Would you recommend teaching in rural areas over urban ones?

14 comments

1. In rural areas you’ll save more money while the cost of living is lower. I worked at a private school in Gunma and it only took me 10 minutes to walk to my school. Work-life balance was good. It was peaceful but it was boring as hell. There wasn’t much to do. I left after one year.

2. Just as a warning, you’ll find plenty of kids in Japan (in particular at the JHS level and up, ES is generally mostly fine) who don’t warn to learn English. But to answer your other questions:

   If you’re a dispatch ALT, your work/life balance should be pretty good regardless of where you live. That said, living in the countryside is usually cheaper, so your income will do a lot more for you than if you lived in the city. Depending on where you live and what you enjoy, there might also be less for you to do though.

   As for car ownership, many positions in rural areas practically demand that you own a car because the commute is almost impossible otherwise – remember, many/most ALTs in the countryside work at many different schools, and they can be spread out far and wide. Even if it isn’t required for work/the commute, having a car is generally preferable (or practically required) for daily tasks such as going shopping for groceries. There might be public transport, but it’s often pretty lacking – don’t be surprised if you have to wait for two hours if you miss the bus (or if the last bus departs at 6 PM).

   That said, there are positions where you don’t need to drive a car (I’ve got one of those), so it is possible. It can be mighty inconvenient though. On the other hand, I save a lot of money not owning a car, so it certainly has its advantages, too.

   As for bringing pets into Japan, it’s an incredibly difficult process, and most people advise strongly against bringing pets to Japan, especially if you’ll only be here for a year. I also believe you have to start preparations more than half a year before travelling to Japan (because of vaccinations and other stuff). I don’t know the specifics, though.

   Consider looking at [this official guide by the MAFF on the matter.](https://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/animal/dog/attach/pdf/import-other-42.pdf)

3. Depends how rural. As an example, I used to live in Shiga. Pretty much the whole prefecture is considered “rural”, but there are vastly different levels. Otsu is practically just part of Kyoto, Hino and Koka feel like the middle of nowhere, the entire west side of the lake is like a different prefecture because it’s on a different train line, there’s even a town on an island in the lake you need a ferry to get to.

   Personally I think a larger city in a more “rural” area is the ideal balance, but if you’re only here a year then an urban position isn’t a bad idea either. The crowds can get tiring but you’ll probably be gone before the shine wears off anyway.

4. I used to live in Niigata. I prefer the outdoors to nightlife, so it suited me. Some people will tell you everything outside Tokyo is inaka, but it really depends on the place.

5. I started in a small city and moved to a medium/large city. In my small city it seemed like most of the kids felt like they weren’t ever going to leave so learning English was a waste of time. Whatever problems you have with teaching illiterate kids who don’t want to learn are probably going to be worse here.

   I was able to get around on a bike fairly well. I could at least get groceries, a few restaurants, and “downtown.” And I was lucky enough to live next to a train station. Of course you can only carry so much on a bike, and it’s slower than a car so going some places was an all day event.

   There were very few foreigners in this city and few Japanese felt comfortable speaking English. My Japanese was atrocious so my options for friends/conversation/social interactions were very limited. It was a quiet life, and calm, bit very lonely.

   All this was still technically a city. I can only imagine these things would be even worse in a truly rural area. But living in the bigger city I had access to more trains and subways which gave me more options to commute, and a much greater social scene. Made friends from all over the world, drank too much, went to lots of festivals.

   That being said the small city did have it’s charms, very peaceful, beautiful scenery, and despite difficulties in communication the people were friendly and kind.

   I didn’t do ALT so I could well be wrong but I don’t think the work/life balance is going to be better in the rural areas.

6. I live in a small town where even the closest McDonald’s (they’re everywhere) is 25 minutes away.

   I preferred a much bigger town over this but now a big city

7. It really depends on you, your attitude, and what you’re looking for. I’m from a “wide spot in the road” style town, and have taught/lived in both the rural and urban locations.

   Some “city” folk loose their goddamn minds in a rural placement and break contract to get away. Some find it the breath of fresh they’ve been looking for.

   Some “rural” folk breakdown and get overwhelmed in the city, and break contract to get away. Some find it the start of a new style of living.

   The schools are likewise varied in style and quality, depending on what age group you’re teaching. The *truly* rural schools could have a class of five students of mixed grades, one-room school house style. Equally likely is getting on a bus with some of your students every morning to head to a school half an hour away with incredibly high academic standards. It’s impossible to predict.

   The question is: would you be OK with the potential for these small classes? And also: are you OK with urban placements being more difficult to get?

8. Hi.

   >My question is would it be easier (ie better work/life balance) to live in a rural area, and would I be able to do this without having to drive?

   If you can’t drive, rural placements are very limited.

   >Also, did anyone bring any pets with them to Japan? I have a small cat that I would hate to leave behind for a year.

   I have no first-hand experience, so I can’t say a lot. I do know that it’s a massive pain in the ass and tremendous stress to the animal. More critically, no ALT company will help find you a pet-friendly apartment. Given that it’s only a year, the cat is better off staying at home.

   But the most critical part is this:

   > I don’t particularly enjoy teaching, but I especially don’t enjoy teaching kids who are illiterate and don’t want to learn.

   I advise staying home. I suspect you won’t have a good time.

9. I used to live in Tokyo as a student and then moved to small town, central Japan as an ALT. Honestly, I was hesitant at first, but I liked living in a small town. However, it wasn’t the true inaka. Anyplace without a train that comes at least every 30 minutes is not where I’d want to live.

   But it also is great for making friends, imo. We lived in a small town, so all us ALTs knew each other pretty quickly and found ways to stay entertained. I think living in the city sometimes, people get a little lost in the nightlife.

   Also, regarding pets: finding an apartment in Japan as a foreigner is *tough.* If you get hired through a dispatch company, they’ll already have housing for you and there’s an incredibly slim chance they’ll allow animals at all. I don’t think it’s possible to go apartment hunting if you’re not a resident/on a tourist visa (and you can’t apply for jobs on a tourist visa either), so finding a place for your pet before you get there isn’t likely to happen. You can request things through your dispatch company, but they’re unlikely to actually adhere to them, and then if you’re only planning on staying a year, there’s no reason to get a new apartment. And again, because it’s so hard to do as a foreigner, you’d probably be spending a lot of time trying to find one that will actually let you live there. I had to leave my pet behind and that was the only part I regretted.

10. If you don’t enjoy teaching, don’t do it. The kids deserve better than that.

11. “I don’t particularly enjoy teaching”

    Then don’t.

    “this would be like a gap year for me”

    Then definitely don’t.

12. >And I think I’m okay with that because this would be like a gap year for me while I try and figure out what to do with my life.

    Please don’t come to Japan without a plan for what you want to do with your life. It will only end poorly. Taking a gap year to go teach in Japan is fine but have something of a plan in mind before you go.

13. Have you checked out the JET Program? It’s the best opportunity for a gap year with a decent salary and will happily take qualified and unqualified first-timers in Japan. See the r/JETProgramme subreddit.

    JET participants in my cohort brought cats to Japan. Try some of the FB groups and that JET subreddit for advice and check out that link for MAFF that u/marinatedcheese mentions.

    People are telling you don’t come if you don’t want to teach unmotivated kids. I second that. On the other hand, if you’re a burned-out teacher, sometimes a drastic change of pace can revive you or at least give you a chance to figure out whether you should leave the field.

14. Yes, in the beginning live in the countryside! One of my biggest mistakes in life was holding out for a job in a city in Japan. I got my job, but I naturally fell into an English speaking crowd and never advanced my Japanese skills. People I met who started out in the countryside improved their Japanese considerably.