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Not the parent but same situation. Been here 11 years. A lot of people can get around without speaking Japanese, but I don’t recommend it. You’ll get a much mo
by bojo 8y ago
Not the parent but same situation. Been here 11 years.
A lot of people can get around without speaking Japanese, but I don’t recommend it. You’ll get a much more meaningful and deeper experience out of living here if you can converse with everyone. Randomly stopping and bullshitting with a bored old guy for an hour can be quite fun!
Sadly the developer pay here is pretty dismal, even more so if you come with US expectations. I’ve mentioned this before when it comes up, but the IT sector has organically migrated to a 10am-7pm schedule, so if you factor in commuting and the inevitable overtime then the only time you get to yourself are weekends. Taking multiple days off is frowned upon, although as a foreigner you get a little leniency because you are probably spending two days flying when you visit family.
That all said, it is an extremely convenient country to live in. Great public transportation, great food, friendly people, low crime rates, social health insurance, etc. I really love the living aspect of Japan.
I have a wife and child, and while I could imagine myself living here indefinitely, career wise it’s a dead end - they have trouble fitting you into their social structure. If you are perfectly happy with being a cog in the wheel (or carry your team on your back), and mostly work to live, then it probably isn’t that bad of a choice. I’d definitely encourage anyone closer to 20 than 40 to give it a shot, living abroad is an amazing experience.
That said, I’ll finally be heading back to the US in a couple months once visas clear. The 40-60 age gap is right in front of me, and retirement is taking a stronger grasp on the mind. Much easier to consider options in a higher paying English speaking developer job.
- mikekchar 8y agoJust want to say that I can totally understand this as well. If you can't get a normal salaryman job, it can really be hand to mouth. I haven't even tried to get an IT job here and I'm pretty worried if I end up without a remote contract after my current gig is up. Also, super +1 on the bored old guy thing :-) Best part of my day (although I'm rapidly becoming the bored old guy...)
- bojo 8y agoI worked at mobile game companies. Lots of different opportunities ranging from backend infra/dev to game client programming. Sadly it’s a risky business, two of the three places I worked went out of business because they focused on expanding and not getting solid products in place. If you have any level of experience I'm sure a company would interview you and take you in, especially if you speak the language.
- mirsadm 8y agoThere are other places in the world that offer good public transportation, food, friendly people, etc. Unless you are attracted to Japanese culture in particular it would be so much easier to move somewhere else to experience living abroad.
- magduf 8y agoThe only other such places seem to be in Western Europe, and perhaps a few other Asian places like Hong Kong. America isn't on the list; public transit is terrible, food is expensive, and health insurance is ridiculous. It's a bad place to raise children and a bad place to retire unless you want to move to a backwards southern state. For me, I'm thinking pretty seriously about exploring options in living abroad, and Japan and Western Europe easily top the list, but the cost of living in Japan seems like it's quite a bit lower as long as you don't expect an American lifestyle. The lack of crime in Japan should make it quite possible to live in low-cost places, whereas in America and to some extent Europe living in low-cost places exposes you to much more crime.
- codesuki 8y agoIn case you stay in Japan contact me. Where I work it's no problem to take several weeks off. Otherwise we have a good work climate, too.
- bojo 8y agoI appreciate the offer, but I would be surprised if a Japanese company would be willing to come even remotely close to my current compensation.
- codesuki 8y agoThat is a valid concern! But trying (if needed) can't hurt. Anyways good luck with everything! :)
- instakill 8y agoPlease ping me via email (contact in my profile). Might wanna hit you up about this :)
- propman 8y agoThanks for the reply! I like how everyone’s experiences in this thread have many similarities. Speaking Japanese is important, life there is great but developer pay is poor. There is some good advice on finding higher paying jobs here that might make you change your mind, but I agree with what you’re saying. I think this is definitely a possible move in the future for me.