Want to go back to Pakistan ?

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

A question to the ones living outside of Pakistan.

Would you want to go back to Pakistan?

Under what conditions would you consider the move ?
How much money is good money (per month) there? (for you)
Medical and Security situation bothers you ?
Just plain miss the country and the extended family ?
Getting a job there is a factor or starting a business (risky) ?

If a few people that live in the US/abroad are wanting to go back then please post you thoughts on the economical and political situation. Also any business ideas that would have a good chance of success.

If I can find a few good ideas and people willing to go back in a few years, who knows, a good prosperous company can be established, with branches in all the major cities.

Most educated young generation spends most of their productive life abroad. Think about taking all that effort and knowledge back to your own country?

2

i don’t know how, but you could get in touch with the people behind National Commission for Human Development

I heard the founder of this commission on TV, and he mentioned that one of the objectives of this organization is to help expatriate Pakistanis invest in pakistan. The guy behind the project himself has lived in US for a large part of his life. There are also a lot of second generation Pakistanis on board. These are the guys who are born and raised abroad, and consequently have [had] lost touch with pakistan. According to him a majority of them is working for very small or no payment at all.

Good luck :k:

3

At least in case of India, one can serve the country as much from abroad as one can by moving back to India. You make money, send to relatives in India; help bring businesses together; facilitate educational bodies to collaborate; spread the word about the country etc....Ofcourse, to each his/her/its own

4

Well actually what I was looking for is the idea of some pakistanis' opinions and what their criteria would be to go back.

5

only one thing:

  • foreseeably stable finances..like a good job offer or perhaps my own business prospects.

i loved living in pakistan for the time i did live there and intend to go back as soon as i get the oppurtunity.

6

I would love to go back. Biggest problem I have with going back is that I have never worked there so I am not used to the working methods in Pakistan. I could work for a multi-national but then same pakistanis work there too. maybe it's just an unfounded fear but I do not want to risk my career by trying.

As far as the conditions go, well I would get a job with a multinational - no way would I do business there. Heard many failed horror stories. I would be content with a six figure monthly income (in Rs) (even though it could be a 75% cut in my current salary) but then living is cheaper. Law and order does not bother me too much- many people live there without any problems. Health also doesnt bother me as I would have medical cover in my job.

7

I know people who have gone back to Pakistan. They are the ones who had come to US as a student. Completed their education. Got good jobs. Got Married. Had kids. And then after 3-5 years, packed up and went back to Pakistan and are now, masha allah, extremely happy with their choice and their lives. And no, they don't have anything bad to say about US either. They were very happy here and they are happier in Pakistan.

People make choices, and they all have different reasons for the choices they make. The most important thing is to be very clear in your mind on why you are making the decision. Be it for the sake of better Islamic upbringing of your kids, be it the sake of being with your parents in their old age, be it the sake of helping your country, be it for the life-style, be it for what ever reason... just be sure that you are able to figure exactly what are the pros of your decision.

Moving from US to Pakistan, you will invariably have certain draw-backs. The climate is warmer, the infrastructure is poor, bad traffic, meddling relatives, lowers salaries, etc. All these things are managable if you have strong reasons of why you really want to move back. As long as you are mentally prepared to face all the difficulties because you believe your reasons for moving back are stronger than the draw-backs you will not rue your decision. Pure idealism, without carefully evaluating all your options may result in a feeling of "oh! I made the wrong decision" later. I know a couple of families who tried to settle in Pakistan, gave up in 1-2 years and then moved back to US.

Depending on your skill set and education, you may find excellent work opportunities in Pakistan. Most private sector industries are run by foreign-trained managers and the work environment is as challenging, in most cases, as it is here. Especially in the IT and high-tech fields. The salaries are good, and are consistent with the cost of living. I have no idea what kind of family situation you have or what kind of life-style you will like to maintain... but basic expenditure is roughly as follows, assuming its a family with two kids and going to settle in a desirable location of a major city, like Lahore, Isb or Khi.

Rent: Approx Rs 20,000-30,000/month
Groceries: Rs 3,000-5,000/mo
School fee for kids: Rs 2,000-5,000/mo
Other assorted home expenses: Rs 5,000-15,000/mo
Car/utlities expenses: Rs 5,000-15,000/mo

You will probably end up buying a car, in cash, which should be about 500,000 to 1,300,000.

I would say if you are well-educated, and have a two years experience and have markatable skill-set, you should aim for a starting salary of approx Rs 50,000-100,000/mo.

These are all rough estimates, and you will need to massage them based on your own situation and life-style.

8

faisal at a 50K/mo salary and the expenses you listed, if i pick the lower end

20K for rent
3K for groceries
2K for school
5K for assorted home expenses
5K for utilities

total = 35K
monthly savings = 15K

now this does not include entertainment etc etc.

I suppose if youhave moved back with an intention of not going back out, or sending your kids out for education where you have to supplement their expenses, the math would work okay.

at a rate like this, if you want to move back out to US because you were concerned about safety, thought that kids would have better opportunities for education etc here, you would realize that you have been priced out of the type of home you would have had otherwise.

I had a buddy who moved back, got a decent job and was doing okay, decided to move back out because it was just not working for him. although he did well, sold his house here, bought a place in Pakistan..when he moved back here, he sold the place in Karachi..but realized that the property values had risen much more sharply in US, in his area. and to move the funds back at the exchange rate, he would actually have lost money big time.

consequently he was priced out of the same area he was living in before he moved to Pakistan for 4 years.

Another pal of mine has done just the same. I had advised him to rent his place out here for now so if he comes back same does not happen to him, and even if he does not the property will be paid off by renters and he will build equirt plus it will produce a revenue stream for his retirement or kids education.

did not listen though, lets see what his experience is, I did talk to him and heard that things were not going as well as planned and he will give himself one mor eyear to figure out what he wants to do.

9

interesting thread, i've considered saving enough (insha allah) so that i can retire in pakistan in peace (mind you i'm young so just thinking out loud) but it is a difficult thing, considering one needs more medical attention, gets used to a certain lifestyle, etc. the best days to live there are the present but i wish the pay was better.

10

I’d never advise a person to go back unless they had a lot of support from family or had sufficiently invested in Pakistan to ensure a supplementry income.

Recently the Gov in Pak has announced some schemes which maybe of interest.

Short Term Expatriate Faculty Hiring Program

Another useful one is: TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE THROUGH EXPATRIATE NATIONALS (TOKTEN)

11

Only two reason for returning to pak, ECONOMY, AND GOOD GOVERNANCE. Good governance means less coruption and better economy means you can feed yourself and live a relitively good life.

12

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Fraudz: *
faisal at a 50K/mo salary and the expenses you listed, if i pick the lower end

20K for rent
3K for groceries
2K for school
5K for assorted home expenses
5K for utilities

total = 35K
monthly savings = 15K

[/QUOTE]

Sir ji aap log tax nahin pay karte kya ? If I assume that 50k/month (or 6 lakhs/ year) is a pretty high salary and that's why the tax brackat is high (about 25-30 %) which means 10-15K for taxes.

So savings becomes ZERO. Not to forget the medical , Vehicle are pretty expensive too, no ? so it seems 50K is not enough.

13

The expense for school is grossly underestimated unless you wanna send your kids to urdu-medium schools. For an above average school(citi school), the price-tag is 4k to 5k with about 25k to 30k of donation per kid to get admissions. Nowadays, they(admissions committee) even looks at what the parents do and based on how much they make the kids may or may not get admissions.

So if you have 2 kids, you will spend atleast 8 to 10k on kids school.

14

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Asif_k: *

Sir ji aap log tax nahin pay karte kya ? If I assume that 50k/month (or 6 lakhs/ year) is a pretty high salary and that's why the tax brackat is high (about 25-30 %) which means 10-15K for taxes.

So savings becomes ZERO. Not to forget the medical , Vehicle are pretty expensive too, no ? so it seems 50K is not enough.
[/QUOTE]

Asif I was considering this on an after tax basis, but you are right if %)K is before taxes then you are not doing well. Some ppl I know who are in that salary range are living with the parents and that way the household expenses are shared.

15

money is an important issue, but guys don't forget that the rizk that you are to obtain was written down and sealed ages before even Adam was created. As for corruption, i say that if i am not willing to go back and fix the problem, then who will?

16

sau gula de ik gul, hun bolo :slight_smile: :k:

17

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by kiyani: *
money is an important issue, but guys don't forget that the rizk that you are to obtain was written down and sealed ages before even Adam was created. As for corruption, i say that if i am not willing to go back and fix the problem, then who will?
[/QUOTE]

Very good reply!! Thats the way I think "sometimes." Each one of us has the capability to change the world. ( I heard that somewhere ).

Like I posted at the top :
"If I can find a few good ideas and people willing to go back in a few years, who knows, a good prosperous company can be established, with branches in all the major cities".

Widgets and other ideas welcome too. It would be really nice to make a lot of money and at the same time do some good for a lot of poor people and the country as a whole.

18

It is surely every Pakistani's responsibilty to do something positive for his country and the Ummah at large.

If we won't go back and make a positive change, than who will? Pakistan is our country and in all possible way we have to change our destiny, with the help of Allah, at all odds. In my opinion it is our religious duty!

Even if we put in our little share, then surely a great change will come in sha Allah.

19

Islamabad

people who are abroad are helping make change in pakistan. there was a littlr bit of slowdown a few years back when Nawaz govt screwed overseas Pakistanis over by converting their forex accts to rupees.

However, right now the pakistanis in US make about the same amount as all pakistanis in Pakistan, their ways of helping by supporting the right institutions, events and

I know of one person who went back to help or finance minister formulate some plans, another one who went to work in the area of human resources, and I myself had helped in setting up world trade center offices in Pakistan, as well as help with a new university.

People abroad can defintely help Pakistan, but the responsibility is not just for expats to go back to help, or even more for second generation pak-americans 0r brit-paks to go back. there are many talented people in Pakistan, and there are many pakistani born ppl who grew up there and came abroad for education. They have responsibilities too.

Someone I know will be coming out with a book about charity situation among expats and ppl back in pakistan, not justin volumes but also where the money is sent to. what type of groups..i.e. educational institutions, masjid, relatives etc etc. much of the disparity will not be surprising but will prove some theories that ppl have had for some time.

But you know what is even easier, instead of ppl from abroad going back and fixing stuff, pplin pakistan stop messing up stuff? how's that for starters.

Instead of askignone person to go back and start picking up teh trash, how abotu asking 20 ppl back home to stop littering..that would be a more profound change.

20

i feel that if you think too logically about a situation and start to enumerate the advantages and disadvantages in too much detail, it will always complicate the problem...you can never plan out your life too much and things are not always measurable...and the human heart is hardly hundred percent satisfied in any situation...

dont take life too seriously, have faith that inshallah whatever happens will be ok and the future can always be used to cover the mistakes of the past...

some decisions...and specially the major decisions of your life... just need to be taken following that silent voice in your heart...and then aagay kee jab ho gi dekhi jayay gi...Allah Maalik hae...