Hey just landed in Nepal this week.
For background I’m from India having lived in Singapore and Germany and by the virtue of it had the luxury of travelling across SE Asia and Europe extensively.
I was surprised to see the cost of things in Nepal, while as a tourist I understand im paying inflated tourist prices in most of the places around Thamel and around.
But I happened to walk to local streets far away from tourist areas, grabbed some chowmein from a khaja ghar, or just eat some food at a hole in the wall place. Whether it was a bottle of water or a haircut. I found the prices to be on the higher side
And to my surprise it wasn’t very affordable, coming from India I felt that prices were much cheaper for food in India as well as SE Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia or Thailand when it came to eating at local places.
Question is, how hard it is for locals to survive in these economic conditions given the inflation?
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Nepal is very expensive compared to India due to inflation and how we basically import almost everything.
Now, if you could have mentioned the price of the products you bought outside of tourist spots, users here could decide if you are being over charged or it’s the standard price.
A bottle of water is usually 20 NRS. A plate of chowmein is around 120 NRS. Nepal is expensive than India because we import almost all of the things from outside.
Yes the cost of living is very high in Nepal especially Kathmandu. I live in Bangalore and everytime I go home, my weekly expenses here becomes my daily expense in Kathmandu.
Yes, the living expense in Kathmandu is pretty inflated and it’s only getting worse. Even the groceries are costly cause almost everything is imported. I’ve lived in Bangalore, India for 3 years and almost everything there was cheaper compared to Kathmandu.
Also a local from Kathmandu living in Europe, I can vouch that the cost of eating at a decent restaurant in Kathmandu is pretty costly. The cost of eating at a restaurant located in the big cities of the Balkan region in Europe (Albania, Montenegro, etc) or in Turkey is similar to that of Kathmandu. If you compare the GDP of these countries to Nepal then it’s insane to even think about it but unfortunately it’s the truth.
In simple words Nepal is fucked and most Nepali are fucked with the cost of living in Nepal. If you want to know more read below.
There are very few people who might say they are happy living in Kathmandu or Nepal. Some people will earn modest income from business but because of economic conditions most businesses are unethical sometimes (relabeling manufacturing dates, underpaying employees, incurring excessive profit margin, evading taxes and so on). And to talk about job holders most of them are not paid well!! Graduates earn 10k-20k a month as a fresher and 70-80% of employees working in private sector earns 25k-35k per month.
Nepal and families of Nepali are surviving from money sent from abroad. At least one or two person from a family lives in abroad working!! And most youths who go abroad to study also works while studying and after managing their finance there, they will send money back home.
To be honest I don’t think cost of living in Kathmandu will be modest any time soon and I don’t have faith in government that they will work towards solving the difficulties of common people. So people are moving abroad and the rate of immigration is all time high now!
Nepal will fall soon if government is not going to act on corruption, managing imports, foreign policy, relief and subsidy schemes etc. and personally saying I have no faith in the government and their system!!
I being an outsider from Kathmandu! Living here is pretty tough even with basic and simple lifestyle!
Rent and fixtures cost around 23k and groceries 10k minimum for a family with 4. I usually commute in a cycle to save transportation cost instead of booking in-drive, cab or taking local bus. And if I have to dine out in a week or some special day I really have to think, calculate and then only consider going out.
I would say, my family, who are local to Nepal, survive on very cheap vegetables for food like potatoes which are Nrs. 71 per kilo, Okra which is Nrs. 100 per kilo and other stuff which I don’t know the names of in English.
Other goods like Clothes and necessity items, you have to usually bargain around to get a decent price. I think its the norm to do so, otherwise you are scammed alot of money.
I believe it is also true that prices for stuff have risen though.
I’ve just been backpacking across nepal (sounds funny in my head to say that) i have been here since past 7 days ( 2 days in ktm and 5 days in Pokhara) and yes its very expensive in comparison to India. I’m living in a basic hotel in pokhara ( which coasted me 5.2k ( its a double sharing room) ) , which means almost 2k Inr per night for 2 people , in india we can get a much cheaper. Food was the most expensive thing which was a surprise to us as well. Almost every single meal costs us 500 Npr – in a day it’s almost 1300-1500 npr ( which does not include any extra snacks ) i.e. almost 1000 INR for food per day ; in india , food is much much cheaper. 500rs a day is all you need. Travelling is also expensive, because the fuel prices are expensive here , with that the vehicle prices are also alot , so anyone who is having a two wheeler here is a luxury. Most cab riders ask for a price which is very expensive for Indian tourists. Overall, per day I’m spending almost 2500-3000 INR. In india for a place like pokhara , can easily compare it with dharamshala or mcleodganj , its very expensive.
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How much you are spending per day with everything included?
Welcome to Nepal ig. Where everything is expensive and we make shit money
Haircut is 300 or so unless an add-on like massage, but they’ll charge you 500-700 if you let them as a tourist.
Even for someone living in the US; when i go to Nepal I try to go to decent places (not hole in the wall); typically places around Sanepa/Jhamel. The cost there is slightly lower but closely comparable to the cost of food and drinks at similar vibe places here in US.
Nepal is definitely a expensive for an average Nepali beyond basic survival. An average employed person in Kathmandu would have difficulty visiting a decent restaurant for proper meal and drinks more than a couple times a month.
15-20 years ago Tourists would be able to visit Nepal and have a great experience even at their stringent budget, and many hopped into Nepal while visiting elsewhere in Asia; now it is not the same, they look towards Thailand, Bali etc when in budget.
The average cost of living in India ($440) is 18% more expensive than in Nepal ($374). India ranked 189th vs 195th for Nepal in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.