Is Japan really a bad place to live?

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animosity

its probably very crowded, like NYC, but I wouldn't say its a bad place to live, if anything its probably awesome, manga chicks with anime outfits, HOT, japanese girls are like never overweight, HOT, but I don't know, never been there

oh and they are super technologically advanced

Joriental

People don't speak English. Their culture is mono culture and very homogeneous society. Japan don't take positive immigrant policy. So you can't expect racial diversity. Rural area is not bad but Tokyo and Osaka are crowded cities.
Stay in your country and make an intense effort to make your country much better, if your love your country.

space

Not "horrible" but its not green acres either. People often think they will move overseas and Japan is some magical land with no troubles. Japan has similar problems many other countries face.

How good of a time or how bad of a time depends on the type of person you are, and if you have "realistic" life plans for Japan.

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1) It is the most expensive place in the world to live in. INCORRECT, check your facts again.
2) It is the most crowded place in the world to live in.
INCORRECT, again, check your facts again.

This is the type of incorrect information that are myths about Japan. Is it crowded? Yes, is it expensive, yes and no, is it number 1 in these categories, No.

Jon Stewart fan

Who is "everyone"?
And what does everyone keep telling you?

Roy G

It will be bad if you dont speak their language!

sophiagrace69

It depends on your perspective and what your resources are. If you have money - most places in the world are nice places to live.

I'm traveling to Japan for the 5th time next month. The longest I've stayed at any time is 5 weeks - so I haven't lived there long term.

But - I can say this... it is expensive if you live in Tokyo or Osaka. To me, it is like LA or New York - housing can be really expensive - so you will need a roommate or two. You will need a job, unless you are independently wealthy. Food can be gourmet and very expensive, or you can eat cheap, 'regular' people food. You can find cheap, all you can eat sushi there - but try and find cheap fruit and it won't happen :)

It's all about perspective and expectations.

The people are like anywhere - some nice, some not nice.

Culturally, Westerners are outsiders. You will be treated nicely, but unless you know that language fluently you will find some serious roadblocks in relationships. (IMO).

I only know a tiny bit of Japanese, but have no problems getting around.

Maybe you could take a trip there before trying to move there. It's a beautiful place, beautiful people. It's totally worth exploring.

Leash

It all depends on how you want to live.

If you want to live in a big home with a large yard and a garden, good luck affording that in Japan.
Most people have to live in a tiny apartment (think about how much space you can afford in the U.S. and cut it in half).

Also, most houses and buildings still do not have central heat and air-conditioning. So prepare to be extremely uncomfortable during the hot and humid summer and the cold winters.
Also, most people in Japan have to use public transportation which can be extremely unpleasant due to the crowds and poor climate control.

Out of all the Americans I have spoken to who have lived in Japan, only the ones who really have a great appreciation for Japanese culture enjoyed living there. Everyone else was glad to return home.

Basically, if you don't have a compelling reason to live there, like a great job opportunity or you really like Japanese culture, then the U.S. is a substantially better place to live when viewed from a standard of living perspective.

banjoman

1) it's the most expensive country in the world to live in.
2) It's the most crowded country to live in.
3) There is a lot of prejudice against non-japanese there. The word for "Foreigner" is gaijin. The word for someone who is not japanese (racially) is gaijin. The word for "barbarian" is gaijin.

They treat tourists very well, but you will be leaving. non-japanese residents are treated as third-class people. Look up the japanese word "etta".

Recently, an american (or possibly australian) businessman bought up 40% of the stock of a large japanese corporation. In any other country, 5% of the stock gets you a seat on the board of directors. 40% will make you CEO. They wouldn't let him sit on the board because he was not japanese.

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no ther full of crap japan is one of the most beutiful countrys you could ever live in

one thing you may notice about japanese people that may annoy you is that they are obsessively clean, almost in my opinion germophobic.
like any other asian country they dont like foreigners and call them gaijin and in china laowai.
racism. they typically look down on other asians since their the wealthiest country in asia and were the most powerful country in asia during ww2. in ww2 the germans felt superior over other europeans as the japanese felt over other asians. they also look down on blacks and hispanics.

Lloyd

There are a lot of clueless people in Japan.

Even when you start speaking Japanese, some people won't even know that you're speaking Japanese because they just can't accept that you, looking like you do, are speaking the same language. Their mind blocks it out.

A lot of people will be very sceptical of you. Why are you there? What do you do in your spare time? Why Japan?

If you're teaching English... Does he really know what he's talking about? How can he be so confident when he can't even speak Japanese well? He's only teaching because it's the only job we let him do here.

Some girls will check you out, but not take you seriously. You might even end up dating one, two, or more. Then they dump you for a Japanese guy who will actually be a breadwinner. No point in being with a foreigner for that long. Too complicated. Too much to think about. They can try you out for sex, then settle down with someone more easy to live with.

Then again, I've never really believed any of that. My advice is to go to Japan and not believe anything that anyone says, because there's always another way to look at any situation. Don't even believe what Japanese say about Japan.

Carl_the_Truth

It can be a great place to live if you have a well paying job.

yusdz

No, no matter where U lived, there'll be pros and cons, the main thing is, how you lead your life. Good luck !

Japan is one of the best place to live.

Jun S

No, I have traveled there many times, and personally if I wanted to live anywhere in the world it would be Japan. It has a rich culture, high paying tech jobs, and I'm in to a lot of import cars JDM fan, I was even thinking of going to college there if had alot of money. I don't speak the language, but it would not stop me if i wanted to live there. People say its expensive, thats only true in some areas like tokyo beacuse its the major city. IF you wanna live there, a good partner that knows the area well, is helpful. A good Japanese girl friend will help you the most, trade languages and learn new things about the country. Its an awsome place.

webangelpb

LOL Buttersworth sounds like I did when I realized I had to leave Japan or go crazy.

Japan is not a bad place to live at all. One of the things I really enjoyed was the feeling of being safe in my home. As Buttersworth suggests, ultimately you should go if you want to and find out for yourself.

The thing that I have noticed time and time again though is that the longer you stay in Japan, the more jaded you become about the country and its culture. I have yet to see one exception amongst foreigners from many different countries.

You get tired of people hearing you speak Japanese and then run to the back of the store for the only person there that speaks two words of English....only for you to repeat the Japanese and the person responds in Japanese.

You get tired of going to the city office and they assume that because you are a foreigner you don't need to know certain information or they can't tell you something in detail because they are afraid you might not understand even though you have been communicating with them in Japanese.

I personally got tired of people seeing me only as an English teacher (even though I wasn't in the latter years) and you are often invited to events solely for your bilingual skills.

Once the novelty has worn off, it is not a pretty picture. Having said this, it is pretty much the same everywhere; but I'd rather be miserable in Jamaica than Japan any day!!

OompaLoompa

From the three weeks that I spent in Japan as a student, it was not bad at all. The people are friendly, but just like the US it isn't completely paradise. You should at least be able to have more than just the few travel phrases of Japanese that most people learn, you're able to pick up the language as well. They really like it if you speak their language, but many also like to try out their English. My brother lived there for three months and enjoyed it immensely, but he also knew some of the language and also had our host families there for guidance.

Mimi Chan

If you don't have a lot of money to spend, Japan is not a good place to live. Living cost is very expensive.

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