Job Discussion Forums

[MattElz]

So, I was canned by one of the Big 4. It's kind of liberating and my plan is to rent a room in a guest house for a month in a big city - I'm in the relative inaka now - and look for work when I get there. (More jobs, more excitement and culture).

Originally, I thought Tokyo, but because of cost of living issues I'm having second thoughts.

Anyway, I would like to know if anyone has any alternative cities (more affordable, almost as exciting) to suggest. (Also, I know there are some posters on here who prefer the countryside and/or suburbs - I am not one of them, so please, cities only).

Thanks!

[azarashi sushi]

A lot of people live in Tokyo on low wages so if you really want to go there, just do it. Bear in mind that we're coming in to a bit of a dead patch as far as hiring goes... You're chances of finding something will definitely be higher in Tokyo.

[ChotoHen]

Sounds like youre taking it well...thats good.

You were canned? Not something I would figure happens a lot with the big four. Care to elaborate (in that vague type of way)?

As for cities, I would say Tokyo based on its proximity to Narita in case you need to "call it a day".

[fabulous floating flotsam]

Sapporo and Fukuoka are both happening cities, but a long way from Tokyo distance wise. Housing is usually pretty cheap in Sapporo. Osaka is another world, but closer to Tokyo in distance. If you like in your face people and nightlife, it could be for you. Nagoya is pretty big, closer still to Tokyo, not as exciting as Osaka. You can escape pretty easily from any of these cities, though you mightn't get a direct flight. You can live pretty cheaply anywhere if you try. In Tokyo rent and travel will be your biggest burdens. Before you move you might want to check out the job listings to see where the most work is, and have a look at some local sites to get an idea of the atmosphere:

http://www.kansaiscene.com/
http://www.xene.net/english/index.htm
http://www.fukuoka-now.com/index.php

[rcn]

If you're looking for a better job, definitely Tokyo has the most opportunities in Japan. If you look hard enough, a relatively cheap place can be found upon which you can furnish it via the 100yen store route.

I just moved from Yokohama to Osaka and have found the job situation like night and day. I thought that the chances to find work in Osaka would've been easier than it has.

Go for Tokyo! There are so many things to do plus you can live out of central Tokyo and still get around easily as the transportation network is awesome.

http://www.kimiwillbe.com/map.html

Good luck!

[MattElz]

FABULOUS,

How is Osaka "another world" from Tokyo?

CHOTO,

How I got fired is a long, boring story. What it boils down to is that I came to Japan determined not to quit Nova no matter what - determined to be optimistic about it no matter what I had heard before arriving - and to do a good job. I wanted to judge it for myself. and after a year, probably look for something bigger and better.

But like so many before me, my soul was being wrested from its container by Nova within months, and I opened my mouth enough times to enough people about my philosophical differences with this purely commerce-oriented organization enough times to get a bad reputation.

Basically, I didn't get along with the 'bots (office ladies) and I made several -unwitting- administrative mistakes that had nothing to do with teaching and was disciplined for them. Nova does not know what "discretion" means. It sees illiterate notes in a logbook and fires at will.

Interestingly, shortly after I was fired, a Nova teacher in Fukuoka was fired for his attendance record - the final absence being an incident in which he was hospitalized for an asthma attack!

Nova is a snitch culture where everyone is so afraid of the wizard behind the curtain that they will backstab one another without a second thought. And I just couldn't function in that atmosphere.

I had a student ask me unsolicited, if I could teach her special lessons to help her prepare for the TOEIC because she said I was such a "good teacher for" her - and the next day I was being fired over an Internet teleconference (!) - by a worm of a man who is the regional assistant manager. (The prior meeting was also over the net, only the net "broke down" just as we were to begin talking and he "could only" speak to me over the phone. Then he proceeded to give me an analogy about a ordering a BIG MAC! If it didn't involve my livelihood and the widescale exploitation of teachers and students, then I would have been rolling on the floor!)

Anyway, I have betrayed my attempt to boil it down to a few sentences for you. But at least it's not another "vague" answer, right? And it's the abridged version ...

[fabulous floating flotsam]

Osaka is the free speaking, liberated, Italianate alternative capital of Japan. Lots of the comedians come from there. Some Japanese think of Osaka as not Japan and I've had Osakans tell me that going to Tokyo is stranger than visiting another country. The rest of Japan will hold back in telling you what they really think, with Osakans you'll know where you stand right away. Well that's the theory anyway. There's no doubt the nightlife kicks, it's a big city, lots of delinquents too. Great surrounding history in Kyoto and Nara. It's a hard city to go to sleep in.

[MattElz]

So then I guess it would follow that a NYer (or other Westerner for that matter would prefer Osaka over Tokyo? People being more direct, etc...)