Relocating

[DocMcStuffins]

We all know the United States is falling apart. Wondering what people think of someone moving to Tokyo.

Factors:

My wife is Japanese
My son is half-white, half-japanese and bilingual
I work in IT
I am middle -aged
My japanese is decent - probably equal to a 7-8 year old lol
I lived in tokyo for 2 years in the distant past
I currently live in a big city with lots of crime compared to Japan

P4p would be a big improvement, assuming I could afford it.

What do you guys think. maybe I should be at other locations?

 

[meiji]

I currently live in a big city with lots of crime compared to Japan

That's not saying anything at all. I read an article once that looked at the violent crime rate between the 'safest' area of a US city (Plano, TX, part of Dallas) and the most 'dangerous' area of a Japanese city (somewhere in Osaka), and Japan was still safer.

Several things that you may or may not be aware of:

Job-wise:
- You have half a leg up if you have (or acquire) a spouse visa. Do this before going to Japan if possible. Eventually you can get an Engineer visa "just in case" if you qualify.
- Your ability to find a job really depends on your existing expertise. "IT" is pretty wide-ranging.
- Not having at least business-level Japanese probably excludes you from a minimum of 50% of IT jobs, and if you are outside to Tokyo and maybe Osaka probably more like 90%.
- I always say that speaking English isn't valuable in Japan unless you also speak native or at least fluent Japanese, but that's particularly true in the IT field, where you are competing against everyone else in the English-speaking world for expat jobs that don't require English. Not badmouthing or anything, but it's just a fact of life these days that Indians and others will do the same job for a whole lot less money.
- Unless you are the cream of the crop and/or can land a gig with a foreign company, IT job pay is pretty horrible compared to competitive pay in US cities.
- IT gigs aren't exempt from the overtime lifestyle in Japan.
- Again, depending on your skills and job connections, there's always the chance that you can't find a job and end up teaching English.

Life-wise:
- Hopefully your wife is from one of the bigger cities, because if she grew up on the farm in Sapporo and you suggest moving back to Japan, she's not likely going to have Tokyo in mind.
- I've heard multiple stories of Japanese wives' behaviors changing dramatically when she's back in the family home. Living with/near the in-laws gets weird in any culture.
- Depending on the age of your son, he'll either pick up Japanese super-fast (up till maybe 4-5 years old) or may have some issues, be isolated, etc.
- Kids that speak one language with their friends tend to only want to speak that with their parents, especially if they know their parents understand them.
- Being half-Japanese shouldn't be a big deal in the bigger cities, but if he's going to the school near the farm he might be dealing with some bullying.

 

[TAG Manager]

And people thought I was crazy when I upped and moved to Japan those many years ago. Ha...

Echoing @meiji - Depending on what level you're at in IT, it will directly impact what you can make here. The pay in IT in general here is just so freaking low... (I came from an IT background but dropped it like a rock when I arrived in Japan, switched my career to my backup choice.)

I've already had a few requests from people via SNS, asking to rent my guest room... lol.

 

[DocMcStuffins]

Thanks guys. I've always known I should try to get out of IT but I haven't figured out a path forward.

 

[Roboyaru]

I've been looking into getting a job that emphasizes Japanese, as I speak near business level. Unfortunately, I routinely face the same problem: "Well, why should we hire you? We can just as easily hire a Japanese person with _____ skills!" Just knowing Japanese is not enough, and what you do know is constantly overshadowed by the fact that many Japanese people come here for work already. Just a quick warning of what you may face, getting that job

 

[TAG Manager]

I've been looking into getting a job that emphasizes Japanese, as I speak near business level. Unfortunately, I routinely face the same problem: "Well, why should we hire you? We can just as easily hire a Japanese person with _____ skills!" Just knowing Japanese is not enough, and what you do know is constantly overshadowed by the fact that many Japanese people come here for work already. Just a quick warning of what you may face, getting that job

Truth.

You'll need to market yourself with some skills or experience that regular Japanese speakers may not have. Working for a regular Japanese company, you'll need something more than Japanese to be selected over a native, in most cases. We interviewed a non-Japanese Asian for a position and he appeared to have the skills and language ability ... BUT ... he was late to the interview, didn't apologize for being late and wasn't dressed in a way that I would consider appropriate for an interview. His personality and demeanor killed it for this guy, at least at that stage of the process. Don't make those silly mistakes...

Otherwise, find a niche market that you have expertise in and put yourself out there. One that requires bi or trilingual skills is a good target... (yeah, I know, for some, the initial job and visa sponsorship is the issue...)

Switching gears...

I saw more and more trash about how people want to pack their bags and move overseas (from the U.S.) and it's so funny that these people really don't understand that the grass REALLY isn't greener on the other side. One chick that's close to me is convinced Korea is her saving grace... RIGHT. She speaks zero Korean and I don't think she has any formal secondary education. Others think the EU is the answer and some are fine with Canada.... bottom line, 0.5% of them (if that) would actually move.

 

[RightOn6975]

Well I can tell you right now that I have a friend who works as a contractor IT for a US based company which does work for many places out here and his pay is about 130k if not more a year. If you can find a government employee position out here or contractor position you will make bank. That is if you don't mind living on or near military bases out here in Japan. I also know that he moonlights as a PC repair guy and gets parts for cheap as hell over here, what I found that was amazing from what he told me was that many Japanese do not know to much about computer repair and will often spend 800-1000 USD on IT support, he will often help his friends out for 50-100 USD plus parts. https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/?key...gy+&Location=Japan&AutoCompleteSelected=false hope that works.

 

[DocMcStuffins]

Thanks. Not sure if I fit, but my wife is from Okinawa so she might be enthused.

Of course, Trump might start closing bases....

 

[meiji]

If you can find a government employee position out here or contractor position you will make bank. That is if you don't mind living on or near military bases out here in Japan.

You almost always have to have a secret if not top secret security clearance to do IT for the gov't/military overseas, and since that usually takes both time and money, most contracting companies aren't going to pay for your clearance unless you have something that they desperately need. There's always former military guys that have both the experience and the clearance they can hire.

I also know that he moonlights as a PC repair guy

He's fine doing that with a Japanese visa, but people working for the USG/military don't get Japanese visas, so moonlighting and getting caught would be really bad times.