Hey everyone,
A bit of my background, I’m male(29) I’m planning to move in around Oct. to do language school for a 1.5 years, i already paid for entrance fee around 3man and that is all i paid for atm. by the way this is my last chance if i want to go to japan to do language school. My japanese skills is around N3 but far from N2.
My story is 5 years ago i have this urge to go to japan to live and work there because i already once been to japan in my college days for a short term stay(about 5-6 months) and its all good experience. I’ve been planning to move to japan to do language school first and after that work there. For that reason i’ve been saving up money so i could afford the tuition and living expenses for when the time comes. But, now as i’m getting older, i realize that i dont have the same passion i have 5 years ago. and now since i know the value of money, i’ve been doubting my plan.
There is this few question i’m struggling to find an answer
1. Should i just do it? i can cover my full tuition and living expenses but that will drain up my savings, as i am nearly 30 i don’t want to get swept by ‘university days’ feeling and blow up my savings for nothing.
2. Am i out of chance forever to have a long term stay in japan? i’m afraid of letting go this chance means that i will never have the chance for experiencing this again.
3. Should i just stay in my native country and work here while looking for another chance? I’ve been working for 5 years in graphic design/ui/ux field and only last year i quit my job and freelancing until now.
My gut feeling telling me is that its not worth it to gamble my savings for a language school and just occasionally take vacation to japan but i don’t know what to do.
11 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Should i do the big moving to Japan or just occasionally take a vacation there?**
Hey everyone,
A bit of my background, I’m male(29) I’m planning to move in around Oct. to do language school for a 1.5 years, i already paid for entrance fee around 3man and that is all i paid for atm. by the way this is my last chance if i want to go to japan to do language school. My japanese skills is around N3 but far from N2.
My story is 5 years ago i have this urge to go to japan to live and work there because i already once been to japan in my college days for a short term stay(about 5-6 months) and its all good experience. I’ve been planning to move to japan to do language school first and after that work there. For that reason i’ve been saving up money so i could afford the tuition and living expenses for when the time comes. But, now as i’m getting older, i realize that i dont have the same passion i have 5 years ago. and now since i know the value of money, i’ve been doubting my plan.
There is this few question i’m struggling to find an answer
1. Should i just do it? i can cover my full tuition and living expenses but that will drain up my savings, as i am nearly 30 i don’t want to get swept by ‘university days’ feeling and blow up my savings for nothing.
2. Am i out of chance forever to have a long term stay in japan? i’m afraid of letting go this chance means that i will never have the chance for experiencing this again.
3. Should i just stay in my native country and work here while looking for another chance? I’ve been working for 5 years in graphic design/ui/ux field and only last year i quit my job and freelancing until now.
My gut feeling telling me is that its not worth it to gamble my savings for a language school and just occasionally take vacation to japan but i don’t know what to do.
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If you would be happy just taking vacations, just do that. If you want your daily life to be there for the foreseeable future, move there.
With climate change anything is possible. I’d try get a part time job if you do move. I would look for a long term job while there.
Language schools are good at interview skills. I would not be broke in the USA for example. So it just depends what field you’re already in or what you can work for.
It is not your last chance to move to Japan. I know plenty of people, including myself, who moved to Japan after 30.
Gambling your savings depends on just that, is it a gamble, or is it an investment? If it is a gamble, then save your money. If it is an investment, then maybe not.
By “investment”, I mean, have you done the research to verify that the only thing holing you back from a fruitful life/career in Japan is your Japanese ability? Are your skills otherwise in demand?Does pay meet your expectations? Do you have everything else? Have you researched your job market and salary in that market? Have you researched visa requirements? If life in Japan does not work out for you, does improving Japanese skills have any other positive impacts on your life/career?
You can work while a language school student, so consider doing that.
But why not do it? It sounds like what you want to do, so just go for it.
I saw go for it. My own opinion is that life is about experiences. So why not go out and experience life?
You can do part-time or freelance work in Japan to supplement your money…
You’re also never too old to move.
You’re a 30 year old man, you’re very young.
Two things here:
1. If all your savings are going to tank, I’d say it’s not worth it. Maybe use Japan as a vacation spot and in the future consider shifting
2. No disrespect, but if you have to ask on reddit for an answer then you should not be gambling your savings on it. instead do some introspection and ask yourself if you want to do this. A pen and paper should do the trick. You’ll come up with a better answer than any of us can provide here
I’m also 29 and going to be 30 in a few months, and I’m doing just this…making the big permanent move to Japan in about two months and I don’t really see myself coming back to USA any time soon. I’m married now and we plan on having family in Japan as well. Honestly it’s up to you—you have the financial means to and you feel like it’s your only opportunity…I would go for it! I have never settled into a career in the states because I just don’t like the whole concept of the “rat race” anymore and I don’t fit into the work culture here. I plan on looking at the job market when I get there! Best of luck to you!
Browsing Hello Work database I saw tons of companies having a “below 35 yo” condition so not quite sure about “you’re too young”. I was 36 at that point and got refused a bunch just based off of my age.
I’m 28, in the same industry with roughly the same amount of experience. I’m setting aside 2-3 more years to save and do the big move, all while self studying Japanese. I plan to go to language school for about 1.5 to 2 years before finding full time work. I’ll still probably be doing part-time or freelance while in language school though. Of course if after 3 years my desire to move there has completely waned I’ll drop the idea, but I think we’re both still young and this is the best time to move (especially so if you’ve no strings attached). You’re in a better position than me though, since you have N3.
Creative Tokyo is a great resource if you want to get a feel for the design/UX hiring scene in Japan – good for networking and they post foreigner-friendly job listings.
https://creativetokyo.com/