After getting the degree

[Harrynguyen]

Hey guys, I was wondering for those that have their degree. How come you guys don't move outside of the country and to live and work? I know the wages isn't the same compared to over here in the US because the US currency is stronger but I wanted to know like would you move to another country to retire and because it's safer? Now, not saying it's a utopia or a new haven but just curious because with a degree, you're able to move to most countries. Reason why I said that is because I recently went to Japan and a friend I met off of a FB group, he's from the US and now live in Japan. I would love to move after being here in the US for 31+ years with everything that's going on... it's daunting at times.

[mohelena02]

I think it varies from person to person based on their personal experiences. As someone who moved to the U.S. from South America and survived the trauma of growing up there, I would say the U.S. is extremely safe. I have also traveled extensively throughout the world, and in my opinion, nowhere else compares.

[Avidreader]

Japan doesn't have a lot of jobs for foreigners that aren’t fluent in Japanese. The vast majority of foreigners in Japan are English teachers. Technically, any college degree qualifies a person to get the Jet teacher visa, but I think the JET program has an age limit.

I would believe most people on this forum are in their late 30s-40s and might have senior aged relatives or children which would make it difficult to move to Japan where most English language teachers earn very modest salaries. China used to be a popular option but plenty of foreigners left because of the lockdowns.

There has been some discussion on this forum about some graduates trying to get their degrees recognized in Germany.

[bjcheung77]

@Harrynguyen, It really depends on the person, if you're single and don't have many family commitments (like taking over the family business, taking care of your grandparents, or anything like that requires you to be in the country, etc), then it's a viable option to move abroad. I've done travels all over each and every year to see where I want to immigrate to. You need to decide for yourself, just because someone has done this and 'moved', they might not be there as a permanent resident, it could be just a 6 month stint or something where they come back in a year or two.

[davewill]

I thought about it. Not for safety, just for the experience. The company I used to work for has a serious presence in Germany, and I could possibly have transferred. Getting a visa to work there is a challenge just as it is for people wanting to come to the U.S. Up to six months is fairly easy, but to get more than that, you have to have skills they want.

[ReyMysterioso]

Hey guys, I was wondering for those that have their degree. How come you guys don't move outside of the country and to live and work? I know the wages isn't the same compared to over here in the US because the US currency is stronger but I wanted to know like would you move to another country to retire and because it's safer? Now, not saying it's a utopia or a new haven but just curious because with a degree, you're able to move to most countries. Reason why I said that is because I recently went to Japan and a friend I met off of a FB group, he's from the US and now live in Japan. I would love to move after being here in the US for 31+ years with everything that's going on... it's daunting at times.

1. Visa and immigration laws and processes.
2. Language barriers.
3. Kids.

[nyvrem]

Hey guys, I was wondering for those that have their degree. How come you guys don't move outside of the country and to live and work? I know the wages isn't the same compared to over here in the US because the US currency is stronger but I wanted to know like would you move to another country to retire and because it's safer? Now, not saying it's a utopia or a new haven but just curious because with a degree, you're able to move to most countries. Reason why I said that is because I recently went to Japan and a friend I met off of a FB group, he's from the US and now live in Japan. I would love to move after being here in the US for 31+ years with everything that's going on... it's daunting at times.

I'm the total opposite from you. I've lived overseas most of my life (in Singapore - read most expensive city in the world) The only time i was back in the US was for college because it was easier to enter and i had a full ride. since i'm earning above the average here atm, moving back to the US is really a step down for me (which includes healthcare cost!). also being asian, idk how much of a glass ceiling is there in the US.

I've explored relocating to Japan. It's almost impossible if you're not married to a Japanese / have Japanese relatives. You'll need at least N2 level for language to be competent enough to get by/find a job. then you'll need to actually find a job (a coy that's willing to employ an 'outsider'). 

1 way to go about this is to enroll in a Japanese language school and move to japan on a student visa, learn Japanese for 1 year and find a job and hope you get lucky.

another way is to drop some $$ into opening a business in Japan and get a business visa. 

either way, its really hard to move to Japan long term. Easy to stay there for 90 days as a tourist tho.

[rachel83az]

Hey guys, I was wondering for those that have their degree. How come you guys don't move outside of the country and to live and work? I know the wages isn't the same compared to over here in the US because the US currency is stronger but I wanted to know like would you move to another country to retire and because it's safer? Now, not saying it's a utopia or a new haven but just curious because with a degree, you're able to move to most countries. Reason why I said that is because I recently went to Japan and a friend I met off of a FB group, he's from the US and now live in Japan. I would love to move after being here in the US for 31+ years with everything that's going on... it's daunting at times.

I got out a while ago. I don't regret it at all, but the challenges are numerous. If you have a friend or a relative who is from the country you're moving to, it'll be easier because they'll already be at least partly familiar with how the bureaucracy functions. A friend who is from the same country as you may not be any help because their bureaucracy is not your bureaucracy. A friend who is neither from your country nor the country that you wish to move there is also no help, even if they are a resident, because again their bureaucracy is not your bureaucracy.

I'm not saying this to discourage anyone. But it's way more complicated than simply hopping on a plane.

[Duneranger]

I lived in the UK and Germany and hold dual citizenship. It's cool and novel, but my salary is quadrupled in the US, and I just flat-out prefer living in America for multiple reasons.

But Japan....

Extremely hard to immigrate to. It is almost impossible to entirely culturally integrate if you aren't Japanese and the work place is not English-speaker-friendly. They also work A LOT and their work culture is strange in general.

It's a nice place to visit but has had near-constant issues with being insular, xenophobia being a problem etc etc.

[Oktoberfest]

I lived in the UK and Germany and hold dual citizenship. It's cool and novel, but my salary is quadrupled in the US...

wow quadruple compared to Germany? Does this count for german IT staff, too?