Job Discussion Forums

[prlester]

I have a bit of a dilmena. I've been offered two jobs to start this August that seem equally hard to choose from but for different reasons.
One job in Morioka has JET pay and hours and stability, the other one is Interac but the pay and stability are worse. However it would not be too far from a big city.
Because my Japanese is poor, I can only communicate with English speakers and need some English infrastructure, hangout joints, foreigners, a critical mass of Japanese with English ability etc.
Does anyone know about Sendai, Morioka and if so, how bad or good is it.
Is there enough dance, drinking venues or things to do beyond camping where I could mingle with English speakers? Do people use the Shinkansen a lot between the two cities, or is it too expensive (Y 6,000) to visit friends/girl friends in Sendai from Morioka.
I'm not really interested in an inaka experience, given I have only a limited time in Japan and studyding the language beyond a hobby level isn't worthwhile given the former limitation. From what I remember about Japan, it can be pretty lonely without an English circle, both Japanese people and gaijin.

[canuck]

Take the job in Morioka and leave your blue blanket at home with your mom. Learn to make friend and look outside the box the box a little.

[AndyH]

Like Canuck wrote, take the job in Morioka. My first job in Japan was spent in a small city in Hokkaido, and I don't regret it one bit.

[angrysoba]

That's no dilemma at all. You want to come to Japan but you want to be in an English-speaking environment? What is the point in that?

Take the JET job. There are plenty of people working for Interac who would jump at the chance.

I agree with Canuck, don't be a baby!

[Gordon]

Take the ALT job. Interac? This is an easy choice IMO.

[Zzonkmiles]

Definitely take the job in Morioka. It's not too far from Sendai, and Sendai itself has about a million people. It's the largest city in Tohoku, I do believe.

Also, if you're worried about not being able to speak Japanese, then living in Morioka will definitely help solve that problem. Turning down better working conditions just because the gaijin/English bubble is not as easily accessible is not a wise decision.

[Synne]

There are sure to be a hand full of English individuals living in Morioka.

I know of at least four.

Your concern should be on whether your location is actually IN Morioka City...or outside in one of its near, near by smaller communities...JET enjoys doing this to some ppl.

As an ALT though I'd wonder.

Anyways your decision is easy as you can see from most replies.

[ripslyme]

voted: Morioka.

[luckyloser700]

I lived about an hour's drive south of Sendai for a year. I spent a lot of time in Sendai and can tell you it's a really nice small-big city. It has some nightlife, great shopping, and great restaurants. Lots of great stuff in the Tohoku region.
If you can, get an international driver's permit before you come. You can drive on it for a year here. If you're going to be making close to what a JET makes, you can afford to buy a 100000-Yen car and pay 7000 a month for insurance. Believe me, unless you live in downtown Sendai, you're going to want a car.
Round trip on the Shinkansen from Sendai to Tokyo will run you about 20000 Yen, so you can get down there about once every couple of months without spending too much money.
Morioka won't suck and if you end up really wanting to live in Tokyo after you've been in Morioka for awhile, it's not too difficult to find an eikaiwa job in Tokyo. I'm sure you could hook yourself up with one inside of your first 6 months here.

[prlester]

I don't think you guys understand. because of professional school commitments, I have maybe one year in Japan. I need to get myself up and running immediately to get any mileage. taking time to learn some vocab isnt going to yield anything.
I've spent a year on JET in kobe, enough to know how reliant 90% of the forum is on english. Becaues of the commitement problem, a job in tokyo next year isn't an option.
''


Sendai comparable to kobe? How bad is morioka? Is there a bus?

[Like a Rolling Stone]

[canuck]