started up co-working and living places that suit the digital nomads’ needs. Kathmandu now is a place that is alive with positive energy and is moving forward.
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MMM I really think these ratings are really wrong. Kathmandu is a super polluted city air quality get you dizzy dizzy... cost of living is really expensive if you want to have small comforts... like a swimming pool is 6euros, the zoo is 20 euros... you have to think that if you are a foreign you have an extra tax in most of the prices, there is a local price and a tourist price. Also taxis can become really expensive, short ride can jump into 6 euros, moto is a better solution but again, pollution and safety is not really into vogue. Also about food, there are no fridges in the supermarket so your milk or daily products must be buy in local shops, and again hygiene is not at its best. Woman friendly is not so much... you must cover you up in order to don't attract followers... there are no go zones in Kathmandu... and also be aware of bands of dogs... Internet is good speed after the earthquake, most houses have solar power so you will be able to be online full time... getting a SIM card needs the help of a local, since again SIM cards for foreigns need a permission, so is not easy going as a city... in fact is really chaotic and super dirty.... is not a 100% walkable city... is a moto city, and again is super dirty, so I you want to walk in rainy season better to not have bear foot... Pokhara is a better option...
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I can't relate to many of the ratings here. I spent half a year in Kathmandu and it's amazing for digital nomads. I would give high scores for all mentioned categories except air quality. Great happiness. Great wifi (better than Munich in many places) good hospitals, amazing culture and people. Nomads there know each other. The community is small but growing
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There's an exciting buzz in Nepal now with the current government providing some stability and power cuts largely being a thing of the past.
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