I’m in my late twenties, as in they’re almost over lol. I have never had kids or been married. I’m extremely introverted and avoid taking risks. I have no idea why I want so desperately to do this now but I want to take the biggest risk ever in my life and move to Japan. Why now? I keep telling myself this is the dumbest idea I have ever had but I can’t talk myself out of it. Ever since the first time I traveled to Japan it’s been a dream of mine to live there and I have been saving up recently to enroll in language school. I had an opportunity to meet some people living in Japan and everyone has told me being a student is difficult. If I go over to Japan and fail I could really mess my life up and the thing is I have a really good job and make good money. I live so comfortably right now. Why do I all of sudden want to throw everything away? Am I having an early life crisis? I’ve thought so much about this and there are way more cons than pros but I still want to try. I know it’s a very risky decision but it’s really what I want. I don’t know I’m just hoping to get some advice or perspective.
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Even at 30 you have 50, 60 years left to thrive… I’d just do it… can you take sabbatical or medical leave from your job lol?
Japan is not a panacea, it will not fix your confusion about what you want to do in life
It’s also a closed nation with a strict visa system, you can visit but you can’t move there without a work visa, and they will not give one for “want to figure it out as I go”
Good luck. You seem to be going thru a hard time. It will get better
Better now than later. I‘d find it nice to move to Japan and I understand the language, have enough money and work in an area where I could get a visa without any problems. But my parents are in their 70s now and I probably had to move back after a few years or so to support them.
I‘m also quite introverted and I usually hate being in crowds in my country. On my vacation in Japan I enjoyed it and I‘m currently checking out other countries that are not that far away but have similarities.
The country you were born into doesn’t have to be the ideal country for you. Took me over 40 years to get that and now things are more complicated. Moving to another country where you feel more at home is worth a few risks.
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Japan isn’t a real life anime that will magically fix all your problems. Sorry.
No.
If you are thinking about planning your future there, here are some tips though:
-You have to have/achieve native level Japanese if you hope to hold a regular career out there.
-An exception to the above rule is if you are have strong STEM or IT related academic/professional backgrounds. With that, you may be able to skim by on intermediate Japanese. (I did)
-English teaching is probably the easiest job for western foreigners and requires no Japanese, but the career ceiling will be hit very soon (if that is OK with you).
-You will in all practicality need Bachelor’s from a 4 year university.
I don’t think you have to risk EVERYTHING. How about going there for longer times once or twice a year. That way you don’t blow all your money on language school (which won’t give you a visa in the end anyway). You may have to switch jobs a few times in your own country if they don’t give you that time off. But if you aren’t happy anyway, yeah shake things up. Keep learning the language in your own country. Meet people when you are there. Staying comfortable is risky too. You may never be really happy. Times goes on, and you might regret not doing it. Maybe really reflect on what makes you happy. What do you need vs what do you want in life. Whatever life is left for you. You could be on your last 7 years on earth 😛
I went down exactly that path and I don’t regret a thing. Not everything in life is about money; experiences are important as well. And the older you get, the harder it is to adapt to a new culture and way of living. As long as you are patient, of sound mind and health and have an open mind about what it’s going to be like, then it will be quite an adventure – especially if you can afford it.
Just be aware that entertainment is just that – real life is very different here. It’s great for some personality types and others not so much. There are problems here just like in your home country; they are just different ones.
If you’re looking for adventure, a change of pace, or to learn something new – it will be a fun ride. If you are simply trying to escape problems with your life in your home country, it likely will not solve them and will likely make them worse as you’ll be without a support network when you’re not fluent in the local language. Please consider that carefully when ironing out your motivations.
As for me, I did a year in language school, then I switched to working in Japan. Before coming I sold most of what I owned and shipped what little remained. I bet everything I had on coming here, despite having had a 6 figures USD job in the states, new house/car, etc. I left all of that behind. Now I’ll be applying for PR next year.
Taking a gap year to figure this out is no big deal in a career despite what naysayers might say. When I interviewed with companies here during my gap year, every single employer wanted to know about my commitments and motivations for coming to Japan. They get too many people who get here, cant cut it and ditch making you a wasted investment. And even back in the states, I was part of hiring at several companies and we welcomed people back to the workforce after gaps all the time.
In my case, I told those employers me taking the initiative to enroll myself in language school at my own expense is how you know I’m committed to being here. A large contributor to failures is isolation caused from not knowing or caring to learn the language. Creating a solid foundation for your future success is something that any employer worth your time will value, and all of them were very positive about that explanation. In the end I received multiple offers and no one held the gap against me.
I found an employer that’s right for me and I have a good paying job here now that I’m incredibly happy with. Don’t lay naysayers deter you from following your dreams. You choose what’s right for yourself.
Good luck!
Go go go! If you have enough savings, you’ll be comfortable in Japan too. I had very little money while studying in Japan and I still loved it. I’ve met plenty of people who had almost no money at all and had to rely on their part-time jobs to survive, and they still preferred Japan to their home countries. Moreover, if you have a good job now it means you have the skills and will be able to find a job again if you don’t like it and end up returning to your country. The world is on fire, if it’s your dream to move then move while you can, do the things you wanna do in life
You’re likely just having an early life crisis. You don’t know what you’re doing with your life so you are appealing to the idea that a change in environment will be enough of a catalyst to change other aspects in your life (marriage, introversion, risk taking). Realistically all that will change is the scenery, and once the fog settles things may go back to how it was. Except now you are in a foreign country with a job that doesn’t pay as much.
I know how you feel because I related to this at one point in my life. I had to self assess what were my own reasons and motives to why I wanted to go to Japan, what steps I’d need to take, etc. I’m not here to tell you it’s impossible, here I am in my late 20s graduating a Masters in TESOL in around a year and looking to move to Japan. If I sound critical it’s because I had to ask the hard questions to myself as well. “Are you doing everything to improve yourself and your life right now?”, “Is going to Japan a form of ego gratification or am I genuinely interested living there through the cons?”, “If Japan isn’t what is going to alter my life, just further it, how can I alter my life right now to be more receptive to that change?” and so on. I journaled my thoughts and contemplations for months before coming to peace with the fact that no matter what; in my mind it wasn’t a matter of how, but more so a matter of when. I’d say if you have this feeling long term and can understand your biases and assess them, then go for it. The risk may or may not pay off, but at the end of the day you can never know until you take a chance at failure/success.
I am in a similar position, so I understand your struggle. The way I see it is that if you try now, but then figure out life in Japan is not for you, at least you’re still young enough to just come back with little consequences. There’s no shame in backing out of things that don’t work out, and I think it’s better than regrets and “what ifs”.
Just Go. You’ll figure it out.
Source: Old guy. 🙂
How good and stable is your current job?
What are you currently unsatisfied with in your life/job/country?
What can Japan give you that your current country cannot?
Visiting any country is nice because you only see the good parts however once a person goes over it’s often times a very different experience.
You still sound unsure of yourself based on the fact that you asked this question.
My advice would be to learn more Japanese , do research about the country and go for another visit or so and if you feel more strongly about going then do so otherwise just look into the current things that you dislike and try to change those things.
I couldn’t really make the leap myself. This country wasted 2 years of my life with the pandemic, so I’d rather not take the risk myself after dealing with that. Your personal outlook/field/industry may be different, but I ended up asking a good number of contacts I had in Japan about foreigners and long term work and the general consensus is that the majority of people return to their home countries. Either its that the pay is low for the industry (compared to at home), difficulties finding suitable work, or cultural reasons. Best of luck to you with whatever decision you make. Personally, I wouldn’t do it, especially if you have a comfortable life now.
More or less sounds like my story. I hate to think of what my life would be if I didn’t move to Japan and instead stayed near my hometown. Sure I’d have a bit more money (probably) but when I visit home now I just think… nope not for me. A nice big house in my home town, for what? But then, I have a decent career in Japan that I can continue doing anywhere. I would probably be headed for a lot of regret if not for that. But as it turned out, I feel like I got a second life in Japan. I made so many memories and experienced so so much. And of course people tried to talk me out of it because logically it didn’t make a lot of sense, but I’m glad I listened to my gut. It doesn’t work out for everyone, of course, but I wanted to share my story anyway.
Well, I’ve been here in Japan too long and would like to return to the US. Can we switch? Seriously, you don’t mention work or otherwise supporting yourself. The bureaucracy here is much more complicated so if you’re not up for that you will be discouraged. There is no such thing as an “early life crisis”. It’s a lifetime thing. Just go with the flow. Get a girlfriend here and learn the finer touches of very interesting culture. Give it a shot and good luck.
Just do it you won’t regret it. I did. You will grown a lot as a person by putting yourself in a unfamiliar environment. I took the big chance with my life savings and went on tourist visa and luckily found a job for work visa but going to school will be way better. Once you can get N2 you can get a variety of good jobs no exp necessary. If you have exp in your field all the better. Just be aware there is a lot of vice out there so you need self control. Also, learn as much Japanese as you can BEFORE you go and live in a share house at first to make friends. Oakhouse is the best one by far it’s actually luxurious with big rooms and gyms etc. they have them all over Japan. The rest are garbage lol
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Since you are a software engineer with experience, you don’t strictly need Japanese to land a job. You can learn Japanese on the side while working here.
If I were you, I’d first try and apply for some jobs and see if you get it, and study Japanese on your own. If you find it too hard to find a job, you can start planning to go the Japanese school route.