[tranel]

Thanks guys for your replies.

I am of course looking for work in Kobe at the moment too, not planning to just pull up my tent poles and move. I currently work in corporate communications and IR, and speak and read Japanese at N2 level, so that's why I am saying that I am hoping not to return to teaching English — again, no reflection on the profession, but it wasn't for me.

I have also tracked down a few useful networking events/organizations in Kansai, but again, if you know of any links would be very helpful.

We actually live in Kanagawa at the moment, and our environment is quite leafy (for being Tokyo). But Japanese property developers (one of the most destructive forces in the Universe) are hellbent on turning it into another sterile urban wasteland full of "mansions" and mismatched fences. So we want to move somewhere that's a bit more hiroi in general and my wife (Japanese) loves Kobe.

What's your view of Kansai people? I have been to Kyoto and Osaka a few times and get the impression that they're not quite as stiff as the Tokyoites, but generally a bit more boisterous, spontaneous and... (dare I say it) relaxed?