Should I move to Japan? 24F half Japanese half caucasian

29 comments

1. >She applied it for me and I have received a COE and 5 year visa validity

   Wait, you *already applied*? That was… Let’s go with “premature”.

   Both the COE and the visa are only valid for 90 days from issue, and both need to be valid and unexpired when you enter the country. The “5 year visa validity” is how long your status of residence will be once you arrive in Japan, not how long the actual visa is valid for.

   So if you haven’t made the decision ***now*** you’re going to have to go through the entire process again once you’ve actually made up your mind and decided to move.

2. Can you acquire pr or citizenship than work a remote us job?

3. Career wise, I think you should ride out the opportunity that you currently have working in FAANG. Once that changes, the opportunity to move to Japan would always present itself since you’re of Japanese descent. But having said that, do not deprive yourself of the opportunity to travel while you’re young too. Visit Japan if you haven’t!

4. [removed]

5. You could build out your Japanese retirement within a few years at FAANG in the US, then move to Japan perhaps, it would be comforting knowing you don’t have to work in Japan if it comes to it? I definitely don’t recommend moving here, knowing how terrible the market and salaries are here. You salary is thrice today, it will probably 5x a couple years down the line. I’m also a SWE*

6. I was in a similar situation years ago, although older, and took a pay cut to move to Japan. Living in America was completely insufferable and I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I’m far happier even with less money. As far as I’m concerned, even if the yen collapses and I die it would be better than returning to America, lol. If you feel this way I’d say go for it.

7. Make money while you’re young. Bank it. Invest it. Stack it.

   Then come to Japan.

8. Remote work if possible, then live in Japan (much lower cost of living)

   Otherwise, grind hard for a few years and save up as much as you can, then go to Japan and do whatever the fuck you want for the rest of your life because you can coast off your savings and interest rates.

   You can also probably do a side hustle/monetized hobby in Japan to supplement some minor income if you so wished (after the FAANG grind).

9. In terms of career and savings, staying in the US is obviously by far the clear choice. Your income and career progression in Japan will never match a US FAANG path.

   Yen weakness can be mitigated by investing in US equities (a bit of a pain but doable) from Japan, and access to Japan real estate with lower mortgage rates. But by and large working in the US is the clear winner from a pure financial or career perspective

   For COE, you have to enter Japan within 3 months in order to convert it into a residence card. Else the COE will expire. May not be an huge issue as my guess is that you’ll have no problem getting one reissued in the future.

   Living in Japan is amazing, but so is high income and career trajectory (for future freedom). It may be even more crucial to stay employed in the short term depending on your role, as AI will probably continue to eat entire tech specializations, and junior/mid tiers of SWE

   Japan political tension is small potatoes compared to what is going on in the US, and I think largely a non issue.

   If being with family in Japan is the top priority for now, one possible idea is work only for FAANG in Japan which which should allows you to have the option of going back to the US and work for FAANG with minimal career impact if your change your focus later on.

10. Earning 3 times more and still considering moving! With the current situation, I would not.

11. As someone who quute recently lost my parents and moved to Japan, spending time with a loved one trumps money if what you will receive will result in a comfortable life

    You will have no shortage of work in Japan and you can always build on your career here but spending time with your mom at a healthy age? You can’t beat that. Give 2-3 years and you can move. The quality in life in Japan is better if compared to the US in my limited experience living there. Being in a walkable neighborhood with little threat to your life and having high quality food will be better for you in the long term as well

    Best option is to have a US paying job while working remotely here

12. Get a transfer to Japan with your FAANG company. They make transferring easy.

13. So, I’ve never lived in Japan, but my wife is Japanese and my kids are dual citizens and we’re planning to move there next summer. Also, I work at a FAANG company. My advice? Yes, you’re young, To many people, that means living a carefree lifestyle and getting serious in your 30’s. I was one of those people. But I didn’t have the opportunity you have. If you’re making that kind of money at that age, take full fucking advantage of it. Work and invest as much as you can until you’re sick of it and can’t take it anymore. THEN you can quit and go to Japan. In the meantime, you’ll make enough money to visit once a year if you want.

    Why do it this way? Investment returns are compounding. Google “compounding interest calculator” and put in these values:

    100k initial deposit
    40 year time-frame (retirement age-ish)
    Rate of return: 10% (historical average of s&p500)
    Contribution amount: $0 (lets just look at what would happen if you save up and invest then go fuck off for awhile, not contributing anymore)

    After 40 years, your 100k that you invested becomes 5.4 million. If you wait 10 years to get serious, that drops to less than 2 million. Sounds like a lot, but in 40 years that may not be nearly enough. The point being, money you earn now is FAR more valuable than money you earn later. If I were your mother, I’d understand. Plus, seriously, with the money I assume you’re making, you can still afford to visit every year and still save a bunch. Saving also becomes much harder when kids enter the picture.

14. Stay in fang that’s a cheat code that will compound. Use a month of leave and live in Japan.

15. I elected to stay in the US to pursue my FAANG career and deferred spending much time with my Japanese mom. (I still allocated 2 weeks minimum every year to spend time with her). 20 years later she’s now having trouble walking and also developing dementia.

    Time flies and it’s easy to wait “one more year” to maximize savings from FAANG to pad the fire budget.

    I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer here but sharing my datapoint.

16. I would much rather continue working for the extremely lucrative American FAANG company (unless a transfer at similar rates could be offered), obtain financial independence before you’re 30, and live in Japan at your leisure

17. Would be better to have a US company send you to Japan. Housing etc covered.

18. Any way to remote work and go there every 3 months??

19. Just do it. Better do it and maybe return to the us later than not doing it and maybe regretting it

20. I would move to Japan in a heartbeat and never look back. ❤️

21. Since money is the absolute most important thing in life, don’t go, stay in the US and get rich.

22. No possibility to internal transfer to Tokyo office? Have a family member at Amazon who transferred from Vancouver to Tokyo on a two year term this past September. Not a Japanese national or child of one either.

23. So you are me a looong time ago. I was 24, quit my U.S. IT job and took a headhunting position in Tokyo. I got 5 years working visa and had all arrangements set including an apartment in Meguro. I have family in Tokyo and they helped me out with getting set up. Realized quickly I hated my new job and I quit after my 3rd day. I called up my former employer in the U.S. and got my old job back plus a promo and raise. Moved back and haven’t thought twice about working in Japan. Bottom line: make your $ in the U.S., grow professionally, and enjoy Japan as a vacation destination. Maybe one day retire in Japan.

24. Never board a sinking ship

25. Have you tried striking a deal with your current company to help you relocate and work from Japan in exchange for slightly less salary? This should then still be much more than what the Japanese companies are offering.

    As a developer, you should have the option to work 100% remotely, no?

    I’d maybe look into an employer of record (perhaps you already did?).

26. yeah don’t take a third of your salary to live here. your visa is very lenient so just keep working in the US and come back every so often so you have a case for renewal.

    also, your visa would have no work restrictions, so you could work remote and earn American salary, which would be the best solution since you could live like a king in japan earning a high USD salary. if you want to live here, do that.

27. Can’t you come back to the States after a year or two and resume at your career level?

28. Hell no.. I’m a Japanese Canadian with N2 living in Tokyo and I’d trade places with you in a heartbeat

29. You’d have to be bonkers to accept a 67% pay cut. Try for a transfer but don’t take the pay cut.

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