Job Discussion Forums

[c233]

I am thinking of relocating to Nagoya next year. I am mainly interested in teaching business English and have plenty of experience. Can anyone tell me if there are many jobs in Corporate TEFL in Nagoya?
Also, can anyone tell me what Nagoya is like as a city? I lived in Fukuoka for 2 years, and I thought it was a great place- it had plenty of places to go, friendly people and wasn't too big. I also lived in Kanagawa and found the whole Tokyo-Yokohama urban area a bit too much. I really didn't like travelling for 40-60 minutes to go to work or a night out. How big and busy is Nagoya, and what are the commute times usually like? How do Nagoyans compare to Japanese people from other parts (Tokyo, Osaka or the South)
I know it's a lot of questions but thanks for any comments!

[Apsara]

Surely the question about living standards is subjective- I love living in Tokyo, but other people will tell you Hokkaido is best and they wouldn't even want to come near Tokyo, and for perfectly good reasons.

If you've lived in the greater Tokyo area and didn't like it so much, probably an even smaller city than Nagoya would be good. When I visited cities like Hiroshima and Himeji I thought they must be pleasant to live in- most of the benefits of a small city, but on a much more human scale.

Living in a big city doesn't have to mean a long commute, or a long trip for a night out- I live about 10 minutes train ride from Shinjuku in a fairly residential area. Sometimes it is worth paying a bit more in rent to avoid a nasty commute.

[Sadebugo]

I lived in Nagoya for six months in '07. I worked for the US government during that time so I can't say much about the private sector for EFL jobs. However, I found Nagoya to be a pleasant place to live and I've heard it's much calmer than Tokyo. Sorry I couldn't help more.

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[stevenbhow]

I live in Nagoya. The people are not very friendly compared to Fukuoka. Nagoyains are considered conservative, to put it nicely. The city itself is very easy to get around. Most of the main areas can be accessed on bicycle in fact. There are only four subway lines, so it is very easy to learn the routes. As far as corporate classes go, most of them are outside the city, so you will be traveling at least 30-45 minutes one way. On the other hand, there is a lot of work in Aichi, so you probably won't be out of a job. Going out at night if you live near Sakae, Chikusa, Nagoya Station, or Kanayama isn't a problem. In most cases you can walk, ride your bike, or catch a cab if the subway is closed. Cost of living is cheap compared to Tokyo, obviously. There isn't too much in the way of culture or tourist attractions, but Ise, Kyoto, and Nara are only a couple of hours away. Also, Gifu, and Nagano are fairly close if you are in the mood to go hiking, fishing, snowboarding/skiing in the winter, or just get out of the industrial grayness that is Nagoya City.

[SaganWasHere]

I lived in Nagoya as a student, and now I live in Tokyo. Between the two, I would say I preferred Nagoya because it was easy to get from campus to the various "hot spots" in town, but now that I'm not in school, I prefer Tokyo because there's a more metropolitan flair. I agree that Nagoya can get a bit gray. I like the Tokyo lights, and the fact that there is a huge variety of people here, compared to Nagoya. I think Osaka people are the nicest in terms of random people coming up to talk to me, etc. but I was only in Osaka for about a week or so.

To sum it up, I guess it depends.