Living in Pakistan

Life in Pakistan is often nuts.  With all the bomb scares that occur, you really do just have to have a fatalistic attitude of when it's your time, it's your time.  Or else you just stay indoors and hide.  It's not hard to make friends in Pakistan - if you are foreign, it is more the other way around - dodging functions, and getting invited to weddings and stuff like that from totally random people!  Living here has it's issues - I have a thing against the power company at the moment, sending guys around to cut off my power, after I have paid the bills!  They don't have a real good system in place with the records, I guess!  Actually, the power system sucks here - in summer (I don't recommend Pakistan in the summer, period!) there is a lot of load shedding and the power can be off for up to twelve hours a day, when the temperature is up to 50 degrees C.  Not much fun.  I suggest living on the ground floor, and keeping the doors in small areas closed and the AC full on!

Cost of living here is next to nothing, so you tend to save a lot of money, if you are on an ex-pat wage of course.  Most companies include the cost of rent, utilities and a vehicle with driver as standard when hiring an expat, as well as guards that live on your property - I don't know anyone that doesn't have guards.  This leaves only your personal staff (housekeepers, cooks etc) and your food that you have to pay for, and the average cost per month of a full time employee here is about eight thousand rupees a month.  Land size here isn't great, so people who come off properties with some acreage really feel the difference when they come here.  I was off 20 acres or so, and now I have a patch of lawn that the gardener (one of my guards) cuts with a pair of hedge clippers when the neighbor's push mower isn't available.  Expats are really friendly, so that makes things more tolerable.

One of the hardest things about Pakistan is the boredom - there is bugger all to do!  Once you have done the zoo, the museum and the famous mosque, there isn't really much more to visit.  There are not too many places you can go out and enjoy - with security issues surrounding crowded places, and the general discomfort of having everyone stare at you unabashed, it can make visits even to the local mall rather uncomfortable, but this is my personal view.  I don't take the kids shopping with me, for security reasons, and I must admit when I send my little one off to school, I do worry about all the threats that have been sent to schools, and the schools that have been bombed.  Like I said, a fatalistic attitude helps...

Not much gets done on Fridays (actually, not much gets done period...) due to Juma prayers in the afternoon.  If you live near a mosque (which is a pretty good chance - there are lots of them) you will eventually get used to the call to prayer at odd times of the morning, and eventually they will fade into the back of your consciousness, and you wont wake up thinking there is an imminent air raid...

Traffic over here is insane but still not as bad as India.  And on Independence Day (14th Aug), I recommend that you don't go out on the roads at all.  Unless you have three or four hours to get home from a couple of kms away, after being sent round detours, and watching all the local crazies come out of the woodwork!  Very patriotic people!   And they know how to show it!  Hanging out of car windows, firing guns in the air as well as fireworks!  Rather unsafe, but I guess that is part of the attraction?

It really is different from western style living - this is my first time living overseas, and I am still adjusting, over a year after the move!

All I can say to a potential mover is:
Be prepared to pay 'encouragement tips'
Be prepared to be ripped off, unless your bargaining skills are up to speed
Be prepared to be photographed uncountable time by total randoms
Be prepared to be begged from at the traffic lights and in the street
Be prepared for the sight of rubbish up to two foot deep in some parts
And be prepared for some pretty hairy traffic conditions!

Happy camping!

you wont wake up thinking there is an imminent air raid...
Traffic over here is insane
Hanging out of car windows, firing guns in the air

Hehe these are nice ones :d

Ah u made me remember my hometown Karachi. Ah everyday is like MAYDAY :p hehehe Hope you have an enjoyable stay in Pakistan
yet you did not mention which city you stay in, i may be able to recommend some places you can frequent and enjoy too instead of being bored.

Hi Joey, Saqib.
I am an Italian that will be moving to Pakistan (Karachi) around April for a short while (6 months).
First of all thanks for the great post! It is actually a bit difficult to find information about this place in the net, and actually all you can find is the scary things.
I would like to stay in contact with you and share information so I can get local news and information.
Is it that bad on foreigners? Is the risk of being kidnapped that high? What are your thoughts on this?

People always searching for a nice website where they can find every thing according to their interest and need. And I have been also searching for this type of website, but during this searching I found a website









[URL PATH=http://www.hungamatime.com]Zoya Mujaid[/url]

best of luck dude,

Dear Joy,

Its good to see that you are in Lahore if I am not wrong.

I'm an American who lived in Pakistan from Jan 2006 to June 2009. I've written over 100 articles about life and travel in Pakistan and expat life in Lahore. You can see an index of these articles on my blog

http://www.expatheather.com/Expat_Heather/Pakistan.html

.

I've written about shopping, moving, packing, traveling, mailing packages, getting through customs, cooking, fashion....all sorts of things! Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions.

Hiya, and Asalam o alaikum

I am from UK. But I tend to go to Pakistan every 2 years or so. I really love the country, but only for visiting, I doubt I would ever be able to live there.
The main things I enjoy there the most, is the food, fast food, shopping and the Azaan aloud (call to prayer).

The Azan, cums from every direction and really sounds amazing

Apart from that, I hate the people there, not all but I would say about 75 % of them are liars, frauds, and users... :p
This includes people from my family (relatives)

Pakistan has really changed over the years, its more like western, and then I complain that I want to live in those areas that actually is eastern and not western.

We go from a western country, and then when we get there we see eastern culture trying to copy the western. (pointless)

Overall the country is beautifull !

Tk cr

Ma Salam
Seeya

HI i am from england. aND MOVING TO PAKISTAN

It is very difficult to pass the time, but with the patience every one may pass the time, like i wants to extend my business of van so i am just visiting the [moderated: no ads in your very first message] which is helpful for me and i need the further web sites.

Hi I am preety soon planning to get married with my boy friend who is from Pakistan and most probably I am planning to settle there but still bit nervous as the whole culture would be new to me. I would realy appreciate if I could get any informations.

Hi I am Gulzar,living in kuwait since 1992 with my family,always loving pakistan and pray for pakistan.I am very sure that the very near Future is for pakistan soon Insha Allah.

Really vey depressed to read all comments, too much negativity. Why we people always discouraging. Yes pakistan have some major issue but which country doent have any?

Well dear Bros & Sisters, I spent all my life in Saudi Arabia as expat, but spent 4 years in pak & i love to say that the memories of that 4 years are keeping me alive with a hope that maybe one day i will return. Life there is hard but plesant at the same time. Islamabad, Muree, Mansera & abbotabad very nice, cool and for nature loving peoples. Lahore and karachi are good for history student & fast life lovers.

Safty precations should be taken if you are going to any country of the world. Please contact your tourism company for more details.

Here are some links from my side...
Please check tours, pics and information on this site
http://sitara.com/pakistan/tour_itins.html

Also, dont forget to wiki it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Pakistan

Any more quries will be appreciated.
BR,
Ahmed

Joey1 wrote:

Life in Pakistan is often nuts.  ................................
All I can say to a potential mover is:
Be prepared to pay 'encouragement tips'
Be prepared to be ripped off, unless your bargaining skills are up to speed
Be prepared to be photographed uncountable time by total randoms
Be prepared to be begged from at the traffic lights and in the street
Be prepared for the sight of rubbish up to two foot deep in some parts
And be prepared for some pretty hairy traffic conditions!

Happy camping!

Dear, if you have so many problems in living in pakistan, then why are you living there? why dont you leace pakistan and go back to avoid all such problems???????????

Pakistan is a beautiful country with a rich history. somewestern friends mentioned different types of problems in pakistan. For those, i would say that pakistan was not like this before and soon everything ll be ok again. The situtaion is not so bad, for the people who wants to visit pakistan, i say that more than 200 million people are living in pakistan and they dont have problem in living there. Also alot of foreigners are living and working there. so no need to be scared of anything. i welcome and invite everybody to pakistan. There are certain areas with law and order situtaion not in the whole country, so foreigners can live their peacefully. no need to worry about anything.
wish u all a nice and pleasant stay at pakistan. there are few agencies, who are doing propaganda to bring bad name to pakistan in the world but reality is different.

mayasukla wrote:

Hi I am preety soon planning to get married with my boy friend who is from Pakistan and most probably I am planning to settle there but still bit nervous as the whole culture would be new to me. I would realy appreciate if I could get any informations.

congrats dear. it ll be a great experience of your life. once you moved to pakistan, you ll see that how much love and respect you gain from the pakistani people. i wish you both a very happy and blessed married life. dont be nervous, you ll easily adjust in pakistani culture.

sal121 wrote:

HI i am from england. aND MOVING TO PAKISTAN

welcome sal.
hope you ll have a nice stay

Hello, this thread is full of precious informations !
I was wondering about studying possibilities there.
I quickly found a very well implanted network specialized in abroad studies.

Pakistan is a land of diverse topography. It comprises of the mighty , hindukush,  himalayan & karakoram ranges which includes the second largest & sixth largest peaks of the world (K-2 and Nanga Parbat)..........it has the beautiful valleys of Swat, Dir, Chitral, Kaghan, Naran, Gilgit, Hunza, Kohistan and a lot more......it possesses a number of historic places like forts and shrines of various kings from the old mughal times. It has one of the largest river system and the largest gorge in the world...........it is a golden land for agriculture and the top producer of cotton, rice and many fruits......the climate over here is really moderate........it has the beautiful coniferous, alpine and deciduous forests in the North and the Arabian sea in the south........................For Eco-tourism this land is ideal b'cause it has loads of potential....."You name it, we have it"

If i move over to pakistan i'm looking forward to the challenge. I just need to lean urdu or it will be charades again with people lol.
Also need to learn how to cook more pakistani dishes. And get used to the freezing cold showers. lol

I have been over twice to pakistan. I have to admit the first time i went over i was shocked at the poverty, rubbish everywhere. The heat was aslo very hot, i was warned about the tempeture but was not told they left the furnace door open lol. Also the soldiers in lahore with the guns and gun posts, but for your security it has to be like that.
will never complain about pot holes on the roads again in the uk lol.
I will go back, might even live there full time.

Guess what???

You have a bigger challenge this summers. Pakistan is facing a lot of power problems. Scheduled power shutdowns is every alternative hour, but you end up getting electricity even less than 12 hours a day.

Make sure the place you would be staying at has a good generator.

Learning Urdu should not be a problem, my Chinese aunt learned  it in a very short time.

As far as Pakistani dishes are concerned, you just need to add some extra chilli powder.

Security situation is much better but looks like the pickets would be there for ever.

House not got generator but when i went over last year took wind up torches.
As for food i know 3 dishes only.... chicken, lentils and rice...mind you my rice bounces.