I have been to Jo berg twice. The last time being 3-years ago. Each visit was not pleasant as being in the city reminded me of being in Northern Ireland in the early 1980’s. I was in the British military and engaged in various bits and bobs in the most dangerous village in the country (based upon the number of security forces who lost there lives there). The reason I mention this is the ‘vibe’ in Jo Berg is exactly the same as it was in Northern Ireland’s ‘murder central’. The only exception is i was walking around without the comfort of a weapon in my hands and three other desperados backing me up (we operated in 4 man teams). I have had a look at the ‘scores’ section on Jo Berg and it is in no way representative of the situation on the ground. Whether you are an expat nomad or a whatever please understand that Jo Berg is not a place to go ‘sight seeing’ in unless you have a couple SUV’s rammed with black water personnel following you. Joking aside there are better places to live in Southern Africa.
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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