What to expect when moving to Nepal

It is interesting to see the difference in response between here and in the USA.

In the USA there may be speculation by news organizations and their "experts" about the cause.  There is usually no speculation about blame as the Transportation Authority will decide that. And, considering they will take every minute piece of the plane and reconstruct it in a large hanger, they usually find the exact cause.

I was surprised, when reading the local papers, how blame was instantly pointed at other people. "Your fault." "No, your fault."

But, like Kipling said, "East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."

The West is based on the Judeo-Christian idea of "truth." ("You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.") No matter how important you are, if you did wrong, you are wrong.

The East is based on "Face." That is, it is based on where you are compared to others. You don't have to be right; just higher than others. Hence, the caste system and its descendants.

Fascinating.

And now, Monica, there is this one bit of news which might interest those who may still be thinking of moving to Nepal. It's in the form of a public statement by none other than CPN Chairman Pushpa K. Dahal who did not mince his words when he stated just recently and I quote: "Time has come to jail people who are corrupt in Nepal's bureaucracy, security forces, judiciary system and other governmental agencies in the country". The statement coming from such a prominent political leader cannot just be dismissed. Certainly not to be taken lightly. For uninvolved people like me, who are on the outside and looking in, it is a stark acknowledgement as well as an admission by a high official that corruption is indeed a reality to be dealt with, and which obviously has pervaded many different operating levels of the country's administration and system.
It raises the question as to when the clean up is going to start? Will the nepali prisons be large enough to accomodate all these jail birds when the process does get under way?
Interesting.

What it's like to live in Nepal? If you are older than 60 you'll probably be reminded of what things looked like in your country when you were a child. Potholes, friendly shop owners who remember your face when you come back, people being so nice and friendly like they genuinely want to know you even when they don't speak your language.

The food is cooked fresh without a lot of processed ingredients. Everything moves slowly when it moves at all. There is a feeling of peace all around you and you forget that 'first world' fear of young people or strangers. You'll forget about violence, school shootings and the feeling of not having enough money. You don't even have to worry about clothes; they are so cheap you can have them tailor made. It's not a country where you need to have fancy clothing. You can have expat friends from all over or you can make Nepali friends.

The quality of your life will go up a lot financially, emotionally and socially.

Everything you say is probably true, and it's probably for these same reasons the hippies took the "road to Kathmandu" in the seventies.
Mind you, for the short term visitors, in the come in and out category - here today, gone tomorrow - they probably do not care about the rampant corruption that's been referred to. They don't stay in Nepal long enough to be affected by the very negative aspects of that existing phenomenon Chairman Dahal is talking about. However, for those who live in Nepal, they can't help to be affected by it directly or indirectly (Nepal Electricity, the administration in general, immigration visas, crooked lawyers, and God spare you to have anything to do with Nepal judiciary, just to name a few. Read when they do start cleaning up, Dr. Govinda K.C. can put an end to his multiple hunger strikes because that's what his fight is all about.

On the financial front, the news is hardly encouraging. According to the Finance Ministry's White Paper just released on the state of the economy, it's been revealed that due to fiscal indiscipline, the "state coffers are virtually empty" (Source: Kathmandu Post 03/31/2018).

It's called failed state status.

not only that, but the same White Paper on the current economic situation in Nepal released last Friday by the Finance Minister is saying that there is a shortfall of Nrs100 Billion to complete the rebuilding of private homes destroyed by that devastating earthquake of 2015, thus painting a pretty bleak picture of the reconstruction drive.
From that same KP paper source, they report that only 16% of the total $4,1 billion pledged by donors for post-earthquake rebuilding has been disbursed so far.

and how on earth are the hundreds of thousands of nepali people who lost their homes in that terrible earthquake three years ago ever going to reconstruct them even if they manage to get the totality of the 3 tranches of governmental financial assistance on offer to them, amounting to only 300,000 Nrs? That's like the equivalent of US$2,900 in toto?

You forgot, they need to build the "infrastructure" first with that earthquake money.

1. Each worker needs to hire 10 family members so they feel supported at work. These new hires don't need to do anything, just be willing to accept money.

2. Each employee (new and old) need a new car so they can get to work. There is no use hiring someone if they can't get to work.

3. Each employee (new and old) need earthquake funds first to improve their houses or buy property/houses so they have a comfortable place to go after a grueling day of driving to/from work and signing their paychecks.

And, if they can actually help any earthquake victims, that is a bonus - a heroic effort above and beyond the call of duty.

A long road ahead.
Your pt 2, could say those hundreds of thousands of unfortunate souls who still don't have a proper roof over their heads after 3 years - or worse no roof at all - also need a "new car relief fund" for any chance of your proposal being implemented. House first, car second, or car first, house second? Either way, a tall order.

Not only that. Seems hard to believe but according to official information just released, it's come to light that over 5 million nepalis lack a vitally needed citizenship certificate of their own country. Normally, these certificates should be issued when a child here turns 16. In practical terms, this means that people in this deprived category here:
1. Are unable to register at polling stations at election time - 1 in 4 of nepali citizens will be deprived of their voting power when they become eligible, or so long as they are certificate-less.
2. A quarter of the population can't register marriages or births.
3. Without a citizenship certificate, people in this same unfortunate lot cannot buy or sell land
4. Same cannot take professional exams
5. Cannot open a bank account in this country
6. Are denied any type of credit facilities
7. Not eligible to receive state social benefits.
(Source: Nepal Country Report on Human Right Practices for 2017 released by US State Department, and in HT 4/21/2018)

In our village there are people who live on government land, but it's really their families land. The problem is illiteracy. There is a window to get this property claimed, but it's closing quickly. From what I understand such a person should go to 7 people with citizenship cards in the village who can swear it's their family's land. They take those people to the Municipality and get a letter from them to take to the government to have the land put in their name.

Also, a lot of people are managing to steal the land from dead relatives so their children won't get the land. This can be expensive because it may require an attorney. It's important to encourage any Nepali to take care of such issues ASAP. So many just ask, 'ke garne?' or 'what to do?' This is such a familiar expression I named the NGO that I founded 'Kay Garnay for Nepal.' So, help any Nepali friend in this situation to get started working on it.

Incredible to think that this one quarter of the nepali population is in 2018 deprived of so many basic rights as previously described - and as near to being in stateless/homeless condition as one can get. And if on top of it, they cannot make their voice heard because they cannot vote without a citizenship certificate, what chance do they have of emerging especially if like this other contributor points out, they also happen to be illiterate?