This is the second post in a two part series talking about the pros and cons of living or traveling long term in Sri Lanka. Rob and I moved there in April, with the intention of staying for either six months, a year, or forever. Obviously that didn’t work out. Yesterday I posted all the awesome things I love about Sri Lanka. It really is a great place. There’s just a few worrying things to consider before making the plunge and committing to a long term stay.
Repeating from the last post, I want to make it clear that most of the following impressions, both in
this post and the next, are based from our time living in Ratnapura, in the southern part of the island. We
also spent about one month traveling through Colombo, Negombo, Kandy,
Newara Eliya, Galle, and Anuradhapura. In total, we spent about 4 months traveling, living, and working in
Sri Lanka.
It’s also important to note that we would not have left if not for some unfortunate turns of events. However, as time passed and we became more familiar with the country, there were a few things that were beginning to make me uneasy about our future there. Here they are.
This is a big one, and anyone interested in moving to Sri Lanka long term should definitely take note of this fairly recent development.
When Rob and I first started considering purchasing some land last September, it was still legal for foreigners to own land outright. You had to pay a 100% tax on the land or figure out some dodgy way around paying (bribes, etc), but you could still own land.
Traffic is Horrible
Once you get to your destination in Sri Lanka, you never want to leave. That’s not just because where you are is so wonderful – it’s because traffic throughout the island is the worst I have ever experienced for intra-city travel. It’s like a Bangkok that goes on forever.
Transportation
is probably the worst thing about Sri Lanka. There is currently one highway
along the Galle coast, which makes getting from Galle to Colombo easy.
Going anywhere else is a nightmare.
The roads are
narrow, single lane tracks that wind through mountains and small
villages. It sounds picturesque, and it would be if you weren’t so busy
holding in your lunch and hoping that the driver isn’t about to slam
into the excuse for a vehicle in front of you.
Tuk-tuks,
motorcycles, bicycles, lorries, buses, and tractors all vie for the
same space. Faster moving vehicles dart around the slower ones,
alternatively accelerating and slamming on the breaks as they inch through the queue.
This means that going anywhere by road is
painfully slow. In a private vehicle, the 75 km from Ratnapura to
Colombo takes 2.5-3.5 hours. By one of the smaller, air-conditioned buses,
it’s 4 hours. By the normal, public bus it’s 5-6 hours of hell.
The only comfortable way to get around is by train, which has a limited track. The train does not run to Ratnapura.
Yes,
a lot of things are so cheap in Sri Lanka that the average janitor Joe from any
western country could vacation like a king. However, if you’re trying to live a few pricy items might have you reeling from sticker shock.
In particular, cars and other motor vehicles are ludicrously expensive. This is mostly because the Sri Lankan government has placed an incredibly high import tax on vehicles. Since Sri Lanka does not manufacture any vehicles, all are imported and the inflated price is passed on to consumers. This includes used vehicles.
As of March, 2012, the tax on new, gas-fueled cars was 189 to 275 percent of the value, depending on the engine size. Diesel cars have an even higher tax, 250 to 350 percent. This means that one of the cheapest cars like a Volkswagon Golf, priced at around $18,000 USD, would cost $52,000 USD in Sri Lanka with the lowest tax of 189 percent. Considering how horrible the traffic is already, it’s probably a good thing that purchasing vehicles is out of reach for most of the population. But that does make it difficult for anybody who wants to live outside of Colombo.
Even motorcycles have a tax of 61-100%, depending on make and model.
Does this seem too ridiculous? Check out these resources:
Numbeo Cost of Living in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Raises Automobile Taxes
Once you’ve paid for your overpriced car, you’ve got to pay for gas. Gas is also not very cheap. As of February, 2013, gas cost 162 RS a liter. In USD, that’s $1.238 a liter or $4.68 a gallon. But the price of gas doesn’t really matter, because it’s not like you really want to go anywhere – as I mentioned above, traveling by road in Sri Lanka is an achingly slow and frustrating process. The only reason to purchase a vehicle is if you want to live outside of Colombo.
Monsoons Are a Big Deal
I knew before we moved to Sri Lanka that the country experiences two monsoon seasons, with heavy rain from April-June and again around September. But thanks to the durian’s relationship to the monsoon, I’ve now experienced the rainy season in more than 10 countries. That, and I’m from Oregon. Rain? No big deal, right?
Wrong. It was the monsoon that ultimately led to us leaving Sri Lanka. In late May, a heavy storm and winds washed out the road leading to the land Rob was working with, demolishing the buildings too. We weren’t the only ones. As I mentioned in my post about why we left Sri Lanka, thousands of homes and other buildings were destroyed all over the country.
I still think that the monsoon isn’t reason enough to avoid an area, but it is something to be aware of when choosing a property or building a road, or anything else for that matter.
Currently, not many ex-pats choose
Sri Lanka as their permanent equatorial home. Sure, there are is a small, cozy ex-pat community in
Colombo and many Europeans have vacation homes on the coast, but in Ratnapura where Rob
and I were staying, we were the only people with white faces.We stuck out like sore thumbs.
It
takes considerable effort to make friends, because in addition to being
different from everyone else, there’s the whole language barrier to
deal with. Very few people speak English in Ratnapura. So we did our
best to learn Sinhala (the local language), and Rob even joined the Ultimate Frisbee
team. The man we buy vegetables from invited us to dinner. Rob made some
friends at the local pool hall, and I planned to try to join the girl’s
soccer team when I returned “home” from Thailand.
I
think with time we could have bonded and made friends, but it takes work
and the willingness to put yourself out there into situations that are
completely unfamiliar and even a little scary. It’s not easy, and to be honest it might never be possible to 100% integrate into a foreign culture and community.
Which brings me to a minor draw back of traveling in Sri Lanka.
It’s Unconnected
In Thailand, every backpacker’s hole is suped up with internet. You might have bedbugs and take your shower in a bucket, but you’ve got a great wi-fi connection. This is not the case in Sri Lanka.
Outside of Colombo, even mid-range hotels are not likely to offer free wi-fi to guests. Internet cafes are few and far between. This might not be a big deal to you. I, on the other hand, am an internet addict. More than a few days away from this blog and I get shaky. This makes staying at very budget accommodations require a bit more planning than our usual style of just seeing what’s there when we arrive.
On the plus side, hotel staff won’t be too preoccupied with facebooking friends on their cell phone to help you.
Lack of General Infrastructure
Along with the lack of country-wide wi-fi, there is a general lack of infrastructure. This isn’t a big deal if you’re just visiting, but could be extremely annoying if you plan on living in Sri Lanka long term.
Power outages are common. Other than the Colombo-Galle Highway, roads are in poor condition. If you want to a build a house outside the city, you will probably need to build a road as well or make some serious repairs. There is running water in the city, but it’s not safe to drink. Everyone drinks bottled water.
If you’re someone who likes organic produce or health products, you’ll need to stock up before you come to Sri Lanka. Malaysia or Thailand have plenty of large supermarkets and even small natural health food stores with imported items from the USA or Australia, but you won’t find these in Sri Lanka.
Like I said, not a big deal, but something to seriously consider if you want to make Sri Lanka your permanent home.
Lack of Diversity of Fruit
This is only really important to fruit freaks like Rob and me. So if you don’t depend on fruit for the majority of your calories or you honest-to-buddha don’t like fruit (then why are you reading this site???) skip this section.
In Sri Lanka, coconuts, a variety of bananas, pineapples, and papayas are easy to find, really good, and very cheap, all over the island. Anything else is not. For example, you’re not going to find jackfruit unless you know someone with a tree. Even my favorite Sri Lankan fruit, wood apples, can only be found for a few months each year.
As far as fruit goes, the best place in Sri Lanka is Kandy. There you’ll find a good diversity of custard apples, durians, mangosteens, rambutans, soursops, and plenty of other goodies in the central market. You’ll even find a longer availability of mangoes and a wider selection of bananas. Outside of Kandy, get used to coconuts, bananas, pineapples, and papayas. It’s not the end of the world, and the quality is excellent, but it’s something to consider if you’re someone who lives primarily on fruit. The diversity may not be what you are accustomed to getting at western supermarkets.
The Recent Civil War
Everything seemed fine and chill where Rob and I were, but I do think it’s important to keep this little factoid in mind.
Remember that until 2009, Sri Lanka was in the throes of a bitter 20
year civil war with the insurgent group, the Tamil Tigers. That was only
four years ago.
I still love Sri Lanka, and someday hope to return. I’m not certain anymore though, that I want to live there.
Rob and I moved to Sri Lanka knowing that making a home there was going to be difficult. We hoped to give some weight to the projects of fruitarian Michael Arnstein, who at one time had a dream of attracting other fruit-minded people to the area and forming a sort of eco-friendly, fruit loving ex-pat community. It seemed like a far out dream even in April, but like I’ve said, we’re the kind of people who are willing to take risks and try new things.
Recent developments, however, have made me question whether any sort of community-building projects will ever happen in Sri Lanka. There are some major barriers, with land ownership issues and ridiculously high government import taxes among them.
Okky Asetyana says
very interesting information. I never thought that Sri Lanka has a lot of it. and this makes my interest would Srilanka be increased. Srilanka is probably one of the tourist destinations are quite worth the visit in Southeast Asia. and the experience you provide a picture that is quite unique to Sri Lanka. nice share. for reference : http://www.srilankajetaime.com/we-love-it
thanks for the share.
Ivan says
Hi Lindsay, excellently written post. Since my company mostly works with foreigners to purchase lands, villas in Sri Lanka honest reviews like this are golden.
As some have pointed out, foreigners outright can't own land. But they can form partnerships with locals to purchase some land. As you've mentioned in the post itself the goal of the government is encourage investment.
As for traffic its all about timing. Avoid the office hours and you should be okay. But I understand why it could be annoying for someone not used to it.
Wi-fi is a problem for sure. But Internet dongles are pretty cheap and fairly price. If you've tried this then it really shouldn't have affected you.
Agree with your other points, but you must remember that the civil war finished just recently and Sri Lanka is pretty much still recovering. Hope to you see you back in SL 🙂 .
Lindsay Gasik says
Dear Ivan,
Thanks for pointing out your ulterior motivations 😉 I did love Sri Lanka, and would definitely go back to visit. I think we agree that Sri Lanka is a lovely place with a lot of potential, but that certain factors might currently make some people happier living somewhere else.
I spent enough time on the roads between Ratnapura, Colombo and Kandy that I think my experience of traffic being worse than other places is not due to timing. Thanks for reading!
ikalwewe says
Hi great blog post. I was in sl last month and absolutely loved it. It is much safer than the Philippines -i know i am from the Philippines. I am now thinking of going back and spending winter there （i live in japan）because i can maximize my salary and make it last for months while surfing my arms off . Because i live in tokyo i found sri lanka incredibly cheap. To an extent it is even cheaper than the philippines （hostels by the beach, restaurants, fruits, fish ）. Surf lessons cost more — though board rentals cost less than back home. Must be the supply and demand thing. Youre right. Wifi is horrendously slow or non existent. Sockets dont seem to work??? And food sanitation worried me a bit. But hey im from the philippines, im tough. So isurvived ! Anyway whay kind of visa did you have ?i wonder how i can stay there for more than a month legally ? I got a 30 day visa. Also would you know anything about shipping things to sri lanka (like surfboards). Im afraid of bureacratic red tape. Sorry if this is a bit off topic, cheers
Lindsay Gasik says
Hi ikalwewe,
Thanks for your comment! I'm sure it will be helpful to other people. Unfortunately I don't think I can help you very much. We entered on the normal 30 day tourist visa, and I have no idea what the visa situation is for people from the Philippines or Japan. Since I've never been surfing, I have no idea how to ship a surfboard! Sorry!
Thomas Braylen says
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Nadeesha Bishop says
Hi Lindsey, thank you so much for this post. I found it really helpful and pretty much what I was after, an honest review of the positives and the negatives I am originally from Sri Lanka but moved to NZ when I was a kid. We are thinking about going back for a holiday with my hubby and the kiddies. Although it completely freaks me out! I think you guys are so cool for giving SL a chance. I couldn't live there in a million years! I was wondering if you ever got any unwanted attention being white in Sri Lanka. I am a wee bit worried we will be targeted because of Hubby who is a kiwi. Thanks 🙂
Lindsay Gasik says
Hi Nadeesha! I'm glad this post was helpful.
I never felt uncomfortable for being white in Sri Lanka, and I have light hair and Rob burns like a lobster. That was actually one of the things I loved about Sri Lanka – I felt like people were so much more polite than in other countries. If you go for a jog by yourself you will have people look at you with curiosity, especially on back country roads, but nobody harassed me the way they might in say, the Philippines. People in Sri Lanka are very friendly, but not in an aggressive way. I think you and hubby will feel just fine.
Lindsay Gasik says
Dear Protector,
Thank you for the invite and link to the forum. Since most of the posts are in Sinhala, I have no idea what people are saying. The few English posters do not seem to be offended at all. Anyone who is insulted by this post will not be mollified by me defending my experience and opinions.
Cheers,
Lindsay
The Protecter says
Hey Lindsay,
A member of our online community (The Largest one in SL) posted a thread saying "Hey guys Look at this blog post a foreign women is insulting our country. why don't ya guys tell her something. lolz..
It would be great If you could let them know your opinion in this. this is the thread. come and tell them what you feel. Our people are very sensitive about culture and religion. you know.. 😉
http://www.elakiri.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1574262
Unknown says
since someone else well explained about the all facts, I will just take some of them to let you know to make sure you are hell wrong about Sri Lanka.
2. traffic – did you ever traveled to China, UAE, India, Japan, Russia ? I frequently travel to all these countries and every time I see horrible traffic there. You must understand horrible traffic is not something unique to Sri Lanka, but for whole world.
5. Isolation – If you ever traveled to countries like China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, middle east and etc, you won't talk like this. It's a foreign land, and you go there by your own choice. So don't criticize about this.
6. wifi – use the technology. Sri Lanka has very cheap internet services by all mobile networks. U can use them from anywhere in the country.
7. As a traveler I think Sri Lanka's infrastructure is almost good.
at last, you have to remember that, people travel to get a different experiences. If you want everything same as in your own country, why do you need to travel ?
Evan Raymond says
Sri Lanka is doing fine, many investors including myself resides in sri lanka for years doing travel business. I aint sure you visited the whole country. There is more to offer than just Durian
Lindsay Gasik says
Thank you for your input – can you please comment more about some of the issues I brought up? I would personally I appreciate more insight into living in Sri Lanka, and I'm sure others would too.
Evan Raymond says
Well where ever in the world we go we don't always experience good it happens with the time and the place.
1. Foreigners cant own land: well this is not totally true. I have 50% shares with my Sri Lankan business partner of the land we own for our traveling business. Foreigners can own 50% of shares.
2.Traffic: In every country traffic us horrible. Unless you are from a place where vehicles are not allowed. Traffic will be there time to time. But its not that bad compared with central london, where i come from.
3. The Cheapness is Deceptive: Well from my first experience Sri Lanka is neither cheap nor expensive. Malaysia is more expensive than Sri Lanka. And price of goods and services differs town to town. That is pretty normal isn't it?
4. Monsoon: May be you have not heard that Sri Lanka is an agricultural country. They are used to cultivate lands according these seasons. if your in a foreign land you must get used to those. The weather here is really fine and mild. I love it. Not too cold or hot. If you need chilled weather, there is a place called Little England in up country. Visit there next time
5. Isolation: Don't forget that you are in a foreign land. What will happened if we travel to Africa. I agree that urban people can speak better English than country. But Sri Lanka's can manage they understand us
6. Wifi: where ever you go, you cannot expect internet to be there. I have traveled to many countries including india. And wifi was the last thing I found on the way. Every country has mobile broadband. make use of that! To all the travelers around the world, its a well known fact we carry our smart phone where ever we go. Get a SIM card from (Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat or Hutch) and be online. You can use that for your laptop as well.
7. lack of Infrastructure: This is ridiculous. Even I'm from a city where I can find anything. In Sri Lanka every village has basic infrastructure to full fill their needs. Urban area are usually rich with infrastructure and more facilities. Sri Lanka has a rich culture and you will have to adopt to their ways. That's what we travel for right?
8.Lack of Diversity of Fruit: This is a big fat lie! Sri Lanka has the most amazing fruits I have ever seen. There are many types of fruits and veggies and they are brilliant. having said that sri lanka is an agricultural country, they grow many fruits including several types of bananas, apples, grapes and many for. Use Wikipedia for more info. And some of the fruits are seasonal fruits. May be that's why you are confused!
Yeah after a decades of war Sri lanka is finally peaceful and happy. Sri lankan people are wonderful and more hospitable. They will help you volunteer-Ly when ever its needed. I think you have not experienced Sri lanka very well. You are just obsessed with Durian. Please visit again and in the mean time. Contact me the next time you come to sri lanka.I will show you a good time for sure.
Lindsay Gasik says
Dear Evan Raymond,
Thank you for your input. I am sorry that my analysis has disturbed you so much that you must call me a liar.
Sri Lanka remains one of my favorite countries. I hope that you have seen the other part of this section, which is about all the things I love about Sri Lanka.
In this post, I try to lay out some of the things that people might want to be aware of when they are considering Sri Lanka as future home.
I do want to comment on the fruit. Maybe you don't eat as much fruit as I do. I paid quite a lot of attention to Sri Lankan fruit and found a number of interesting things not found anywhere else. But the availability of these things is limited to a few places (like Kandy), and in general, the diversity of fruit available is not as wide as in countries like Thailand or Malaysia. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a factor that might be important to some people.