So I’m 19 years old and was wondering how would u go about moving there
I currently live in Illinois and I’m tired of nothing being around me but cornfields and I’d like to go to college there
So how would I go about moving there? and how much would it cost?
I don’t really have friends or that much of a family so I need a good amount of detail on where to start and how to go
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**So I decided I want to move to japan…**
So I’m 19 years old and was wondering how would u go about moving there
I currently live in Illinois and I’m tired of nothing being around me but cornfields and I’d like to go to college there
So how would I go about moving there? and how much would it cost?
I don’t really have friends or that much of a family so I need a good amount of detail on where to start and how to go
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Did you check the [visa wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/wiki/visas) like I suggested?
It will answer the majority of your questions.
How’s your current Japanese level? Have you visited before?
If it’s 0 or near 0, your first goal should probably be to start to learn. The “good” employment and opportunities will require N2 Japanese level at least.
I think your best bet, having been your age and interested in Japan, is to go to a US university, study Japanese, and try studying abroad. Gives you a chance to learn the language and culture, but with very low stakes (if you decide you don’t like it, you can continue)
There are English degree programs you can do here. Additionally, if you enroll in an American university they will likely have an exchange / study abroad opportunity you can take advantage of. To live here you will probably need some sort of degree. I recommend visiting at least once though before you decide you want to live here in the long term, and studying abroad is good for that.
In general you should have some stability back home before you try moving somewhere else. Moving to Japan doesn’t fix dissatisfaction with one’s life, and a degree should be sought for the sake of a career and not for the sake of getting to Japan.
If you just want to get away from somewhere like Illinois, you can without too much difficulty get into a school in another state, especially if you want to try a big city. This may also be more affordable to you.
Student loans will still be important if you don’t currently have the means to pay for a degree, whether here or there.
May I suggest moving to a bigger city or different state first? I know as an American you have this giant pressure to have all your stuff figured out by 21 or something but moving to another country or even putting the time and effort into it at 19 is a big decision when you could do other decisions that are smaller to figure out if you want to actually do this big decision. Of course, you can do whatever you want. You should at least try and stay in Japan for some months doing a Japanese school or something and ideally some work and try not to use to much of your USD or you won’t truly experience what it’s like to live in Japan.
If you want it to be cheap, I have friends that applied to ritsumeikan apu with very handsome scholarships that don’t require outstanding grades. It’s an English program course and doesn’t require any knowledge of japanese so you don’t have to spend extra bucks on language schools.
Since I lived in Hong Kong prior to moving to tokyo, the difference in our purchasing parity meant that everything was relatively cheap for me, but I don’t really know how that may translate to you. But I can assure you that living expenses won’t be that big of an issue. Especially if you apply for a dorm.