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jamie2088 (Offline)
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Moving to japan? - 07-11-2011, 10:24 PM

Hi i have only recently found this website and am trying to do own research besides wife.I have read as much as i can on websites and in here but would like more advice or thoughts if possible
I am 29 and married to japanese wife living in uk with son who is 3,we were living here and married in jspsn before he was born but he understand and speaks little bit of japanese ...recent circumstances have arised that may result in us moving to japan with the wife going first with son to find job and home.One major concern is me and will i adapt or fit in..i go regularly to japan to visit her family and it is tough as i dont eat the food much and language is 50/50 at moment not great but not rubbish :P I am willing to learn language and want to fit in.
How can i find job and what sort of jobs can i find except teaching which is what everyone does,my wife says it would probably be part time and factory line type of work if anything.Can english find these types of jobs? i understand japanese way of working is different i am hardworking in uk and often do long hours without breaks but is this enough to qualify me as adaptable to japan?
Culture is hard also i probably come across the wrong way without meaning to i think im being polite etc from how i was brought up but am deffo not getting it right as its hard for her family with me and food i often dont eat and its rude obviously to refuse everything evenly politely (i dont eat fish,seaweed,egg,weird sauces or fatty/raw meat)
I suffer eczma and dry skin/rosacea i know that this will be aggrevated in japan but does anyone have similar problems? and did it get better after a while....did your body adapt acclimatise in any way.
Im not great at using trains but u get used to it right? if i can walk or ride i would lol recently when we went to japan tokyo disney sea my passmo didnt scan properly cause im numpty and we got there and i couldnt get through not a good feeling at all lucky my wife and her mum there,does anyone else do stuff like this? would people think i was a complete idiot (although i doubt they would say it)

It actually sounds after reading this like i shouldnt go at all lol we are very much deciding future so any form of criticism,advice or reassurance would be massively welcomed and appreciated and soon

Sorry and thanks
J
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RealJames (Offline)
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07-12-2011, 03:12 AM

you're worrying about small stuff man, you can get used to all that stuff you mentioned easily!

can you get used to having less friends?
spending less time with them?
taking much much longer to have a deep friendship and maybe even then not deep by your standards?

can you get used to tatemae?

can you get used to little to no small talk?

can you accept you'll always be an outsider?

these are the real questions you should be asking.


マンツーマン 英会話 神戸 三宮 リアライズ -James- This is my life and why I know things about Japan.
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spicytuna (Offline)
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07-12-2011, 04:04 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamie2088 View Post
How can i find job and what sort of jobs can i find except teaching which is what everyone does,my wife says it would probably be part time and factory line type of work if anything.Can english find these types of jobs?J
What's your current job? What kind of skillset do you have?
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Pogopuschel (Offline)
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07-12-2011, 04:14 PM

What kind of skills do you have? Without decent to very good Japanese skills (at least JLPT N2, better N1) it will be very difficult to find a job besides teaching English. IT may be one of the fields where it is possible though.

Not to be rude, but is English your native language? If not that will make it quite a bit harder to even find an English teaching job.
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JohnBraden (Offline)
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07-12-2011, 04:58 PM

It was a bit of a hard read....

Last edited by JohnBraden : 07-12-2011 at 05:59 PM.
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jamie2088 (Offline)
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07-12-2011, 08:18 PM

Thanks for the replies,i probably am worrying about i stuff dont need to be and i believe i can deal with some of the problems mentioned as i dont exactly have friends and am bit wierd/outsider hehe.

I dont have any skills as such in terms of qualifications apart from reasonable GCSE and i attended college but didnt get a full diploma or anything...i have had many jobs over the years and got good life experience,i'm currently training to be manager in well known supermarket :P

English teaching isnt something i have considered really but i am native english so perhaps it might be something i have to look at,but i never went to uni and dont have degree etc.Something my wife noticed and i am considering is a TEFL course in teaching english in uk for several hundred pounds and u get certificate so im not sure if its worth having this at all?
I find it unlikely that alot of people will say wow english guy please teach me everyday conversation english...would be great tho

We are moving possibly to small town outside tokyo called Kazo, where potential jobs i could get are in 7 eleven packing warehouse/factory part time.I have never seen any gaijin at all in this area or when travelling between tokyo except me lol its quite strange.

Thanks for input.

Last edited by jamie2088 : 07-12-2011 at 08:23 PM.
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RobinMask (Offline)
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07-17-2011, 12:50 PM

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Sangetsu (Offline)
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07-24-2011, 11:14 AM

Though you are married to a Japanese, getting a spouse visa won't be automatic unless your wife makes enough money in Japan to support you, or her parents agree to sponsor you.

Considering your experience (or lack thereof), teaching is probably your best option. You probabaly have enough university credits to get into a school where you can get a CELTA certification. With no degree you will have to take the course in Thailand or the Philippines (where admission standards are more relaxed), but the certificate will still be accepted, and is really the only one worth having.

On the other hand, most schools in Japan don't know one TEFL certificate from another. You can make your own on your computer and print it out yourself, the'll never bother to check. But with a genuine CELTA, you can get into a better situation in Japan, and you can also use it to get a teaching job if you return to the UK, or wish to teach in another English-speaking country.

Getting a CELTA costs a couple thousand dollars or so in Asia, and takes about 6 weeks. In the UK or America it'll cost more and take longer.

As for other jobs in Japan, I wouldn't bother. The median income in Japan is lower than America or the UK, but the typical teacher's salary in Japan will put you at the median level. Pay starts at around 3 million yen per year, which is more than double what restaurant workers or store clerks make. You won't get rich teaching English, but you'll be able to support your family doing it.
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jamie2088 (Offline)
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07-26-2011, 08:18 PM

Thanks for responses so far some useful information,as far as visa goes it wont be automatic i know but from my wife and her family in japan we dont see problem yet,and she will be in japan to get job and place to live first so hopefully we'll be in a good position.Her parents would be happy to sponsor too from what i understand lol and we will live 2 mins round corner from them which will help our childcare.This is the reason why i wasnt worried about having amzing job as it would be role reversal with wife earning higher wages potentially.The whole move is obviously risky but its a calculated one we are deffo taking.

As for teaching english i have been doing all sorts of research and have been looking at job ads which state requirements etc and there are some that require TEFL but they talk about visa etc which needs uni degree,however if i have spouse vise this wont matter too much right? My only issue with teaching english is im not confident my level of english would be sufficient to teach and i dont want to wing it,as i never studied english at college or uni.
Can an everage joe, native englishman who's hard working and reasonably intelligent pull this off without years of uni or teaching qualifications,realistically i think not but i also think its slightly possible.I have been keeping an eye on teaching jobs advertised in area wer'e moving too and they are still there 4+ weeks later lol will they ever get desperate enough in japan?

I know that preschool,kindergarten english teaching is becoming more popular at the moment also which i think would suit me better and be perhaps closer to my skill level however does anyone have any info or light they can shed on this avenue?

Teaching english is perhaps my best option i have of finding ok,respectable and rewarding job however i feel so much negativity from my research with people saying how difficult it is and its all about degrees etc.I am only going to have 7 months give or take from november before i rejoin family in japan how likely does it sound if i was to get spouse visa,have japanese lessons,take TEFL course (either shorter of full,not decided) and generally brush uo on english grammar that all of this will enable me to survive in japan?

Just as a little extra sangetsu mentioned about not bothering with other work,as i mentioned above as long as we can survive without the need of government benefits we will be happy.In uk we don't earn enough to rent privately etc so our money is topped up with benefits so its impossible to do overtime or increased hours etc,uk rewards those who work less confusing but true.We want to live and work where all our money is our money and this was best solution....if we can pull it off.
I think im at that stage alot of people have when moving abroad,days where everythings cool and exciting and days when you think christ what am i doing? it wont work :P

Any form of feedback especially from experienced people is really welcome thanks.

Ps im sorry if this doesnt make sense i quite often have to rush and can't edit too much lol.

Last edited by jamie2088 : 07-26-2011 at 08:25 PM.
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BobbyCooper (Offline)
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07-26-2011, 09:46 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by jamie2088 View Post
Thanks for responses so far some useful information,as far as visa goes it wont be automatic i know but from my wife and her family in japan we dont see problem yet,and she will be in japan to get job and place to live first so hopefully we'll be in a good position.Her parents would be happy to sponsor too from what i understand lol and we will live 2 mins round corner from them which will help our childcare.This is the reason why i wasnt worried about having amzing job as it would be role reversal with wife earning higher wages potentially.The whole move is obviously risky but its a calculated one we are deffo taking.

As for teaching english i have been doing all sorts of research and have been looking at job ads which state requirements etc and there are some that require TEFL but they talk about visa etc which needs uni degree,however if i have spouse vise this wont matter too much right? My only issue with teaching english is im not confident my level of english would be sufficient to teach and i dont want to wing it,as i never studied english at college or uni.
Can an everage joe, native englishman who's hard working and reasonably intelligent pull this off without years of uni or teaching qualifications,realistically i think not but i also think its slightly possible.I have been keeping an eye on teaching jobs advertised in area wer'e moving too and they are still there 4+ weeks later lol will they ever get desperate enough in japan?

I know that preschool,kindergarten english teaching is becoming more popular at the moment also which i think would suit me better and be perhaps closer to my skill level however does anyone have any info or light they can shed on this avenue?

Teaching english is perhaps my best option i have of finding ok,respectable and rewarding job however i feel so much negativity from my research with people saying how difficult it is and its all about degrees etc.I am only going to have 7 months give or take from november before i rejoin family in japan how likely does it sound if i was to get spouse visa,have japanese lessons,take TEFL course (either shorter of full,not decided) and generally brush uo on english grammar that all of this will enable me to survive in japan?

Just as a little extra sangetsu mentioned about not bothering with other work,as i mentioned above as long as we can survive without the need of government benefits we will be happy.In uk we don't earn enough to rent privately etc so our money is topped up with benefits so its impossible to do overtime or increased hours etc,uk rewards those who work less confusing but true.We want to live and work where all our money is our money and this was best solution....if we can pull it off.
I think im at that stage alot of people have when moving abroad,days where everythings cool and exciting and days when you think christ what am i doing? it wont work :P

Any form of feedback especially from experienced people is really welcome thanks.

Ps im sorry if this doesnt make sense i quite often have to rush and can't edit too much lol.
I believe that the most important part first of all should be, be more cofident in yourself!! In every sentence you point out your self-doupts.
Thats the worst foundation!

90% of the people who go to Asia and especially Japan, start of as a teacher. Every average Joe can do it and you feel you aren't qualified for it?? Just because you haven't had the pleasure to study yet or the money? You are even a Native speaker on top of all this.
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