Home
Back

Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you!

Note that this thread has not been updated in a long time, and its content might not be up-to-date anymore.

Page 1 of 4: Posts 1 - 20 of 71
 
1 2 3 4
next

I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 16:10
*I'm 18
*Homeschooled (Still well educated, High school level minimum)
*Haven't been to any college
*Although I haven't been to Japan I am sure I want to move there.
*I don't know any Japanese. Actually i'm learning German at the moment, but i'm more than happy to drop it for Japanese.
*I don't have the spare money to spend for schools.
*I would happily do the most menial jobs if it would get me by. (Although I understand I cant get a visa for something like fast food.)
*As for teaching while I have taught English while they taught me German it was never professional. (Although I can still look at English from a teaching point of view)
Beside slight grammar issues (like plural subjects having plural verbs) I have a firm grasp on English (It's my native language)

So to sum it up am I hopeless?
Do I have a chance of reaching my dreams to leave the US, and live abroad.
I wouldn't want to return to the US as a citizen. If I could after 5 years I would renounce my US citizenship.

Help advice anything would really really be appreciated.

Thank you
~chris
by Jrthe3rd  

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 21:47
Basically, without a college degree (4-year, accredited), it would be very difficult for you to get a work visa. The US doesn't have a working holiday agreement with Japan, so that's out.

Furthermore, without any Japanese ability, your employment options are very, very limited.

You seem to have a big heart. However, with no qualifications, and no language ability, I can't see anyone in Japan who would have any reason to go to the (considerable) time and expense of sponsoring a visa.
by Dainichi Heater rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 21:57
It would be legally impossible to get any type of work visa, since they all require some sort of qualification (degree and/or experience).

The only ones with no such requirement are Diplomat, Official, Professor, Artist, Religious Activities and Journalist, and those are jobs for which you need high qualifications to get a job in the first place.
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 22:06
What about attending a language school.
I don't know the price of it all. Can anyone enlighten me on how this process work?
I looked into and emailed a handful of schools, but none have gotten back yet. (It hasn't been a long wait as of this post.)
As far as I can gather what I need to do is come well funded then go to the school. After awhile I can start work and make my way from there.
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 22:27
If you want to come attend a language school, you need to apply with the school, get accepted, pay in the tuition, and the school applies for Student visa on your behalf. The school websites will have the application procedures described.

While you are on Student resident status, you can do part-time job if you maintain good attendance and grades, but that will not be sufficient to cover all your living expenses and tuition. In addition, once that is finished, you will be back to zero. Some people first attend a language school to bring their Japanese proficiency to a level sufficient to follow college classes in Japanese, THEN take entrance exams to enter a college/university in Japan. But all this requires tuition and living expenses funded.

Unless you have a bachelor's degree (or highly specialized skills such as chef - trained and qualified of your cuisine), you will not be able to get any full-time work with work visa.

I believe that you should save enough money for a holiday in Japan, first just visit as a tourist, and see if you really like it or not.
by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 22:30
"*Although I haven't been to Japan I am sure I want to move there."

Yeah, thanks for the sunday laughs :D
Great to have hopes and dreams and all but do a reality check.
At least make a few tourist trips to have a glimpse of the country before spouting nonsense.
by Sokerikukko rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 22:35
Any figures?
How much would a vacation be?
How much would language school be?
How much would cost of living be?
Can a part time job not cover a studio apartment and tuition?
Do scholarships exist for this?
How much should I have saved up in all in USD to move and live until I can get a part time job, and slow the pace of money drain.
(Including tuition, rent , food ,transportation, ext...)

Thank you for the help and advise so far guys it really is appreciated.
~chris
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 22:45
Ths whole "you must travel to Japan before living there" is the biggest load of bovine excrement that gets circulated over here. Be it only because traveling and living are completely different things.
by Firas rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 22:48
Re: Sokerikukko
Trust me I know it sounds like some dream based off a fad, but I have spent years going over what country to move to. It was narrowed down between Germany and Japan. I'v searched and looked into the worst and best of each. I'm 70% Japan and 30% Germany. If it matters this is not a "Oh I want to move to Japan because it's weird" or "I really like anime I want to move to Japan" type thing. I want to move due to careful research and study over 1st world country's to move to. Japan has low crime rate, smaller size country, snow, cultural celebrations, easy public transportation (I live in Texas we don't have trains), also the the cultural of convenience is a good perk.
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 23:06
No part time job will pay enough to cover everything.

Tuition at a language school - maybe $7000 / yr
Apartment rent - $500 / month
Food, other things - $500 / month
Total yearly cost ~$20k

Part time job - $8 /hr
Maximum hours / week = 28
28 * $8 * 52 weeks = $11,648

Working 28 hours a week leaves no time for study or anything else.

Furthermore, as mentioned, even if you do have great Japanese at the end, you still need a degree to get a work visa.

There are degrees in English (http://www.uni.international.mext.go.jp/ ), but without at least a GED, you wouldn't be eligible (and even that's not a guarantee of eligibility - it depends on other factors too). You'd have to be able to finance your degree as well.

Nothing cheap about this dream, I'm afraid.
by Dainichi Heater rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 23:08
Hi Chris,

A moderate estimate would be around 3,000,000 yen or 30,000 USD. The Dollar is strong against Yen now, so about mid to high 20,000-ish USD would be sufficient if you live in a dorm, cycle as much as you can and live frugally. In Tokyo, rent will be expensive. Dorms typically cost around 30,000 - 40,000 a month for a room with 2 pax. In other places however, will be lower. It depends on where you want to live/study.

School fees for a year would be around 700,000-800,000 Yen for a year (not inclusive for application fee of 30, 000 yen or other misc fee like textbooks etc). You'll need to sign up for your health insurance as well if you're staying here.

You can only work part time up to 28 hours a week. The typical wage for part-timers (konbini/convenience store, restaurant staff etc) is 900 yen/hour. As for whether you'll get to work the full 28 hours or not is subjected to your place of employment of course. There's no guarantee.

There will be scholarships available. Look at the schools' website for more information. However, most of it are already for students studying with them, and/or for students who are furthering their studies after language school.

And last but not least, you'll need to prove that you are financially stable enough to come here for visa purposes. In every application form, there is a section which requires you to prove the amount in your bank or your sponsor's bank. The standard amount is 3,000,000 yen, which is the figure I gave you earlier. As you can see, it's not something I just pull out of my head. If your sponsor is your guarantor, he/she has to prove that he/she is related to you and must be financially sound.

Hope that explains it.
by Murakami Seirin rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/26 23:53
Re: Dainichi Heater
I do have a high-school diploma, as of today I haven't yet taken SAT's. (But I am studying my ass off.)
Thank you for the numbers.
Re: Murakami Seirin Thank you so much.

So I know i'm rambling on for a glimpse's of hope for moving, but what about normal old college.
Can go straight through too Japanese college?
Although home schooled I sill have a theoretical diploma, a real GED, and a transcript.
All in all it seems as if I should just do a quick 4 years of college at the community college, and get my BA then move. I honestly would rather not if I have literally any other options.
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 00:26
If you have a GED that might make things simpler. As I mentioned before, there are universities which teach in English, and you'd be able to learn Japanese there. If you stick to the national universities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tohoku, Kyushu, Tsukuba, Hokkaido [has a program called MJSP]), then tuition will be much more manageable - about $5000 / yr. If you work hard, you might even get a scholarship or a tuition waiver.

However, even with a GED, there's no guarantee you'd be eligible - it's up to the discretion of the institution, so you should email them directly.
by Dainichi Heater rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 00:42
So I should just get a GED over a what I have? Even if I do very well on my SAT's?
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 05:07
But hey, anyone else that see's this post it would be awesome to keep getting advise and life experiences. It all helps!
Thanks
~chris
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 07:39
Chris,
Love your enthusiasme and hope your dream will come true! Germany or Japan, two rather different countries and cultures, my pick would be Japan too ;-)
Getting a BA in the US will probably give you a better shot at succeeding, so why not work hard to get that first.
I googled "Japanese Community in Austin" and was surprised to see there are several Japanese groups in Austin. Why not join a few, see if you can take Japanese language lessons and become familiar with the Japanese culture while you study for your BA.
Just something to consider. Best of luck realizing your dream!
by Dutch Ann rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 08:27
Re: Dutch Ann
I'v never really noticed a Japanese culture here. Never would have thought of that.
I suppose I might get a bachelors in Japanese. That seems alittle redundant to me though.

Thank you for the advice!
~chris
by Jrthe3rd rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 11:54
All in all it seems as if I should just do a quick 4 years of college at the community college, and get my BA then move. I honestly would rather not if I have literally any other options.

That would likely be the fastest and cheapest route to long term residency in Japan. Note that community colleges generally do not give out BA degrees though. But you could go to one for 2 years and then complete your degree somewhere else.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 12:03
Ths whole "you must travel to Japan before living there" is the biggest load of bovine excrement that gets circulated over here. Be it only because traveling and living are completely different things.

Definitely not a requirement, but it can still be sound advice, especially for these types of posts from the young/naive, with unrealistic plans, professing to want to spend their lives in a place that they may know nothing about. For them it is probably a good idea to visit a country first before committing to a life changing move.
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

Re: I want to move to Japan from America 2015/4/27 18:24
There are a number of language schools in Japan that act as junior colleges. You attend a 2 year course, and then you can continue on another 2 years at a real Japanese university, and then you have your bachelor's degree.
So if you didn't want to do 4 years schooling in America, you could do the schooling in Japan instead.

However, doing so is not easy. You have to be very serious and hardworking about this goal. What you need to do is work your butt off then next year or two, and try to save around 30,000 dollars US. Also studying Japanese in the meantime. Many of the more proper serious Japanese language schools require you to already have either your JLPT 5 or 4 (I can't remember which) because classes are naturally taught in Japanese.
Once in Japan, you would have to start working and saving money for university. If you spend wisely the 30 or so thousand dollars you saved up will last you the full 2 years of the language school, and you could probably save up to around 20k working part time over the 2 years (assuming you save it all). Continue working while in university, and that should get you through. After all that you can find a job in Japan and get sponsored.

Again though, this isn't easy. You need to study very hard to get into the university in the first place, and in order to have adequate enough Japanese to be able to understand the courses and successfully get through.
With hard work and determinitation, you can certainly do this, it is not beyond the realm of possibility, and there are people that succeed. But it's not easy. And if you aren't willing to go that far, you're better off just doing four years school in the US, getting your bachelor's degree, and then moving there that way.
You'd still be 22/23 years old by the time you get there, which is plenty young enough. No need to rush things.
by guest (guest) rate this post as useful

Page 1 of 4: Posts 1 - 20 of 71
 
1 2 3 4
next

reply to this thread