The best posts are the Hanako posts.
Reading about life in Japan (albeit from one perspective) is a pretty good way to actually help you decide if you wanna live there.
Here's a quick run-down on the pros and cons of living in Japan (assuming you can actually get and stay there).
Pros:
- [Pro] Relative to where you're coming from, may be safer ('cept for natural disasters and following touts to strange bars at Roppongi).
- [Pro] Nice scenery across Japan's ~~4~~ ~~5~~ ~~24~~ 72 seasons.
- [Pro] Somewhat low COL (for a developed country and relative to other such countries) balances out against the generally low wages.
Cons:
- Low wages unless you're a skilled IT worker or you specialize in something that pays well and Japan actually needs (speaking native-level English and Japanese puts you at about the same level of employability as an average JP person, except they probably will fare better in a Japanese business environment, so it's not enough). Since there also isn't much in the way of raises... you'll have to find a way to save for retirement, somehow...
- Unsurprising, but not the best place for mental health. If your problems are internal, they'll come to Japan with you, and without the support system you might have in your home country, things can get pretty... bad.
- If you divorce, there's a pretty good chance you'll lose your kids to your J-partner. Unless you kidnap your kid... yea...
But hey, at least there's plenty of animu and mango!
Sources:
- Post by u/Sush1Samurai
- THEY'RE ON TO US comment by u/kamikazikarl
