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Vince
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 559
Location: U.S.
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 Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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| nightsintodreams wrote: |
| If you want to live in your home country for the rest of your life, have a nice flash car that you drive from work to your nice big house which you then sit in and watch television all evening, every evening for the rest of your life, while taking a holiday once a year with your family then by all means stay where you are. |
There is a lot of that back home, but it isn't always that way. I know plenty of people who choose to keep it simple, compact, and efficient to avoid getting caught up in the scene you describe.
| SunShan wrote: |
| Exactly! OP, do you want to carry on flatlining, or develop a heartbeat? Ignore the BS from the naysayers. Just get out here and enjoy every second. Worst case is it's not for you after a couple of years. Worst case. You're still young enough to reinvent yourself either way. Like a post before said - live in the present not the future. |
It's prudent to apply some of your present resources toward securing your future. I agree, though, that it sounds like returning to Japan might be more fulfilling for the OP.
OP, starting in eikaiwa isn't necessarily a mistake. It's all about your determination and flexibility. Keep plugging away at your Japanese, get to know other foreigners and what they do, and try to have an entrepreneurial mindset (even if you become an employee). Keep in mind that many of your eikaiwa coworkers will be negative and will try to burst your bubble, so steer clear of that.
Last edited by Vince on Sat Apr 26, 2014 1:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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RM1983
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 1:30 am Post subject: |
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| To be fair a lot of the old boys i know here with families seem to sit at home watching TV when they arent in the pub. And let's be honest, Japanese TV isnt great |
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RM1983
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 1:49 am Post subject: |
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| I mean, let's reject the capitalist ethos of materialism and move to.......Japan. Where money is no indicator of superiority and the class system doesnt exist. Lol |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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Nope, you're missing the point. I was only encouraging the OP to not worry so much about that sort of thing and instead go out and see some of the world, have some fun and excitement while he's young, learn about another culture etc.
Don't listen to the naysayers. |
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RM1983
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 360
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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Fair enough. I dont see how in the scheme of a whole life doing a few years here would ruin you back home either.
It does worry me a bit when I suspect people might think it is the antidote to a monotonous life at home though. |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 10:48 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, that's true I suppose. If you're from the states and have never been out of the country, not even to Mexico, then it's unlikely you're going to suddenly start travelling around all of Asia.
But it probably is a temporary remedy to a monotonous life, but that'll only last a couple years unless you find ways to make life fun and interesting. |
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fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
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| Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:35 am Post subject: |
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| RM1983 wrote: |
| It does worry me a bit when I suspect people might think it is the antidote to a monotonous life at home though. |
This.
Warm regards,
fat_chris |
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The_Big_White_Elephant
Joined: 12 Mar 2014
Posts: 56
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| Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 2:42 am Post subject: |
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| nightsintodreams wrote: |
First of all, what kind of life do you want?
If you want to live in your home country for the rest of your life, have a nice flash car that you drive from work to your nice big house which you then sit in and watch television all evening, every evening for the rest of your life, while taking a holiday once a year with your family then by all means stay where you are. That's fine, Lots of people want that and seem to enjoy living a life that mostly consists of comparing what they have to the guy next door.
I think many of the unhappy people in Japan are the ones that have a similar mindset or who marry a girl who craves such a life.
If however, you put more value on experiences and living a fulfilling life then perhaps Japan is the place for you.
I've lived in Japan for four years now (started with Interac, never worked for JET). I've visited over ten Asian countries, travelled extensively in Japan, saved almost 30,000 dollars, enjoyed my job, dated more women than I ever did at home and got my Japanese up to a pretty high level. If I hadn't spent so much money on partying and travelling, I have no doubt that I would have been able to save even more. (just letting it be known that it's possible). Having said that, I don't drive or buy expensive clothes and have only once made the long expensive trip back to my home country.
Although I do often worry about my future in Japan, there are numerous ways to make extra money; private lessons, part-time jobs, starting a business etc, but you probably wont have the knowledge or contacts to do many of these things in your first year. In the long term the following career paths are open to foreigners in Japan:
*University teaching (you'll need to get a masters degree, be confident in speaking Japanese and write publications every few years for the rest of your life.
*Working lots of small part time jobs/ private lessons/ hussling (how well you can do this will depend on the area in which you live, your networking skills and a bit of luck)
*Opening a school (you'll probably need to marry a Japanese woman to make this a success)
*Starting another type of business
*Working for a Japanese company (you'll need to be very good at Japanese and be prepared to work long hours with very few holidays)
Don't listen to what anybody else says, unless you're a linguistic genius, you are never going to aquire business level Japanese without coming to live in Japan (especially at your age, no offense I'm around the same age).
If I were you (which I'm not) and really wanted to experience living in Japan and learning Japanese (which I did) then I'd stick out your job a little longer to save some money and make the trip over to Japan. Don't bother with that language school idea though, it's waste of money. Come and work as an ALT, you'll be surrounded by Japanese people all day every day. Then find a nice Japanese girl/guy who doesn't speak English see her/him on evenings/ weekends) and study in your free time. That's all you need, and you'll be making money while doing it.
On your death bed, what will be our regrets?
I think most people regret that they didn't spend more time with family and didn't travel as much as they could have. No one sits there wishing they'd been able to afford that flash car or have a bigger house. |
Great post! It's encouraging that you have been able to save so much. Think you could go into a bit more detail about what kind of job you have and how you can maximize your savings?
It seems like all I've been reading lately is how terrible it is to teach in Japan and how it's impossible to save any money.
Thanks. |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 3:14 am Post subject: |
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In my first year I only worked for Interac.
Second and third year I worked at Interac and another 20 hours per week at eikaiwa.
From fourth year I got a direct hire position.
I did luck out a bit, in that I got a well paid direct hire position. I think my good references from the principles at the schools I worked at while with Interac, my Japanese ability and my confidence were probably the three things that contributed to me getting the job.
I've also got a couple other things I do on the side...
How have I maximised my savings? I'm not sure really, I don't really try to save money. I'm not really interested in driving or wearing expensive clothes. And although I go abroad 2/3 times a year, it's always to cheap countries in Asia and only once have I been back to my home country. If you're not careful that can really destroy your savings. |
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