Job Discussion Forums

kiracle · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 65 Location: Gifu, Japan

I'm not sure how much choice I will have in the matter but in case I do I would like to be a bit better informed about where I should best go in Japan. I am looking for a medium-ish city with at least a small international community and theater, art etc. I don't want to live in Tokyo or Osaka since I will be returning eventually to New York City and although I am definatley a city person, I could use a break from HUGE metropoles. However, I am very interested in theater and museums and my husband, who will come on a dependants visa, will need to have opportunities for part-time work ( he's fluent in English and TEFL cert but not native, I am native, certified and have two years expereince- I hope to be able to get a job and visa beforehand)

Lastly, I am really not a winter person. I have struggled through quite a few bad ones but would really like to be somewhere where the winters are mild for a little while.

If anybody has any suggestions, I would really appreciate it. A Japanese friend recommeded Fukuoka but that's pretty much the only first hand advice I've gotton. Also, I have an interview with Aeon coming up. Anybody know their policy on requesting locations or bringing spouses along?

THANKS!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

kiracle,

According to AEON's web site (www.aeonet.com), you can ask to be placed in any of their cities, but there is no guarantee that you will get it. You will be told the intended location before you sign the contract, it says. I'd ask about the question concerning your husband, but I'd tend to think they wouldn't mind him coming. You'd both better know just how small those apartments are, too! Just a hint that they are tiny.

BTW, I am guessing that your city got censored because it was F u k u o k a. Some words like that have to be spelled with spaces between the letters to escape the censors thinking you wrote F**k.

Paul G · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 125 Location: China & USA

David W · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 457 Location: Japan

Yeah I would suggest beepuoka or Hiroshima of the cities I know fairly well. Beepuoka was voted the best city in Asia by Asiaweek magazine in 1999 and 2000. Certainly my favourite city in Japan.

homersimpson · Joined: 14 Feb 2003 Posts: 569 Location: Kagoshima

You might want to consider Nagasaki, although it may be too small to suit your tastes. F*kuoka and Kobe are also nice choices. Kyushu certainly has the mildest winters (excluding Okinawa), but you'll probably feel colder regardless, considering the lack of insulation in Japanese apartments.

Celeste · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:18 am Post subject:

I too hate the cold, and I am living in F u k u o k a now, and it is not too bad. I do wear a lot of warm clothes to school, though because the schools are not heated here, and I have a high electric bill because I use my heaters a lot in winter. (It is true, the buildings in Kyushu have no insulation and no central heat, so you end up getting rather creative about staying warm. We have put bubble wrap over a lot of our windows, and we have hung a blanket over the front door of our apartment, as well as having put in some foam weather stripping on all of our sliding doors.)