I would 100% move to Khi if i was in fashion/beauty/entertainment or in the food industry but never as a health care professional or educator.
OP what kind of health care professional are you? your best bet would be opening your own clinic of some sort rather than working in an institution.
I have Bachelors of Science in Nursing and on my way to get my Masters right now. In the US, if you have a Masters, you become a Nurse Practitioner and can write prescriptions and diagnose illnesses. I have no idea what that translates to once in Khi...the people at who conduct the license exam have yet to get back to me (not surprised).
As for like bribery stuff, if I practice just as a BSN nurse, i doubt that would be an issue. But practicing after masters might have the same concerns.
Bullying/teasing of any kind is not acceptable. We speak Urdu at home and i don't really have an accent in either language (English or Urdu) so maybe that will act in my favor.
Hearing all this is really making me think about all the possible challenges that I would face...
i have a friend who moved back to Khi last year after living the past 20 years in the US....she's always had ties to the fashion/entertainment industry, so she cashed in those connections and is now an RJ...TV show host...model...acts in dramas..and does various hosting gigs...
not bad at all.....
see i'm sure some people out there are like me lol.
And i'm sure if you have the means to do well, it might not suck as bad as it does for lower socio-economic class families/individuals.
^ we speak urdu at home and I thought I didnt have much on accent until I went there and people knew I was foreign just by looking at me...
If for example you had grown up there until 14, or you visited for a few months every year your situation would be different.
However, you have not been back for 15 years it WILL BE a foreign country to you.
Infact my dad was there until he was like 27 or something and he found it hard going back!
lol i can imagine people will know just by looking at me too since...well... i love hats and it's hot as a fire pit there in the summer. We used to go back and forth a lot until I turned like 12 or something. After that, haven't really been back. It will def be a foreign country! Especially since my relatives there are useless x_x
i know it's going to be ridiculously hard to pack up a completely "Western" life and adjust. I was hoping someone would tell me otherwise to make me feel better lol.
The honesty is appreciated though! Better to be prepared then not!
First and foremost. This late latif is sorry for not being able to respond back in due time. I forgot and then the fact that I’m not a very avid lurker around this particular forum, didn’t help much.
Coming onto your questions. Well, the 1st one is honestly a monumental task to get done with. Not entirely sure how to go on about detailing what has changed in Karachi in the past 10-15 years. But to get you within a certain ballpark of things, the changes/developments have been huge and majority of them for the better (According to my limited knowledge of being born and bred here). I’ll get you a few links that hopefully will help.
^ This link has some pretty amazing experiences listed by people from local as well as foreign shores. The guy Faisal however, I wouldn’t look much into. You’ll understand why once you carry on reading till the end.
^ This one just has the basic details of what you’ll find here. It also has a list of the medical universities/hospitals around, which might come in handy for your professional goals.
Another link would be hitting enter to “Karachi pictures” in google images. Provides you with pictures as to what you’re in for or should look forward to seeing.
The most recommended places to live in would undoubtedly be Defence, Clifton, Bathisland, KDA. In order.
Apartments are east to get a hold of, studio or a one bed apartment could however be a major chore to find. 2 or 3 bed apartments are easily available, either for rent or for straight out purchase. Rents start from 15,000rs ($180) for a unfurnished 2 bed and go up till about 35,000 ($400) a month for a 3 bed. Prices however could differ from area to area. Add up at least a $100 in case you plan on getting a furnished apartment. Maintenance (Water supply, cleaners etc) charges are additional and come up to about $50 tops.
What to get along? Umm I’m not sure, because whatever I’ve needed I’ve been able to get it at Agha’s or Ebco. But then again, I haven’t managed to stick around abroad much so I honestly won’t have a clue.
As for Loadshedding. Here’s how it works in Defence and for me. We have two connections to two different grid stations. So lets say, KESC (Karachi electric supply corporation) decides to cut off supply in Phase 4, all I have to do to come back to life is to switch this tiny little rotatable switch that’s set up in say my store room and voila, I’m golden. What technically happens is, KESC doesn’t cut off supply on all the grid stations or area’s together, they’d be doomed if they do that. So jee, they do it one by one. So while Phase 4 has its electricity cut, phase 5’s is working for the hour and since there is a separate line coming from phase 5, my house in Phase 4 is all lit up. Now the best part, as the 2nd supply line is coming through your house’s line, you’re technically being billed for all the electricity you use so hence its all legal.
3 hours Loadshedding is all I’ve experienced in defence and in the summers, usually the schedule goes something like. 9 to 10am, 3 to 4pm, 9 to 10pm.
An hour max in the winters.
Irrelevant bit. There are a few danish/swiss couples running an institution for the disabled kids here in Phase 6. Yes, they’re legally allowed to go back to their own country whenever they wished to but don’t. On top of that, they roam around alone and at times with a shirt on their chest that has a green flag or 'Pakistan Zindabad" embossed on it.
Irrelevant bitx2. If by any chance you think you could be of any help to the institution, let me know. I’m sure/aware they’d like a couple more teachers.
Anything else, feel absolutely free to ask.
Cheers.
Ok first of all, THANK YOU! You have no idea how much you have helped me! This is all very tangible/ grounded information that I can actually use! And it’s ok that you forgot lol.
And that Faisal guy obviously went there without any research or strange expectations. Because even as a kid over there, I knew that there are mosquitoes etc. We always had that thing burning in our house at night to keep them away. Plus, rodents etc depend on what area you live in. I am so glad that Karachi has take steps towards progression (even if they are small steps).
So far everyone I’ve spoken to tells me I’ve lost my mind for wanting to go back after so long. Well, who cares. I mean, yes there are issues in Karachi that people are trying to get away from but there are also tons of people who are living their lives happily.
I’m going to pick up that book you suggested asap. I noticed that there’s one from 1994 and 1 from 2007. The one from 2007 is no longer in print and I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Not sure how much the older version will be of help.
Loadshedding! That is a brilliant idea =D. Writing that one down for sure. And i’m glad that most things are available there so I don’t have to worry about extra luggage or cargo.
I think my biggest issue is going to be clothing… i’m used to wearing Western clothing day in and day out (except for when we pray). This may be an issue since in all the wedding videos I have seen of relatives, I’ve never seen any women in any Western clothing except maybe jeans.
As for the Danish/Swiss people, I would like to commend them for doing such great work! They are making a huge difference in those kids’ lives. I can’t make any promises of helping as of yet because we haven’t decided what area we’re going to be living in. But if it’s near Defence, than I wouldn’t mind helping.
Thank you so much again for all the valuable information! I really appreciate it!!!
My sincere advice: Don't go. Especially if you have kids or are planning to start a family some time in future. Your very nick is a nod to international baccalaureate, the gold standard of education for kids, so I think it is safe to conclude that the importance of quality education for your children is not something you would discount. You probably also know that the (not-for-profit) Karachi American School would set you back at least $12,000/year per child. Here in the US you can send your kids for free to school and the quality of education more often than not is of course better than what you would find in Pakistan. Even if you are not considering an International school or an American school, the top schools in Pakistan can be very expensive (because education there is a big business!), filled with snobs in higher grades, and equipped with teachers who are hardly properly trained or qualified.
Plus, you wrote that you are a pursuing an advanced degree in nursing and are a nurse by profession. Well, in the US, nursing is considered a very respectable profession and although the work can be demanding and exhausting at times, it offers a very good income. Like all healthcare professions, the future job outlook for those in the field of nursing is also very encouraging, and you are in even better shape with an advanced degree. In Pakistan, on the other hand, even most doctors are paid peanuts, let alone nurses, and nursing is not a profession I think many English speaking, upper middle class individuals aspire to be. Since you have a degree from the US, I you might be considering teaching jobs in nursing universities there but even then, often you need contacts to get a job in Pakistan and the salaries are not very high.
