From left: Babita Khanal, Rina Sah and Ajit Kumar Sah.Rina Sah and her husband, Ajit
Kumar Sah, share their two-bedroom
apartment in Elmhurst, Queens,
with Babita Khanal, whom they
found through a Facebook group
for the Nepali community in New
York. Babita pays them $900 a
month, lowering the couple’s share
to only $1,200.
4Last December, Rina migrated to
New York from Janakpur, fi nally
joining her husband, Ajit, who came
to the United States in 2016. She
works in a beauty parlor, while Ajit
is an artist who pays the bills
by working as a hotel receptionist.
Babita, who works as a nanny on
the Upper East Side, moved in with
them in January. ‘‘Now I’m just
waiting for my family to join me,’’
Babita says. She came to the United
States from Kathmandu and hopes
to live with the couple for only
another year, until her husband and
13-year-old son come to New York.
She hasn’t seen either of them in
the nine years since she left Nepal.
For both Babita and the Sahs,
living with other Nepalis provides a
source of comfort. Rina gushes
about Babita: ‘‘She’s like a sister to
me.’’ The Sahs would live without
a roommate if they could, but money
is just too tight. ‘‘I need to pay rent
on time and have other expenses and
medical bills,’’ Ajit says.
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