ʇɥbıɹןɐ sʇı

Individuality is the only thing that we have.

Ignorance breeds fear.

Fear breeds conflict and bigotry.

Well yeah, duh. :P

Spiders you can put saddles on and ride.

Yeah, wise to act like a guest and not like it's your house. People then will be very friendly to you. But if you are somewhere the culture is too different from yours, then there will be a problem. Problem is, you won't know who how to properly act like a guest. In such a situation, I recommend just copying the natives.

LOL - I would say exactly the opposite, If you're looking for a culture similar to your own, you might as well stay at home.

I moved from the US to Thailand and you don't get two more drastically different cultures. Best thing I ever did. 10 years later -- still here.

All I've heard about Australia is that you're bound to be popular with the ladies if you have an exotic accent but speak fluent English. At least that's what a few Australian engineers told me when I met them on a train. Lovable people.

I've only been through Japan on my way somewhere else but I know at least 100 people that have spent a lot of time there and, other than one, every one of them wants to LIVE there. And that includes Thais, who usually don't want to live anywhere but Thailand :)

I know so many Americans who have lived in Japan and the vast majority who aren't still living there would move back in a heartbeat. They all say lovely people, amazing food, gorgeous country, incredibly incredibly safe and so much more technically advanced than the US.

If I ever move out of Thailand at this point Japan and Spain are just about the only two countries I would consider. Hope that helps :)
Oh good GOD, please don't quote Kotaku as a viable source of information for anything. That site really is crap :)

As far as having to behave a certain way in Japan, that's only if you're Japanese. They don't expect that from non-Japanese as I've been told over and over again by my Japanese friends who currently live here in Thailand.

Thanks for the responses guys.

Australia sounds nice, but the cost of living bit is annoying. Although I know that cost of living is pretty high in Japan as well.

Japan I'm thinking of aiming for, maybe take a few Japanese classes for a year and see if I can handle it. I've heard plenty of great things about living there, and any of the bad things that people have listed from some of these articles seem like they come from homesick sourpusses who can't adapt to change.

Going out of my comfort zone is fun to me, so I think I can pull it off. I've traveled to foreign countries a few times, and I loved every minute of it, which doesn't mean that I have any idea what's in store for moving abroad, but I do have an idea what it's like to be somewhere else. I have Europe down at least.

I'm gonna visit Japan next summer and see how I like it.

site is irrelevant. read the article.
thats both true and not.


it is indeed a big issue that you are foreigner in japan. always. Koreans born in Japan are treated differently than "true" japanese people
so while you are not expected to play the role of japanese person you ARE expected to play the role of foreigner who lives in their country.
so yeah you gotta behave in certain way to get along with people and in the country.

Well that could mean a lot of different things. It could mean you a very unique person because that is not the case for most people. "Very unique" meaning very good at adapting to different cultures and environments. Most people suck at it based on what I've read for years and years at expat forums. OR maybe that was just a very vocal minority? Well based on almost every human being I've encountered, I think most people suck at adapting. And I know from my own personal experience, I suck at adapting to different cultures and environments too. It could mean you mostly hang out with Americans, Canadians, Austrailians and British there in Thailand? It could also mean you hate American culture so of course, any change is something positive. You could also be some kind of adventurous type of person who loves lots of challenge and that is why we disagree.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with why you think many expats don't adapt, if you're basing it on what you read in expat forums. Yes, most of those that don't adapt tend to be the whiners on the forums and, yes, they spend most of their time there and not out enjoying the culture they live in. Happens in every country.

The expats I do know in Thailand, all of whom love the country and their way of life, don't spend any time in expat forums. They're too busy enjoying their life in Thailand.

And yes, you're basing your idea of 'people sucking at adapting' on the fact that you do. There's nothing wrong with that, but that's certainly not the case for most.

And no, I don't hang out with other expats.I know hundreds through my years of working in Thailand but almost all my friends, other than a handful (one American, one Canadian and a couple of Japanese), are Thai. Then again, I began to learn Thai even before I moved to Thailand so speaking it fluently definitely helped make Thai friends.

I would also recommend that to anyone moving to a different country where the language is not their native language. Learn the language, or no you will never adapt and you will also find it difficult to make friends.

I will also say after more than 30 years living overseas I've found Americans the least likely to adapt to a different culture. Even here in Thailand, the ones who are most vocal about their dislike of the country and the Thai people are often American, and it's usually wrapped up in that idea that "America is better than anywhere else". It's not. But that's what they believe, and that attitude makes it almost impossible to adapt anywhere. The Americans that don't have that attitude fit in very well.

On the other hand, Australians seem to adapt the best as do many Europeans. So many Europeans travel to other countries so much it's second nature to adapt for many of them And as for Australians, they're much more easy-go-lucky and take things as they come. The British tend to adapt quite well (probably from hundreds of years of colonizing :) but are also the biggest whiners.

There's a joke here in Thailand that's actually spot on about many expats -

Americans come to Thailand, piss and moan about America being better and go home after six months. The Brits come to Thailand, piss and moan continually but never leave. The Australians come to Thailand and something goes wrong. Their response? "Fuck it. Grab another beer".

Finally, I will also say I'm somewhat of a rarity in Thailand. Most western women don't stay here for long, so to say I've lived here a decade is surprising to most other expats I meet. Women don't stay because the western men here are mainly here for the Thai girls and the Thai guys aren't particularly aggressive, so it can be difficult to have relationships.

It's mainly expat men who stay in Thailand, and that's usually because they end up with a Thai wife or girlfriend. I do have a Thai boyfriend, but that's incidental -- I met him before I came to Thailand but didn't come here because of him, I came because of a job. In fact, we break up so much he might as well not be here :)

I think that's a great decision. Besides, look at it this way. Do it for a year. If you don't like it, it's only a year and you'll end up with a year of interesting experiences :) Asia too is an amazing place to live as it's so easy and so cheap to travel to other Asian countries, so you get to see a lot.

In my experience too, those who have traveled a lot and particularly those who have lived overseas are usually far more interesting people than those that never do. Of course that's not always the case. I once met a British guy who'd lived in 18 countries and he was the dullest person I've ever met :)

As a personal choice i'd rather live in Japan than Australia.If for several things - anime, exotic culture & history. Australia really has none of those (and i was born here lol). And yes the cost of living... cant remember the last survey but Australia was like in top 10 most expensive countries to live in... Japan not far behind and both Sydney and Tokyo were in like the top 15 expensive cities?.

Do you already speak Japanese at an intermediate level? I don't mean to be pessimistic, but becoming fluent in business level Japanese after a year would be very difficult for anyone who isn't already at an intermediate level.

I would consider going back to Japan if an opportunity presented itself as I really enjoyed my time there. But its not all great. Here are some thoughts from living in Tokyo for 2 years:

-Japanese cities are incredibly convenient. Thirsty? You will pass a vending machine every few minutes. Convenience stores, some fast food, etc. open 24 hours. Many stores are in walking distance.

-You can get anywhere via train/subway, no need for a car. However fares are not cheap, but most companies will pay for transportation to/from work. Except for the novelty of the first time, riding in a packed train is NOT fun. Riding a packed train on a daily basis is not an enjoyable experience. There were quite a few times I wished I had a car. And Japanese tend to lose all politeness upon entering a train station. You will need to get use to a lot of pushing and shoving. If you are female you will most likely get groped at some point. EDIT: Packed trains are during rush hour, they aren't packed like that all day long. There were plenty of times I was able to sit down during off-peak hours.

-The food is great and Japanese food is cheap. Its the "foreign" food that is expensive.

-It may be one of the best places to be if you enjoy drinking. Beer is sold everywhere, there are no open bottle laws. You can walk down the street drinking a can of beer if you want. Its great being able to go to the park with friends on a nice day and have some food and drink (I miss hanami!). In the U.S. you get a big fine for doing that if caught (which is ridiculous). FYI, the drinking age is 20.

-You will sometimes be stared at on the train and expect to hear "gaijin" several times. Though rarely to your face. I didn't care about the latter but the staring could get annoying.

-Equal Opportunity Housing doesn't exist. Some landlords will refuse to rent to foreigners.

-if you are of Asian descent, expect more discrimination. An example-my real estate agent was married to a Russian woman, so obviously open to other cultures, yet he complained about too many asian foreigners around the area where his office was.

-At least in Tokyo, Japanese is not required. This is a positive and a negative. If your Japanese isn't very good, you will not be helpless. But its not helpful if you are trying to improve your Japanese. It would be better to live in a rural area where you are forced to speak and read Japanese. Or don't be lazy like me and force yourself no matter what. :)

-You know how "crazy game show" has become synonymous with Japan? Well, I never saw any on the over-the-air channels. Perhaps they are on cable. The majority of primetime Japanese TV consists of what I can only describe as variety shows. This isn't always a bad thing, some shows I really enjoyed. And I couldn't get enough "ranking" shows (either can Japan, since there are plenty of these shows).

I tried to think more of the negative since that is what you aren't aware of until you start living in a place. Regardless, I wanted to stay in Japan after graduating if I could get a job that wasn't teaching English, but my Japanese ability was not at a business level so I had to return. I'm just not teacher material.