Nepal-Still a Great Place to Live

I just read a blog post on Internations.org about cheap places to live. Well, I wrote a comment that should have been a blog post so I'm editing it here as a post. For my regular readers, you'll probably find it a bit redundant.

I've been blogging about Nepal as an expat home for over 4 years. Just as it seemed like people were starting to listen and consider Kathmandu Valley for a long term destination the earthquakes came. But because there isn't so much development it looks a lot like it did before, kinda rough.


Here's the blog post. I was impressed with Kashmir in India, but many of these places seemed culturally restrictive for me, so much to think about. It's such a great big beautiful world.The 10 Least Expensive Expat Cities: Mercer Cost of Living Survey 2015

I've found my paradise for my retirement here in the Kathmandu Valley outside of the loud, busy, polluted capitol city.

The problem with these articles that just say 'here's a list of cheap cities' isn't always all that helpful. I'd rather they put a few more graphs, crime rate, employment possibilities, schools, visa requirements and weather because living is more than just being in a place that's cheap.

Yes, some areas got horribly damaged from our recent earthquakes, but the buildings held up better than I expected with only 2 hotels falling. Very few newer homes fell and mine only has minimal damage.

Nepal should continue to be on these lists because it is really cheap to live here. But beyond that I'd say it's a great place to live for the following additional reasons: The people are friendly and not violent, the weather is mild, the police are kind to tourists, organic food is cheap, vegetables are freshly picked, you can wear whatever you want, interesting festivals and things to see, lots of tourists come through, many people speak English and there's plenty to do here to keep you busy.

Yes, there is still no place I'd rather be than in this lovely country.I woke up to this sunrise yesterday. Today Ganesh Himal peeked out for a short moment. It's a great way to start the day.