Fukuoka Bound.....I think!??

Well, looks like the wife, jr, and I are moving back to Fukuoka around the beginning of 2008. We have been discussing the good and the bad about the move and finally decided (90% sure) that we should move back. I would like you to talk me into it, and talk me out of it, just to see if there was anything I might have missed.

The Pros:
*Cheaper Rent/No Rent
*I love Japan
*Teaching pays pretty well
*In-Laws to help with our 4 month old
*Ability to teach private lessons or work PT if we need more money
*The food
*Kid will learn Japanese in Japan
*Dont have to pay extra for Japanese TV Channels
*Fast Internet
*Lots of friends
*


The Cons:
*Gas is expensive
*Cars are expensive to keep/drive
*No 401K
*Pretty much stuck with teaching English
*Have to wear a tie
*Schools for Jr.
*In-Laws
*NHK guy
*

I would ask myself.......................

why did you leave Japan in the first place. What back then made you leave? You must have made a pros&cons list back then; maybe compare it to your list now.

Uncle Frank

ET_Fukuoka said:

Well, looks like the wife, jr, and I are moving back to Fukuoka around the beginning of 2008. We have been discussing the good and the bad about the move and finally decided (90% sure) that we should move back. I would like you to talk me into it, and talk me out of it, just to see if there was anything I might have missed.
The Pros:
*Cheaper Rent/No Rent
*I love Japan
*Teaching pays pretty well

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Are you talking about an English conversation school like a re-do with Nova ? With the market the way it is right now and if those are your only credentials, I'd definately have something lined up before heading out.

On the other hand, as Frank said, having inlaws to permanently crash with and no need to make the rent sort of begs the question why anyone would ever leave to begin with...

Hard decision, But I don't think I would want to live with the inlaws even if rent is free.
Also I think the US has more to offer as for freedom to select your occupation no matter where you come.
But I have not lived in Japan to really know what you would or could be missing out on living there. I guess best decision would be best on the future of your child. where will be best for him/her.

How is Mrs. T doing with living in the U.S. and with the prospect of it being permanent? I already know that you yourself are in the same position I was when I made my most recent move (1999)....equally capable of functioning and getting along just fine either here or there.

Just remember the old saying, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".

And keep in mind that after a while one gets tired of bouncing back and forth and restarting things over and over again. I have always said that the best advice my father ever gave me was, "Boy, you'd better get your *** somewhere and sit down and be quiet". Naturally, he meant it in a much different way, but I have found that it applies to adult life as well. (And the times I chose not to take the advice as a child, I quickly found out just what sage and valuable advice it really was).

Thanks for all the replies!!

I think I left last time because I was sick of working for NOVA (5.5 Years) and needed a break. I should have taken a month off and found a new job, now that i think about it. As for living with the in-laws, we wont have to. My pops-in-law has some properties that we can use, which makes it hard *not to go. I am a little worried about the state of Eikaiwa's right now. I know I can get a job, and I have a couple internet businesses that help supplement the income as well. (Hoping these grow a little bit more so I can focus 100% on them!)

I think one of the main reasons I want to go back is because I want Jr. to be fluent in Japanese so he can talk to his relatives, and as an asset for his future. If we stay in the US there is a chance he will get lazy and only speak English. I think it's easier for him to learn English in Japan than Japanese in the US (imho).

As for Mrs T, we live in Hawaii, we have 4-5 Japanese TV channels, Japanese newspapers, Japanese friends, and a job using Japanese. So in her perspective we really aren't living in the "US" per say. Hawaii is a great place but the cost of living is high and the salaries are low. The public schools aren't the best in the country either.

We have been pondering these choices for a while:
1. Japan
2. Stay in Hawaii
3. Texas (My folks just retired there)
4. Seattle (Easy for me to get a job and seems like a cool city)
5. Portland (same as Seattle)

ET_Fukuoka said:

I think one of the main reasons I want to go back is because I want Jr. to be fluent in Japanese so he can talk to his relatives, and as an asset for his future. If we stay in the US there is a chance he will get lazy and only speak English. I think it's easier for him to learn English in Japan than Japanese in the US (imho).

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With a Japanese mother and Japanese grandparents to talk with he'll become perfectly fluent anywhere in the world. The only possible "laziness" would be to start speaking with them in English and/or relocate to an English-only environment which could even happen after living in Japan. The only real advantage language-wise of being in the country would be reading and writing because that will require formal training, supplementary classes etc in America to learn at a comparable level.

Mike Cash said:

"If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"

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And...the corollary..."and if Mama can't make Daddy happy, she ain't never gowna be happy"

Oh wasn't ti that a major 7.2 quake was predicted to hit Fukuoka sometime after spring sets in next year? hee, hee, hee....

JOKE !!!! It was only a joke...as they say here...american joke (I am, basically, you could say, American)...

Your situation is very hard. Like Mike I've done it before. Pulled up roots in '92 me, ms, and jr. #1, and went state side for two years of hard labor (these interpol thugs will find you wherever you are) then pulled up--I take that back, we didn't have any roots set in yet--and came back to Japan in '94 me, ms, and jr.s #1,2, and #3 in the oven. Hard...Boy was it hard at first. We totally blew the savings we had worked up before our move, and getting back into the work market was a bit long. It took 2.6 years to build that flow of income back up to even near what it had been.

Now...my advice (for what it may be worth) is since you guys obviously seem to want to move wherever (so to speak) for whatever reason--I mean it looks like you have your heart set on moving, period. I would say move ! Go for it. Yes, it will be hard...but such is the essence of life. Oh how many folks are there out there in the world, really, who would love to have the opporunity to just up and move somewhere.

I wish you the best in the course of action that you take !! More power to you, the Ms. and your Jr. !!!! Power to the people who get up and move just because they want to !!!!!

Looks like we will move back to Fukuoka in Feb 2008, unless a nice high paying job pops up out of the blue. We still left an 'out clause' just in case ;-)

Thanks for all the advice. A different point of view is always good!