Moving to Japan

[Mirmilly]

Hi there,

I'm looking to move to Japan from the UK in early July this year to teach english. I was wondering if anyone might be able to advise on what areas to live in Japan? The company have asked if I had a preference but Im not sure, can anyone recommend a place?
Cheers

[larabell]

Originally Posted by Mirmilly

Hi there,

I'm looking to move to Japan from the UK in early July this year to teach english. I was wondering if anyone might be able to advise on what areas to live in Japan?

You're not likely to get many answers posting such an open-ended question (I'd have ignored the post myself as well... but it might help for future archive searches if I give at least some clue as to what kinds of information we need in order to respond).

First off, it would be nice to know where your potential employer is located. It's not very helpful for someone in Osaka to recommend his favorite neighborhoods if your job is in Tokyo.

Second, even assuming your job is in Tokyo, that's still not enough to make any concrete recommendations. For example, if you were working near Tokyo station, you might not mind a commute to Chiba -- but you'd probably object to living near Jiyugaoka, as that's not only clean across town but there are also no common public transit lines between the two places. In order to make useful suggestions as to where you might want to settle down, it's necessary to know exactly where you will be working (close enough to be able to determine the closest train or subway station).

Even then, it's not always possible to figure out what might be best in your situation. For example, do you have kids, do you party every night or do you mostly stay at home? Is a longer commute a reasonable trade-off for a slightly larger apartment? Without knowing such details, posting suggestions as to where you *might* want to live is, in many (if not most) people's opinions, a waste of time.

So... for anyone who might be reading this after searching for information on where to live in Japan -- please... include some details that spell out where you might end up working, something about your lifestyle, and what tradeoffs you're willing to make (that is, what is most important to you in evaluating possible living quarters). Given that, I would not be surprised to see a number of participants jumping in to plug their particular favorite places.

Short of that, you're just wasting your time...

[MisplacedAussie]

Originally Posted by Mirmilly

Hi there,

I'm looking to move to Japan from the UK in early July this year to teach english. I was wondering if anyone might be able to advise on what areas to live in Japan? The company have asked if I had a preference but Im not sure, can anyone recommend a place?
Cheers

Sounds like you have a few choices of work location. First big choice is do you want to be in Tokyo or do you want to avoid large cities?

Tokyo - better salary but rent is more expensive. more job choices. I went to Japan with NOVA but then got a better paying job. It's easier to change jobs in Tokyo. Tokyo has a great nightlife.

country areas - less English is spoken, you're more likely to learn Japanese because you'll have to, western shopping more restricted.

[niazstar]

i want to work in japan can any body help me out in this regard i am by professional an accountant having masters in business administration (MBA Finance), contact me on niazstar at yahoo dot com

[Moskovitter]

And what's about japan language? it's difficult to learn

[Merwen_M]

Hello, all.

I have a similar question, with hopefully more information. This will probably be a long and rambling post, so I apologize in advance!

My boyfriend was conditionally accepted into JET this year (he's gone through all the stages of the application but the FBI background check). We have planned to move to Japan for a while now, but this comes at a pretty rocky time for me. I do not know where he will be posted, and I do not have a college degree, so was unable to apply with him. I would like to enroll in a Japanese language school and acquire a student visa. I have a pretty workable plan for the next six months, and I am hoping not so much for advice (though I'll take it!) but for reassurance. I am pretty terrified, honestly. I have been studying Japanese off and on for about ten years. I would describe my level as "conversational" but still did not pass the JLPT3. When we visited Japan last year I was able to converse with people and make my way around with few problems.
I have been considering guesthouses like "Oakhouse" for a living situation. Initially I planned to use a tourist visa to stay for two or three months, hopefully finding a language school near his posting, wherever that happens to be. Now I'm wondering if it would be more feasible to wait here in the States, find out his posting, and apply to a school near there from here.

Mostly I know WHAT I want to do, I am just worried about the best way to do it!
So, please, has anyone else been in a similar situation? I already know how difficult it will be to find work without a degree, and that students may only work part time. Should I translate a resume or CV, or perhaps get letters of recommendation from employers? Any other comments? I am truly open to any helpful advice.

Many thanks!
Merwen

[pkrish]

Originally Posted by Mirmilly

Hi there,

I'm looking to move to Japan from the UK in early July this year to teach english. I was wondering if anyone might be able to advise on what areas to live in Japan? The company have asked if I had a preference but Im not sure, can anyone recommend a place?
Cheers

Hi

I hope you must be in Tokyo this time. In IIdabashi and Takanobaba, where I usually go, I find many of english institutes there, even British Council is there. So many people live around takanobaba or nearby area. But where your work place would be. Once I get some idea of the place where you would your place would be, then i can understand. We have a place called Gyotoku too. You will find an European real estate agent who provides fully furnished apartments very reasonable, many english speakers live there too.