The thought of moving to Japan has been on my mind for the past year, and slowly thinking of it becoming a reality. I was curious if it would be a good idea, just wanting some 3rd person views.
For some background on myself:
I'm currently 20, I am a third year CNC machinist, expected to graduate this December 2024. Living in Vancouver, Canada. Living at home with parents.
I am dual citizen(?), (Japan and Canada) so I don't think permanently moving there would be much of an issue, I have gone to the Japanese embassy to claim that I choose to be a Japanese citizen.
I have saved up around 2 years worth of money for living expenses (~$65k CAD), my grandmother lives in Japan so I would be able to live there for a little bit with little to no living expenses. My Japanese is not great, but it would get me by, I plan to use my money to enrol myself into Japanese school.
Why do I want to move to Japan?
I want a better life for myself, I do not see myself living here in the foreseeable future, rent is expensive, food is expensive, more than half you're paycheque would be going to rent, owning a place is far out of reach. Life here is not like what I have envisioned from when I was younger. High stress here and basically want to start fresh.
I do not even plan to be a machinist as a career, if I do move back from Japan, being a machinist can be a fall back plan.
Just want to start fresh, a different lifestyle.
I have a couple ins for possible job opportunities in Japan.
by TaxExpensive1936
13 comments
Hey, similar situation to myself. Wishing you good luck! Where is your grandma located? It could have a major impact on how quickly, or even if, you’d be able to find a job I imagine.
Doesn’t sound like a bad idea to be honest. I’m a Canadian in Vancouver currently thinking the same. You’re much younger though and basically have your entire adult life ahead of you! I’m basically considering Japan for similar reasons (hard to imagine a future here with the cost of living)
Just consider the challenges you might face in Japan and try to prepare for those. The language, getting a career, work life balance, etc. You’ll still need to work to make a life for yourself there, but it may be easier in Japan than it is in Vancouver currently, especially with your citizenship and family connections there already
Fellow Canadian. Do it. Save yourself lol.
Just learn Japanese asap. That will be the source of most issues you face in Japan.
Because you have dual cit you can do a lot. Language ability will be paramount to long term success and going to Japanese school (I assume you mean language school; note that the adjective “Japanese” can be very vague when you’re talking about Japan since it refers to a lot of things) to try and improve that quickly isn’t a bad idea, though it’s somewhat expensive.
I would keep some realistic expectations about how much better, broadly speaking, Japan will be for you though. If you want a white collar job your current educational background and language ability might not be great for it, and if you want to fall back to being a machinist you might be disappointed in the pay even if CoL is lower in Japan.
But as a fresh start, like you say, it can be good. Keep in mind your cultural issues may well be worse than some since being Japanese (are you mixed/haafu or visibly Japanese) but not culturally fluent comes with it’s own baggage, which can be even worse outside of circles that are more highly educated or international.
Also note where you go in Japan can matter a lot, since you don’t specify. Tokyo can be much better for people of international backround in a number of ways, or alternately somewhat worse because you might never get decent immersion and speedrun the language like you optimally should. Many variables, some of which can’t be commented on given what info you give.
I’m your neighbor from the south (California) 🙂
I am also considering Japanese language school. I just need to save up money! Having dual citizenship opens many a door for you. Have you ever visited Japan? If not, you should visit before moving there.
So what do you see as your career? I guess that would be my primary concern, even a bit ahead of language.
Great, and you should definitely do it but a small piece of advice, living expenses in Canada are expensive yes, but remember salary in Japan are much lower and the yen is not worth much now abroad. It’ll be hard coming back to Canada with savings in yen. Nothing impossible though but just be aware of the economic situation in Japan.
Unlike most posters here, you have Japanese citizenship so you are free to do what you want.
Although, one thing you have in common with other posts is this desire to start your life over, both by switching careers and location. Imo, its easier to do one at a time. Though, you are super young so doing both is feasible.
Just my opinion: you might want to think a bit about career first. Things may seem unaffordable in Canada, but there may be more lucrative opportunities as well. After all, you are only 20. Making a career switch later in life is much more difficult. A career switch back home will generally be easier than in Japan, so keep that in mind. Regardless of where you decide to do that, you should probably try and figure out a rough estimate path first in that regard.
I’m a decade older than you, but my experience: I’m Japanese living in US, and my parents moved back to Japan. I could’ve moved back a long time ago as I retained my Japanese citizenship and I’m also fluent in Japanese, but instead I got into a good career here in the US. Consequently, I developed marketable skills quicker (without being set back by an adjustment phase) and can now move back to Japan mid-career comfortably. Furthermore, despite the significantly higher cost of living, I’ve made enough money in the US (impossible in Japan) and was financially responsible enough that if I wanted to, I wouldn’t need to work in Japan.
However, that doesn’t mean that if I moved back to Japan earlier, it would’ve been the wrong choice. I may have had a better quality of life, but when I was your age, that wasn’t exactly my priority. I thought my career and earnings was more important. I’m only considering moving back now because those things are less of a priority now, and I also am worried about my parents as they get older (for you, your parents will be in Canada I assume).
So to me, this is a question of your values; is it career, quality of life, or something else. Your post is subjective; what you value is what dictates what you should do at a personal level, so think about that.
Do you speak Japanese? I assume so else I would learn it asap
I’m not exactly in a similar situation, but I’m 30, have been to Japan Multiple times on extensive trips to get a lay of the land And obviously just visit the country that has been my dream visit since I was a lad, 7+ years experience as a civil engineer and have no family or no connections in the country and I’m moving there in January.
I see so many back-and-forth comments on xenophobia or there’s no xenophobia… Move here or don’t move here and it honestly seems like you’ll get a 50-50 split no matter who you ask or where you ask it. I say, if you have the financial ability to, You know somebody or have some form of family there and have ways of making it absolutely go for it. Shoot, I’m going there and it’s gonna be January in a matter of minutes in terms of what time feels like and I don’t even feel fully ready yet. I’m also extremely excited. I’m isolated kind of type so a lot of people warn that for others, especially if you don’t know the language extensively but when I was there for four months on one of my trips completely solo, it was probably the best four months of my life that I’ve ever had and every trip I’ve only ever felt more connected to Japan than anywhere else in the world 🍻🎌
Hey I’m in almost exactly the same situation! I’m half Japanese half Canadian too and have dual citizenship and am the same age considering and considering relocating. Here’s what I would say: focus on learning more japanese. I’ve lived there for 8 years total, and my japanese is still not there yet. Even if you think you know some, from what I understand your level is probably not where it needs to be. Even though we are japanese, especially if your language is lower, you will likely still perceived as different due to being half and this can lead to issues with people not wanting to lend houses to “foreigners”. Anyway, dm me if you want to talk I’m interested to talk to someone that’s almost in the exact same boat as me!
$65k at 20 years old is crazy, well done getting there.
I think it’s a good idea to move here. You have decent savings and a bit of a plan. It’s likely you will make less money over the course of your life in Japan compared to Canada, but if you don’t care too much about that you should definitely give it a try. You’re young and have lots of time to work things out for yourself.