Too bad if godwine gave you that impression. It IS in the country side. Make no mistake about it. I've been there. There isn't much up there except for the U.S. Air Force base. For shopping, dining and other activities, many Misawans go to Hachinohe, a much more populated town to the south. I find Hachinohe quite livable. If Hachinohe doesn't satisfy your needs, you can go to the City of Aomori on weekends.

I did reply indiciating that it is country side but not to a point where there has absolutely nothing.

Just an update:
I'm currently waiting on an offer, and they may even hire my wife too. My wife said she would only agree to go if its in graphic design. She doesn't want to have unemployment on her resume and she refuses to do anything thats not related to her field even temporarily. I feel like we're asking for too much. Most people don't get offers like this, and its even more rare with this economy.

What do you guys think? am I wrong?

Is it true that employers in Japan view any kind of unemployment as a bad? It seems to me that if you specified that you left for spouse's job, that you would be ok. I'm young and don't have alot of job experience, so this might just be something everybody knows :o

You are definitely right about not getting offers like that. With current economy, most consider themselves lucky to get an offer as a foreigner, let along a company that will even offer a job to their spouse

I am not going to suggest whether you should try to convince her, but you have to remember that, everything in life is a trade off, if this is something that you 2 really want to do (to live in Japan), then some personal sacrifices need to be made

Another issue with graphic design is that, its a matter of the subjectiveness in people's judgment towards creativity and art. She really will need to find a company whose product is to be sold outside of Japan, as I am sure that the material your wife was trained in is better suited for wherever you guys are. Just a matter of cultural difference and taste. For graphic design she probably have better luck in the 3D area with the gaming world

Kresin, from what I learned from my uncle, it is a big deal for locals to be out of work. But in the case of a foreigner, it is always a valid reason that the spouse is out of work.

Well I talked to her a bit more. We may be going after all. We're waiting to see what kind offers we get. Wish us luck!

By the way, godwine - are you in Japan/have been in Japan? I was kind of confused.

Also, thank you for the tips. my wife has been reading this thread as well.

Hello

Good luck with it! Its definitely a dream come true for most people on this forum.

I live there when I was a kid. My father had some business going on, so he was working there with my uncle, who is native Japanese (I am Chinese.. very very distant relative). Since making my own income, I have been going back regularly, like yearly since 2004 or 2005.

SOOOOO, that said, my 2 cents is purely from my limited knowledge of the country and its culture.

Hope that helps!

Bunch of US Navy stuff there if that's any help.