I've been living in Dhaka for the last few years. Ask me anything.

[Naimul_Hd]

well, now-a-days my parents are really pushing me hard to come back to BD. Couple of their friend's son did the same thing and they are doing quite good compare to BD condition. But as i worked in BD before and had some bad experiences of nasty corporate culture, i aint that much interested doing jobs in BD. Moreover, now too many overseas grads are also looking for jobs in BD and if you don't have correct connection, its very hard to get into the job market of your likings. I dont even know whether i will get a job or not in BD if i move back as i dont have that strong connection to any big companies. And after all those struggle in sydney, is it worth to move back in BD ? On the other hand, cant ignore my parents' emotional plead as they are not doing well physically ! One thing will be in my favor is that, by this year, i will have my Australian Citizenship. So, i can come back in Australia whenever i feel like.

[layperson]

Welcome back Dhuurr !! I have my parents visiting me here in canada and i am trying to convince them to come live with me here while my mom is contemplating whether to live here or drag me to Bangladesh. But one thing is sure if my parents want i will go back the next day, wont need a second thought. I am sorry to hear about some of your experiences. What field are you working in ? I have a few connections in the banking industry if you are looking for jobs there.

BTW seems like F 6 turbo is super loaded. 3 ta apartment comlex banaichen apne !!! holy **** thats a minimum of 40 crore in profits for you assuming you had those lands from inheritance.

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by layperson
Welcome back Dhuurr !! I have my parents visiting me here in canada and i am trying to convince them to come live with me here while my mom is contemplating whether to live here or drag me to Bangladesh. But one thing is sure if my parents want i will go back the next day, wont need a second thought. I am sorry to hear about some of your experiences. What field are you working in ? I have a few connections in the banking industry if you are looking for jobs there.

BTW seems like F 6 turbo is super loaded. 3 ta apartment comlex banaichen apne !!! holy **** thats a minimum of 40 crore in profits for you assuming you had those lands from inheritance.

Hah...Just a bit of clarification, my wonderful father is still alive(and InshaAllah that won't change in a hurry). I am quite comfortable, but it is my father who is loaded(worked his butt off and invested that hard earned money in property before everyone else jumped on the wagon).

Let me give you an example - he bought 11.5katha land close to Uttara in the early 80s(close to Azampur). Per katha BDT40,000 only, my phone and his phone is ringing off the hook now, with people offering us BDT 75,00,000lakh per katha. It would have been double that, if it was the developed side of the rail crossing. So all about luck and timing.


He told my uncle to buy the next plot over...and my uncle said it was a waste of money...why bother. He now walks around depressed all the time
::

[mufi_02]

I have plans to move back as well but like Naimul bhai, I don't have much connection in job market. But my older brothers, who are in their late 20s and early 30s, are seriously contemplating it and wants to move back with some cash in hand. If they make it well, I will give it a serious thought too.

But my friends who are still in Uni are desperately trying to get out. Quite a few of them moved out after A Levels and the ones that stayed back are now trying for grad programs in different countries. So it really is a very confusing situation.

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by mufi_02
I have plans to move back as well but like Naimul bhai, I don't have much connection in job market. But my older brothers, who are in their late 20s and early 30s, are seriously contemplating it and wants to move back with some cash in hand. If they make it well, I will give it a serious thought too.

But my friends who are still in Uni are desperately trying to get out. Quite a few of them moved out after A Levels and the ones that stayed back are now trying for grad programs in different countries. So it really is a very confusing situation.

Nothing confusing about it...175mil people, the only place to work is Dhaka, and Chittagong at a push. No real surprise that you have millions looking to leave....

Plus 80% of parents who start their kids education in english medium schools do so in the hope/intention of sending their child abroad.

But if you have a skill set and know people - you can excel in Bangladesh. As for your brothers, tell them to come back by all means...but whatever figure they have in their minds in terms of cash in hand, DOUBLE IT.

amar electricity bill esheche aaj - a measly BDT. 9967

[mufi_02]

Originally Posted by F6_Turbo
Nothing confusing about it...175mil people, the only place to work is Dhaka, and Chittagong at a push. No real surprise that you have millions looking to leave....

Plus 80% of parents who start their kids education in english medium schools do so in the hope/intention of sending their child abroad.

But if you have a skill set and know people - you can excel in Bangladesh. As for your brothers, tell them to come back by all means...but whatever figure they have in their minds in terms of cash in hand, DOUBLE IT.

amar electricity bill esheche aaj - a measly BDT. 9967

That is what I don't have. We have some family investments in Dhaka and sometimes I have to go back to take care of them or constantly manage those over the phone. But its hard and we have been taken advantage of multiple times. I learned my lesson, in fact I am still learning about the business deals in Dhaka.

While growing up in Dhaka, I never had to worry about such stuff. But now things have changed and I am somewhat in charge of a portion of my family affairs. Latest example is the deal with the developers and RAJUK. The talks have been going on for months but no substantial outcome yet. It gets frustrating at times.

[F6_Turbo]

Originally Posted by mufi_02

While growing up in Dhaka, I never had to worry about such stuff. But now things have changed and I am somewhat in charge of a portion of my family affairs. Latest example is the deal with the developers and RAJUK. The talks have been going on for months but no substantial outcome yet. It gets frustrating at times.

I hear you...my dad, uncles or big brother took care of everything for ages.

When I started dealing with this crap, the first time someone said Land mutation to me, I laughed at them...'mutation'

But the joke was on me...it's very real, and very important.

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by amon
I am going to BD soon what are the scams to be aware of.

How did you get mugged and defrauded, can you give any tips to spot potential dangers, muggers etc.

Don't say ANYTHING in English in Dhaka. Your accent would be a dead giveaway that you are 'foreign maal'. Learn to call people 'tumi', instead of 'apni'. That means rickshaw wallahs, CNG wallahs, servers at restaurants and so on, no matter how old they are. Don't say 'please' and 'thank you' when somebody does something they are supposed to do, such as a server bringing you your food, or a shop keeper giving you your change. Bangali etto bhodro nai ar, so any time you are polite, people can sense that you live abroad and they will try to take you to the cleaners.

As far as being safe from mugging goes, don't travel by CNG or cabs by yourself after dark. Never take a shared car (private cars that act like taxi cabs). When you are on the street, try not to be on the phone, and if you absolutely have to be, make sure you keep an eye on those around you.

I've been mugged before, and I could have been mugged another four times but didn't because I learned from my mistakes.
1. Late at night, I was walking towards Gulshan 2 circle from Banani. Two guys started tailing me. Then one crossed me, the other stayed behind. I stared at both the guys, let them know I was watching them, and crossed over to the other side of the road (less dark, better lit, etc). They stood there for about five minutes, then left.
2. In the evening, I went to buy phone cards at the corner store and 4-5 guys, outta nowhere, just crowded around me, pretending that they were customers of that stop too. I walked INTO the corner store, and sat down in the shopkeeper's chair, called our darwan on the phone (lol. darwans, rickshawallahs... everyone has a phone these days in BD), told him to bring some people with him, called out to the darwan of the house next to the store, told him to come over. When everybody came, these guys milling outside the store just left, without buying anything. It was the 1st of the month, and I had quite a bit of cash on me. These guys KNEW I had money on me. They really, really scope out the situation before they pounce on you.
3. The time I got mugged, it was because I had given money to the poor kids on that same intersection two days in a row, around the same time. The kids pointed me out to the muggers. We caught the muggers eventually, and they said that's why they targeted me. Lesson: don't help people just because they look poor, or because you feel sympathetic.
4. Got off a CNG in Farmgate because the driver was acting shady, talking on his cellphone, looking at me in the rearview mirror every few minutes, asking me what the time was, even though he had his own cellphone. I told him I don't have a phone. Then he tried to take a sidestreet, even though there was no traffic ahead. I told him I just remembered about some work I have, and could he just drop me off right there and then? BE firm when you do stuff like this. Chipa goli te jakei nise, tar chokhei morich er gura and molom lagaye tarpore mugging korse.
5. Stay away from Dhanmondi golis at night. 8/A, 9/A etc. Eigula te shondha bela te besh mugging hoito. Not sure what the situation is like right now, because I've stopped going there because of those damned people. Some of these kids will drive a pajero or even a land rover around (heard of only one such land rover case though, but lots of pajero stories) and try to mug old uncles and aunties for 400 - 500 taka.

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by Navo
Thanks for the advice. I've always intended on going back to Bangladesh and teaching, alongside working as a practitioner. Don't know about business law though, it's quite boring :p I want to practice in Dhaka in the long-term but I am considering gaining work experience abroad i.e. UK, Singapore, etc. It's the entire hassle of getting work permits which is annoying...

Good luck, broseph, no matter what you end up doing. Hope you will make the right decision for yourself.

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by Antora
I shall keep an eye on this thread for future references.

Btw Welcome Back Dhuurr Bhaiya

Thank you, Antora. W00t w00t!

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by Naimul_Hd
well, now-a-days my parents are really pushing me hard to come back to BD. Couple of their friend's son did the same thing and they are doing quite good compare to BD condition. But as i worked in BD before and had some bad experiences of nasty corporate culture, i aint that much interested doing jobs in BD. Moreover, now too many overseas grads are also looking for jobs in BD and if you don't have correct connection, its very hard to get into the job market of your likings. I dont even know whether i will get a job or not in BD if i move back as i dont have that strong connection to any big companies. And after all those struggle in sydney, is it worth to move back in BD ? On the other hand, cant ignore my parents' emotional plead as they are not doing well physically ! One thing will be in my favor is that, by this year, i will have my Australian Citizenship. So, i can come back in Australia whenever i feel like.

Naimul, don't come back if you are in my boat. Come back if you are in F6_turbo's boat, i.e. loaded up the wazoo. :p

No matter how much money you will bring back to Bangladesh, you will find that it is not enough, and the money you will earn in Bangladesh will not be enough to raise a family. Best situation: take your parents to Australia, get them Australian citizenship, and then you and your family can keep shuttling back and forth between Australia (point A) and Bangladesh (point B) without the hassle of getting visas and entry documents for Australia and the problem of missing Bangladesh.

Originally Posted by layperson
Welcome back Dhuurr !! I have my parents visiting me here in canada and i am trying to convince them to come live with me here while my mom is contemplating whether to live here or drag me to Bangladesh. But one thing is sure if my parents want i will go back the next day, wont need a second thought. I am sorry to hear about some of your experiences. What field are you working in ? I have a few connections in the banking industry if you are looking for jobs there.

BTW seems like F 6 turbo is super loaded. 3 ta apartment comlex banaichen apne !!! holy **** thats a minimum of 40 crore in profits for you assuming you had those lands from inheritance.

Agreed, Shahriar. Turbo is not just loaded... he is turbo loaded. Bad joke. LOL.

I have talked to people in banks. Got offered a job as a Principal Officer and then as a Senior Principal Officer. People who are FRESH out of undergrad become POs in that bank after 1 year of work. 3 years as a PO (some times less, in some cases more), you become an SPO with a salary of 40+. So, why was I offered such a low position? Because I have never worked in a bank in Bangladesh.

Some guys I know who have had ZERO direct banking experience and practically no knowledge of banking have gone from telecoms to banks and become managers (AVP) and heads (VP).

Banking er class poraya ashlam, bank gula te jaiya oder senior management re shikhailam BASEL II and BASEL III ki jinish, and amare fazil gula bole PO, naile SPO, hoite. Bangladeshi bank gula faizlamir jaiga pai na. Executive level a chance na paile ekhon ar banking sector er dike takabo o na. Thank you for the offer, btw. What bank are your peeps in?

[Dhurr]

Originally Posted by F6_Turbo
Nothing confusing about it...175mil people, the only place to work is Dhaka, and Chittagong at a push. No real surprise that you have millions looking to leave....

Plus 80% of parents who start their kids education in english medium schools do so in the hope/intention of sending their child abroad.

But if you have a skill set and know people - you can excel in Bangladesh. As for your brothers, tell them to come back by all means...but whatever figure they have in their minds in terms of cash in hand, DOUBLE IT.

amar electricity bill esheche aaj - a measly BDT. 9967

Well said. Ami EK DIN o AC chalai nai, bill asche 4,000+.

Mufi, listen to turbo. He is right.

[roman]

Speaking of banking, I've had an opportunity to speak to a HR guy of a well known bank in Dhaka few months ago.. I have 7+ years of banking experience in investment Accounting and Taxation.I was offered a position of SPO because I have zero working experience in Bangladesh..Aar Salaryr kotha shune khub lojja paisi..wish I had some powerful mama chacha.

[F6_Turbo]

Alternatively you could have had family members who deposited 25-30lakh taka in the early 90s to buy directorships in the private banks when so many of them started up...They could have been hired family members on the Directors quota every year.

Mr. Tofazzal Hossain is a family friend(dur shomporker attiyo) and I am sure NCC bank is going to collapse from the sheer incompetence of it all.

[AsifTheManRahman]

Wonder what the software industry looks like in Bangladesh. You can only know so much from reading up online, so I'd be interested in an insider's POV. Is there a lot of R&D? Are there many product driven businesses or is it mostly consulting? Is there any innovation whatsoever? Do Bangladeshi companies get a lot of outsourced work?

Not planning to move back at all, just curious.

[mac]

I am currently at a crucial period of time, will be graduating in EEE on September. What should I really do now after graduation? Start my preparation to leave Bangladesh for an MS or enter the job sector (telco preferred) immediately for gaining experience? I do plan to live in BD in future. I am from one of those typical higher middle class families.

[layperson]

Define higher middle class. How much should your net worth/ Monthly income be to be considered:

a) middle class
b) higher middle class
c) upper class

[layperson]

Originally Posted by F6_Turbo
Hah...Just a bit of clarification, my wonderful father is still alive(and InshaAllah that won't change in a hurry). I am quite comfortable, but it is my father who is loaded(worked his butt off and invested that hard earned money in property before everyone else jumped on the wagon).

Let me give you an example - he bought 11.5katha land close to Uttara in the early 80s(close to Azampur). Per katha BDT40,000 only, my phone and his phone is ringing off the hook now, with people offering us BDT 75,00,000lakh per katha. It would have been double that, if it was the developed side of the rail crossing. So all about luck and timing.


He told my uncle to buy the next plot over...and my uncle said it was a waste of money...why bother. He now walks around depressed all the time
::

I had advised my father back in 1998-1999 when bashundhara baridhara had started, that he should buy a plot there. They were selling for 3.5-5 lakh per katha back then. My father scorned saying that "bashundhara group ekta chor and taka niye plot dibe nah". I was stunned, he did not buy and the rest is history. We are more than comfortable in our lives in bangladesh but my father made a lot of bad investment decisions and lost a lot of money, otherwise amio apner moto 3 ta apartment complex banaitam. Ekhon shudhu ekta niye khushi hoite hochche.

But real estate is the place to invest for anyone anywhere, i own two here in canada and looking at convincing my father to invest in real estate here too.

[layperson]

Originally Posted by Dhurr
Naimul, don't come back if you are in my boat. Come back if you are in F6_turbo's boat, i.e. loaded up the wazoo. :p

No matter how much money you will bring back to Bangladesh, you will find that it is not enough, and the money you will earn in Bangladesh will not be enough to raise a family. Best situation: take your parents to Australia, get them Australian citizenship, and then you and your family can keep shuttling back and forth between Australia (point A) and Bangladesh (point B) without the hassle of getting visas and entry documents for Australia and the problem of missing Bangladesh.



Agreed, Shahriar. Turbo is not just loaded... he is turbo loaded. Bad joke. LOL.

I have talked to people in banks. Got offered a job as a Principal Officer and then as a Senior Principal Officer. People who are FRESH out of undergrad become POs in that bank after 1 year of work. 3 years as a PO (some times less, in some cases more), you become an SPO with a salary of 40+. So, why was I offered such a low position? Because I have never worked in a bank in Bangladesh.

Some guys I know who have had ZERO direct banking experience and practically no knowledge of banking have gone from telecoms to banks and become managers (AVP) and heads (VP).

Banking er class poraya ashlam, bank gula te jaiya oder senior management re shikhailam BASEL II and BASEL III ki jinish, and amare fazil gula bole PO, naile SPO, hoite. Bangladeshi bank gula faizlamir jaiga pai na. Executive level a chance na paile ekhon ar banking sector er dike takabo o na. Thank you for the offer, btw. What bank are your peeps in?

I know uncles in UCBL, Premier Bank, Bank Asia and few other leasing companies.

[lamisa]

Originally Posted by Dhurr
Don't say ANYTHING in English in Dhaka. Your accent would be a dead giveaway that you are 'foreign maal'. Learn to call people 'tumi', instead of 'apni'. That means rickshaw wallahs, CNG wallahs, servers at restaurants and so on, no matter how old they are. Don't say 'please' and 'thank you' when somebody does something they are supposed to do, such as a server bringing you your food, or a shop keeper giving you your change. Bangali etto bhodro nai ar, so any time you are polite, people can sense that you live abroad and they will try to take you to the cleaners.

As far as being safe from mugging goes, don't travel by CNG or cabs by yourself after dark. Never take a shared car (private cars that act like taxi cabs). When you are on the street, try not to be on the phone, and if you absolutely have to be, make sure you keep an eye on those around you.

I've been mugged before, and I could have been mugged another four times but didn't because I learned from my mistakes.
1. Late at night, I was walking towards Gulshan 2 circle from Banani. Two guys started tailing me. Then one crossed me, the other stayed behind. I stared at both the guys, let them know I was watching them, and crossed over to the other side of the road (less dark, better lit, etc). They stood there for about five minutes, then left.
2. In the evening, I went to buy phone cards at the corner store and 4-5 guys, outta nowhere, just crowded around me, pretending that they were customers of that stop too. I walked INTO the corner store, and sat down in the shopkeeper's chair, called our darwan on the phone (lol. darwans, rickshawallahs... everyone has a phone these days in BD), told him to bring some people with him, called out to the darwan of the house next to the store, told him to come over. When everybody came, these guys milling outside the store just left, without buying anything. It was the 1st of the month, and I had quite a bit of cash on me. These guys KNEW I had money on me. They really, really scope out the situation before they pounce on you.
3. The time I got mugged, it was because I had given money to the poor kids on that same intersection two days in a row, around the same time. The kids pointed me out to the muggers. We caught the muggers eventually, and they said that's why they targeted me. Lesson: don't help people just because they look poor, or because you feel sympathetic.
4. Got off a CNG in Farmgate because the driver was acting shady, talking on his cellphone, looking at me in the rearview mirror every few minutes, asking me what the time was, even though he had his own cellphone. I told him I don't have a phone. Then he tried to take a sidestreet, even though there was no traffic ahead. I told him I just remembered about some work I have, and could he just drop me off right there and then? BE firm when you do stuff like this. Chipa goli te jakei nise, tar chokhei morich er gura and molom lagaye tarpore mugging korse.
5. Stay away from Dhanmondi golis at night. 8/A, 9/A etc. Eigula te shondha bela te besh mugging hoito. Not sure what the situation is like right now, because I've stopped going there because of those damned people. Some of these kids will drive a pajero or even a land rover around (heard of only one such land rover case though, but lots of pajero stories) and try to mug old uncles and aunties for 400 - 500 taka.

not true AT ALL! i call all of those "mamas" apne and say thank u and please to them whenever needed. i say thank u to the rickshawala after i get off and they reply with a smile.

[zinatf]

To be honest, I was actually thinking of moving back to dhaka after 5 years or in 5 years time. But after reading this thread, I'm starting to have doubts.

[Zunaid]

Originally Posted by zinatf
To be honest, I was actually thinking of moving back to dhaka after 5 years or in 5 years time. But after reading this thread, I'm starting to have doubts.

Hmm. I got the opposite.

Even my wife said a couple of years ago, she could even countenance staying in Dhaka a couple of years. I was less willing than she is.

[zinatf]

Originally Posted by Zunaid
Hmm. I got the opposite.

Even my wife said a couple of years ago, she could even countenance staying in Dhaka a couple of years. I was less willing than she is.

And now you are more willing?

[ammark]

Originally Posted by lamisa
not true AT ALL! i call all of those "mamas" apne and say thank u and please to them whenever needed. i say thank u to the rickshawala after i get off and they reply with a smile.

Call it my bad (?) habit, but I do that too. Havent gotten mugged so far!

My beef is not with the muggers as yet (since I havent been mugged), but with the police: oshombhob beyadob ajkalkar police!

[Zeeshan]

Originally Posted by ammark
Call it my bad (?) habit, but I do that too. Havent gotten mugged so far!

My beef is not with the muggers as yet (since I havent been mugged), but with the police: oshombhob beyadob ajkalkar police!

Ammark, I presume you never had to use the "apni janen ami kaar chele" card?