Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have been in Alaska for the last 12 years and I'm planning my next move. If I need to be on foreign soil Canada is my neighbor and the areas I've been to are beautiful.
My wife is from Korea and I've been there 3 times for duty and several more times for vacation. I like the island of Cheju-do off the southern coast it kind felt like Hawaii. Lots of family hookups in Korea.
I am retired military, several assignments to the far east but I've never been to Europe so out of the posted list Germany near a US base might be a good choice for me.
I have wondered if keeping a home in Alaska makes sense with climate change and now a volcano erupting in Yellowstone!!
Yeah, like Japan. For example, I'm from Eastern Europe, unlike Western Europe or America they don't think we're "borats alcoholics, pro-putin", just because someone doesn't like getting nuked by alleged racist (Churchill) doesn't mean they hate foreigners.
On another note, what SEATle posted earlier: forget kanji, just type all in kana like a normal gaijin lol. I can't read it either...don't forget even the first J. novel Genji monogatari (げんじものがたり) was likely entirely in Hiragana, I know though to get a job and e-mails typing in Kanji is a must.
The problem is everything is WRITTEN in kanji. I’m sure I would be able to manage speaking there on a functional level but reading things would be a challenge. Like if I wanted to read the news or social media or go to the bookstore. I imagine it would be pretty isolating. Now there are apps for kanji though that I may take a stab at. If I could get the basics down for what they mean without having to memorize how to write them, I’m sure that would be okay since honestly who does much handwriting anymore?
They should have just stuck with hiragana and katakana. But for kanji, it’s a pretty darn easy language to learn. No masculine/feminine, not many weird tenses, not many special rules.
Yeah, like Japan. For example, I'm from Eastern Europe, unlike Western Europe or America they don't think we're "borats alcoholics, pro-putin", just because someone doesn't like getting nuked by alleged racist (Churchill) doesn't mean they hate foreigners.
On another note, what SEATle posted earlier: forget kanji, just type all in kana like a normal gaijin lol. I can't read it either...don't forget even the first J. novel Genji monogatari (げんじものがたり) was likely entirely in Hiragana, I know though to get a job and e-mails typing in Kanji is a must.
Despite being only half and not 100% full blood Japanese, I still felt more of a sense of belonging there than I did anywhere in the US. Because of the culture of outward politeness, they are not in your face about it if they had any negative feelings towards gaijins. At least we don't get randomly assaulted or murdered over there. Anyhow the language and the visa situation (I was active duty military when I lived there) are the only things holding me back from moving there.
That's the struggle with being half Japanese and half white/American, I feel like I don't belong in either country and both seem to hate foreigners/immigrants now.
Japan is obviously one of the the richest countries in the world. I am sure it has a lot of wonderful qualities. But let’s not pretend that anti-immigrant attitudes in the United States are anything like what they are in Japan.
The Japanese are extremely proud of their race and culture. The number of immigrants they allow to stay permanently in their country is only a small fraction of the legal immigrants that the United States allows in every year. Japan is also careful to make sure that most of the immigrants are from other Asian countries so that they at least somewhat blend in with the local population. Let’s not kid ourselves and pretend we don’t know what the reaction would be if a massive influx of black people were to suddenly show up in Japan.
The fact is that every country in the world has problems with racial, ethnic and cultural diversity when it’s a real thing and they actually have to deal with it.
Japan is obviously one of the the richest countries in the world. I am sure it has a lot of wonderful qualities. But let’s not pretend that anti-immigrant attitudes in the United States are anything like what they are in Japan.
The Japanese are extremely proud of their race and culture. The number of immigrants they allow to stay permanently in their country is only a small fraction of the legal immigrants that the United States allows in every year. Japan is also careful to make sure that most of the immigrants are from other Asian countries so that they at least somewhat blend in with the local population. Let’s not kid ourselves and pretend we don’t know what the reaction would be if a massive influx of black people were to suddenly show up in Japan.
The fact is that every country in the world has problems with racial, ethnic and cultural diversity when it’s a real thing and they actually have to deal with it in their society.
Where did you learn all of this? Japan has basically wide open immigration, if you have a BA in literally any subject. Getting citizenship requires living for five years with a stable job, speaking Japanese, and being a normal taxpaying resident. While I agree that a huge influx of any immigrant group would shock the local populace (as did in some small towns in Shizuoka and Gifu with Brazilians), I highly disagree that there is some sort of quota stopping immigrants from moving in like many Western countries.
Where did you learn all of this? Japan has basically wide open immigration, if you have a BA in literally any subject. Getting citizenship requires living for five years with a stable job, speaking Japanese, and being a normal taxpaying resident. While I agree that a huge influx of any immigrant group would shock the local populace (as did in some small towns in Shizuoka and Gifu with Brazilians), I highly disagree that there is some sort of quota stopping immigrants from moving in like many Western countries.
The main point I was making was the last paragraph. Humans are not cool with real diversity.
There are always caveats and the devil is in the details.
I have to ask.....Why is Canada not on the list ? Surely it is a valid choice ?
I'm a Canadian citizen, but I would never return to Canada full-time, because Canada is a country far too preoccupied with, and dependent on, the US. I'd want a country with its own thing going on.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
