Moving to Pakistan

Lifestyle Relationships
21

Re: Moving to Pakistan

Just only because of the JOB you want to shift in Pakistan u are a US citizen u can earn more there and if ur talking about ur Kids so its very harsh to say there is not a Good future for ur Kids in Pak.
For time being u want to live in Pakistan u can do that, I don’t recommended u to shift here permanently.

22

Re: Moving to Pakistan

why would you want to give up life in US for karachi? unless your having serious probs in US or are so unhappy there.

there are too many cons to moving back to pakistan. i go to karachi every year for hols. everything about that city is a dump! the nightmare traffic, loadshedding, violence are just a few to name. one of my cousins who is a doc' moved to karachi from london for the same reasons you did eg to teach their kids about their home country etc. both her and hubby are docs. they hated their lifestyle so much, after few months they packed up and came back to london.

23

Read all the suggestion & feedback , now my question is Why you want to move back to Pakistan ? give only one sold reason!

24

Re: Moving to Pakistan

Well I am not moving back to Pakistan because of money or any materialistic things. I am at a stage in my life where I think more in terms of other things. We are doing well here money or otherwise. I have no problem here whatsoever. However, I think there are thousands of so called doctors (like I am) here in US. If I leave hundreds more better ones will come and replace me. But, I think I am needed and can make a difference back home. I can give back so much in terms of my training, skills and experience.

However, I am not denying that I am terrified, confused and unsure about my move. I think that it will be a good move for my kids they will be closer to nana, nani, dada dadi etc etc. I will also be able to live closer to my family but, I know its not going to be a jolly good ride.

Everyone I talk to thinks that I am crazy that I am willing to give up my life here for Pakistan. Sigh may be I am crazy. Who knows I may abandon my plans.

25

Re: Moving to Pakistan

Moving back to Pakistan is always a tough decision to make and usually follow with lots of after thoughts . You MUST have a strong will to stay here . If you were born and raised in Pakistan than you don't have anything to compare it to , but if you lived abroad than there are lot of things that start bothering you .

but again where there is a will , there is a way . Don't have ANY expectations before you come back .

26

Re: Moving to Pakistan

Well I am not moving back to Pakistan because of money or any materialistic things. I am at a stage in my life where I think more in terms of other things. We are doing well here money or otherwise. I have no problem here whatsoever. However, I think there are thousands of so called doctors (like I am) here in US. If I leave hundreds more better ones will come and replace me. But, I think I am needed and can make a difference back home. I can give back so much in terms of my training, skills and experience.

However, I am not denying that I am terrified, confused and unsure about my move. I think that it will be a good move for my kids they will be closer to nana, nani, dada dadi etc etc. I will also be able to live closer to my family but, I know its not going to be a jolly good ride.

Everyone I talk to thinks that I am crazy that I am willing to give up my life here for Pakistan. Sigh may be I am crazy. Who knows I may abandon my plans.

If u think in that way u want to be do something for Pakistan its good thinking here pak needed a professional Dr Like u but its a big hurdle for u to change and u have to scarifies lots of thing like quality education others thing which is already mention by other Guppies.

Wish u Best of luck for ur decision.

27

After spending a well disciplined life, its a tough decision for you but you ve to compromised with many things here and if you are mentally ready then you can survive here else from next flight you will be back to USA.

Anyway wish you good luck and my prays are with you ...

28

Re: Moving to Pakistan

In your shoes yaar i would definately take the first oppurtunity to scoot back home…

Theres just no place like home. :jhanda:

29

Re: Moving to Pakistan

I think you can learn alot (esp the good stuff) about pakistans culture just by going there for holidays. The honest truth is, that is the extent you should want them involved. Moving there long term brings about both the good, the bad and the ugly, which is not something anyone would want for really young and impressionable kids.

There is alot to consider beforhand e.g. living close to extended family is not always a good thing, esp, if youre kids are not used to having 10 diff parents/guardians involved in their upbringing, and even more so if family politics are involved. As a single parent working full time, you're more likely to be dependent on others help for raising kids/support.

Education/schooling culture is significantly different, something that might have adverse efffect on your older children, then there are subtle differences in culture in terms of glaring poverty, violence, injustice, corruption, pollution, dangerous traffic, hot tempretures, load shedding, all that can be a cause for a feeling of vulnerability, resentment and a huge culture shock, not just for youre kids, but for yourself aswell. You can only shelter them to a certain extent.

The advantage you have is that you're kids are young, and that you are 'trying' this out for a year, so they might see all this an one big adventure and jump in and take on the good and bad. so long as you dont burn you're bridges straight away, prepare yourself thoroughly to face the pitfalls and overlook the minor things, you should have a pretty decent experience.

30

kids will learn family values & respect

currently they know they are Pakistanis once they live here they will know how crazy nation we are inflation 18% but we have strongest Muslim ARMY we dont have electricity gas but we are nuclear power..
we kill each other every day target killing muhajir pathan punjabi but when it comes to earth quack or India we are together as a family..

I gurantee you will find living here very difficult coz of fights police politics electricity but 170MILLION people are living its not impossible I have lived in London my whole life and I do not regret moving .

I use to go to bed 11pm sharp coz I have had to go to work 8 AM stressed all the time now even If I have to wake up 7Am I sleep 3 ,4 sitting chaiwala pathan hotel wake up fresh.
my uncle collapsed few months back around 11 PM I went to hospital 1ish and saw around 20 people standing out side if he needs anything ..

buddy long list ...

good and bad ,, end of the day you need to analyse worth if its worth moving IT is for me coz I never enjoyed living in London so ..

31

I would say give it a shot, then decide.... its good that you can move back if you decide its not your cup of tea.

First of all, I definitely wouldn't recommend you living alone with your kids (with no male figure in the house).... security issues there especially if you move into a banglow, I would recommend renting an apartment (other problems there though like privacy but better safe than sorry). Or you could always get ADT, my dad had to do that since my parents were robbed twice. Anyways, do iron out living arrangement with your spouse/parents/in-laws, etc. before going.

It is pretty easy for us adults to adjust there since we get facilities like maids, drivers, etc.... I think the kids might have problems though.... Karachi has become very dirty sigh (its still my favorite city since I grew up there). My daughter is always going on about mama, its stinky (we go every year) and gets very upset over the little kids begging, even i'm not that heartless anymore (like I was growing up) and it really depresses me when I see them :( Its tough. The traffic has also gotten crazy, I can't even drive there anymore.

Also, I've heard horror stories about the drivers/maids molesting/kidnapping the kids (recent news also where a 4 year old was kidnapped) so please please be careful about that as well, always send your kids to school under adult supervision, like with your parents or in-laws, etc. or drop them off yourself.

The load-shedding is a huge headache, so do get a generator.... the mosquitos are also HORRIBLE, my daughter had intense reactions to mosquito bites when she was 3 years old and it was a nightmare (she had red splotches all over her face for a whole month which itched like crazy).

My husband gets sick the day we land and he stays sick throughout our trip (allergies mostly) but since he's an adult he deals with it, its tougher if your kids get those.

I'm not trying to discourage you but these have been my experiences so far that have really demotivated me :(

32

Re: Moving to Pakistan

@ MIAinVA

I agree with all the reasons you mentioned up there apart from that kidnapping stuff a bit exaggerated stuff.. see people like to make afwahs best hobby in Karachi nut mosquitos and smell ya well ..
You come to karachi every year coz you were brought up here or u ve friends n family cousins and stuff ..

your kids will come to karachi may be 1se in 5 years coz there cousins and friends are not in karachi you really think your third generation will ever come to karachi ?

33

Re: Moving to Pakistan

Does not matter what the salary, it is not the right time to move into Pakistan and Karachi to be precise. You do not know and are familiar with the culture and current state of mind. Wait for few months. My suggestion is to delay the return until next year.

34

Re: Moving to Pakistan

don't come, its horrible here now. Pakistan is no longer the land we loved and knew. Its terrifying to even commute to work because you never know what will happen.
maybe when your kids have grown up, you could move back, like my prof. did, but before that, Stay away!

35

Nope, its not exaggerated stuff… you don’t read the newspaper or watch Geo news, do you? And I have a friend who herself saw a driver doing weird stuff with a kid in the car… she tried following him but with the traffic it was impossible, I’ve also heard a complaint from another parent who kicked out their driver cuz her child was acting strange around him, kids get sacred easily and don’t tell their parents whats going on, its really scary. And there are so many pyschos out there these days… so please do not leave your kids unsupervised with maids or drivers… you cannot trust anyone anywhere these days (US is even worse).

Another first-hand experience… my MIL and SIL were recently held hostage by some carnappers, they were outside Motta’s around 8 o’ clock in the evening, sent the driver inside to get my MIL’s medicines and these 2 guys just got into the car and drove it away… thankfully my MIL had the presence of mind to keep calm and talked to them beta beta kar kay and kept asking them kay beta please let us go, she was so scared about my 16 yrs. old SIL who was in the car too… Allah ka shukar hai those guys let them go after 20-25 mins. My dad got his cellphone snatched from him twice, at gunpoint… Karachi is really not how it used to be… not safe at all :frowning:

And we go visit every year since my in-laws and parents live there and we miss them a lot :hinna:

36

I agree with everything said by MIAinVA. Its true never to leave your kids on the mercy of maids and drivers not in US, not in Pak no where period.

Most of the suggestion on the forum are against going back to Pak. I am also dealing with emotional and mental conflict. I worry about my kids growing up here without knowing any of their relatives and near n dear ones. My grand kids will have no connection to Pakistan and probably will never go there. I worry about my life here when I will be old and retired, kids will be busy in there lives and …

I do not know guys what to do. May be I am being emotional about Pak.

37

Thanks for your frank suggestion. If I am moving I will not leave in next few months, most likely in next 1 year.

38

Re: Moving to Pakistan

Move to the gulf countries, you'll get a better standard of living and be close enough to Pakistan to visit it as often as you like, halal food, great schools and a better Islamic environment.

39

Re: Moving to Pakistan

go there for couple of months during kids summer break and see if you guys can make it out. dont burn your boats. Not everyone has a tendency (even in 1 family) to adjust quickly and that too when you are downgrading.

Like I can adjust pretty quickly but for my wife it will be hard now (yeah even though she grew up in Karachi).

40

Re: Moving to Pakistan

when i was in grade 3 my parents moved from the UK to karachi, my dad is also a doctor and wanted to be closer to his family and make a difference back in his home land.

A year later we moved back to the u.k.

I went to beacon house ( i think its considered a good school) and i really stuggled to settle in, i was just so different and didnt really speak good urdu. The kids and pakistan are really sharp and have sharp tongues they are used to it but us kids who grow up in the west are not. I did enjoy some days but overall it wasnt a great experience just because i never settled i never fit in.

We lived a fantastic lifestyle and i loved seeing my family often that was a plus!

The main reason we moved back, my dad found the system too corrupt and found that he really couldnt implement the change he wanted and there was no way round it. Also he feared for our safety...random shootings, robberies etc etc.

Im now 22 and visit karachi often, i still feel im very in touch with pakistani culture and im glad i have a nice balance of east and west.

If u go for it best of luck!