Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinestra
I figured a thread like this would surface one day given how many hundreds of "i want to move to Japan" threads there are. I believe both MMM and Nyororin bring good idea's to the table that many people should pay attention too. I have not had the opportunity to stay in Japan for longer than 3 or 4 months and each time it was on business with my stepfather or just a vacation i can say i have not lived there in every sense of the word. I love experiencing things that's what i live for, do i want to live in Japan for extended amount of time yes 3 years or so, do i want to stay there forever no because i have many other countries i would like to go live in and experience as many cultures as i can before i turn to dust.
The biggest problem i have is when people seem to want to use Japan as excuse to try to run away from something. How many times have we heard (i hate my home country living in Japan will be so much better) this person has never even left their home country yet Japan seems like the answer to their prayers. "The grass is not always greener" its not just Japan its going to take work to live in another country weather it be Japan, China, Russia or Brazil.
I for one love Japan mainly history and the traditions i have no urge to be Japanese i love my diverse heritage which in some countries would be looked at the norm or interesting (i have 7 different cultures running in my blood) but not so much in Japan.
As i stated above both MMM and Nyororin stated some very nice details that i think will help lots of people. I will point out 1 of each and so of you would do well to pay attention.
MMM: "A love for Japan is not necessarily realized in living there. I love Japan, and have never had a job since college that didn't involve Japan or Japanese. I visit as often as I can, but sacrifices I am willing to put up with on a vacation I am not as willing to put up with for a lifetime."
Ask your self what you are willing to give up and what you are not willing to give up. You can find many answers for yourself weather you should actually try to move or not with just a little thinking this not only applies to Japan but others countries as well. Once again the grass is not always greener. Save yourself the aggravation and unhappiness and make informed decisions using a thought process or dont be surprised when stamps F on your forehead for "FAIL"
Nyororin: "I see it as quite unfair to judge the general standard of living in a place based on your bad experience in a crappy apartment. I am completely sure I could find something worse in your home country. It all hinges on what you invest into your lifestyle. If you don`t invest all that much - of course it`s going to suck."
If you are going to make a move somewhere you need to invest in it 100% and give it a chance not 10% not 20% but 100% otherwise you will find many unhappy things that will make you go this sucks im going home, you will also start looking for reasons to go home. Spending a few months in Japan is not really living it doesn't count as a tourist you are only going to see a fraction of society and how it operates on regular basis. If you are serious you need to do it wholeheartedly every country has it flaws in standards of living i could pick out just as many in the US as i can in France, China or Japan. The point is if you don't really give it a chance how will you know if its really for you or not. Would you buy 60K car without testing driving it first? If you time in Japan ends up sucking because you didn't really give it a chance whose to the blame you or the country?
Nyororin, MMM thanks for the great post you guys i think if posters seriously read your post they themselves can answer a lot of their own questions.
oh btw Nyororin did you get my PM?
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When you say "invest 100% in where you live", that can mean very different things when you know it's temporary vs a permanent move. For instance, as was said before, if you know you'll only be there a few years, why pay several months key money and moving expenses if you don't have to? And why buy the biggest TV, stereo, car, etc that you can afford if you know that you won't be keeping these things, but turning around and selling them (or possibly having to throw them away if you can't find a buyer) in a few years when you leave? You don't tend to invest too heavily in lots of material goods that are hard to ship home when you know you'll be leaving.
However, conversely, you tend to invest MORE than usual in experiences. Every weekend I tried to do something, go somewhere, try something new. I went on more trips, visited temples, museums, went biking and hiking, went on homestays, tried new foods, etc FAAAAR more than I normally do at home, precisely because I knew my time there was limited. Many times I'd ask my Japanese friends or the kids I taught about a place I'd visited that weekend, and they, who had lived there all their lives, had never been to it! So in that sense, I "invested in my life" there much more than at home, where you have a feeling that "ahh, I can go anytime, it's a local sight." But you never do. Or at least not as much as if you knew your time there was short.
In a way, it's almost like "living as if you were dying"... "why invest in material things, you won't have them very long, but lets try and have new experiences as much as possible!"
By the way, don't mistake my comments earlier as "you shouldn't go to Japan". I love my years there, and it was quite possibly the greatest time of my life. But there are hardships and differences to living in Japan that people should be aware of, it isn't some magical-girl fairy tale land, and people should prepare for that when they go.