I have an American passport but I’ve been living in Thailand for a few years now. I love almost everything here; the heat, people, food, beaches, islands, mountains, LCOL, etc… I have a nice house and car on the outskirts of Bangkok. I have learned enough of the language to get by in most situations. Thailand, unfortunately, attracts some of the lowest scum on the planet so there are areas that I just avoid altogether. The Thai subreddits can get toxic. I’m well-traveled but Thailand is one of the few countries where I generally don’t talk to other westerners. The traffic is horrendous and police enforcement of just about anything is laughable.
I’m over 50 and have a retirement visa in Thailand. Trips to Japan will be under 90 days each until I make the decision to move or not.
I’ve only been to Japan a few times on long layovers but I’ll finally make it a vacation destination soon. I’ll be staying a couple weeks starting in Osaka and traveling west.
So, has anyone else here made Thailand their home and then made Japan their full time or even part time home? Those that have made the move outside of the major cities would probably relate more with my questions. What are the things that worked out well for you? What are some of the struggles you didn’t anticipate? What advice would you offer someone in my situation? I’m looking for comparisons to life in Thailand more than anything else.
2 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Anyone here move to Thailand for a few years then make the move to Japan?**
I have an American passport but I’ve been living in Thailand for a few years now. I love almost everything here; the heat, people, food, beaches, islands, mountains, LCOL, etc… I have a nice house and car on the outskirts of Bangkok. I have learned enough of the language to get by in most situations. Thailand, unfortunately, attracts some of the lowest scum on the planet so there are areas that I just avoid altogether. The Thai subreddits can get toxic. I’m well-traveled but Thailand is one of the few countries where I generally don’t talk to other westerners. The traffic is horrendous and police enforcement of just about anything is laughable.
I’m over 50 and have a retirement visa in Thailand. Trips to Japan will be under 90 days each until I make the decision to move or not.
I’ve only been to Japan a few times on long layovers but I’ll finally make it a vacation destination soon. I’ll be staying a couple weeks starting in Osaka and traveling west.
So, has anyone else here made Thailand their home and then made Japan their full time or even part time home? Those that have made the move outside of the major cities would probably relate more with my questions. What are the things that worked out well for you? What are some of the struggles you didn’t anticipate? What advice would you offer someone in my situation? I’m looking for comparisons to life in Thailand more than anything else.
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I used to live in Bangkok and live in Japan now. A major hurdle for you is going to be the visa. I don’t think there’s a retirement visa but could be wrong. Language will be another huge hurdle. The posters on the Japan related subs and gaijin Twitter can be pretty terrible too, similar to Thailand although I’d say there’s less sexpats. Apartments in Japan will be smaller and more expensive, you’ll also face discrimination renting. There’s a ton of paperwork and bureaucracy too.
Japan is definitely more organized and has many strict rules in society. Anything else in particular you want to know about?