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Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

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Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#51

Post by mirsadm »

bojo wrote: post #33
propman wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind. Are you fluent in Japanese? Have there been any major instances of discrimination at work? I know you’ve been there 10 years, but is this a place you’d be happy for the rest of your life to start a family and potentially retire? Please ignore if any of these are too uncomfortable or invasive.

Not the parent but same situation. Been here 11 years. A lot of people can get around without speaking Japanese, but I don’t recommend it. You’ll get a much more meaningful and deeper experience out of living here if you can converse with everyone. Randomly stopping and bullshitting with a bored old guy for an hour can be quite fun! Sadly the developer pay here is pretty dismal, even more so if you come with US expec…

There are other places in the world that offer good public transportation, food, friendly people, etc. Unless you are attracted to Japanese culture in particular it would be so much easier to move somewhere else to experience living abroad.

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#52

Post by lmiller1990 »

devilsbabe wrote: post #48
lmiller1990 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also not the parent but I have been in Japan for three years now (but leaving to move to my home country soon). I'll share my experience. I had basically no truly "negative" experiences based on my race. I am fluent (understand 95% - 98% of what's going on, including complex convos about tech stacks and so on (I work in software engineering). Sometimes people speak (usually not very good) English to me, assuming I do…

I've heard that salaries are on average much lower but companies offering competitive wages do exist. Like you said, you will have an easier time fitting in and earn more if you work for an international company rather than a Japanese one. I'm a software engineer in an American tech company's Tokyo office with 1 yoe and have around ¥13M total comp.

That's nuts, I have 4 yoe and only on like ¥5M. Like a parent comment stated I am content with low pay and carrying an entire team with several years exp on me, though. You don't come to Japan for the money, or at least I didn't. Good to hear you found a well paying org (I hope you can get the chance to use and learn Japanese there as well).

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#53

Post by glandium »

mikekchar wrote: post #39
propman wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind. Are you fluent in Japanese? Have there been any major instances of discrimination at work? I know you’ve been there 10 years, but is this a place you’d be happy for the rest of your life to start a family and potentially retire? Please ignore if any of these are too uncomfortable or invasive.

I don't mind answering what I can. Of course the answers are limited by my actual life :-) Fluent in Japanese: There is a difference between fluency and proficiency. I am very fluent in Japanese. If I want to say something, I open my mouth and the words come out. If someone is talking to me, I understand what they are saying -- unless I don't, in which case I ask them to explain and then I do. I'm not very proficient…

You can get permanent residency after one year if you've been married to a Japanese for more than five years (iirc).

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#54

Post by latchkey »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #28
latchkey wrote: post #3

I know this is about Japan, but I did something similar. I went from San Francisco to Saigon about 2 years ago. Significantly lower cost of living, motorbike culture, great food and craft beer, super friendly people, easy travel to other SE Asia countries. I don't regret it one bit.

I guess we all have our own preferences. I visited Saigon (and the rest of Vietnam) a couple of years ago with an eye to maybe moving there and working remotely. It didn't take me too long to decide that I wasn't going to move. The main reason was just the lack of creature comforts. No offence intended to Vietnam, but everything there was just a bit shitty and in a state of disrepair. I just felt like everything was…

Good on you to at least explore your options, that is 90% of the battle!

Agreed, Saigon (and VN in general) is not for everyone, but that is changing over time as more western influence starts to happen here. Case in point, Landmark 81 is now open. I'm not sure that is good or bad... It also is a city that you live in, not visit.

Those 'creature comforts' are not easy to find as a tourist, but they exist. Having friends and dating locals helps a lot. My google maps is unreadable now cause I've marked every single place I've been to and I know that I'm missing out on tons of things cause I don't know the language.

It took me about a year to get used to the heat, but you do (I actually find that I get cold more easily now).

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#55

Post by latchkey »

foobandit wrote: post #10
latchkey wrote: post #3

I know this is about Japan, but I did something similar. I went from San Francisco to Saigon about 2 years ago. Significantly lower cost of living, motorbike culture, great food and craft beer, super friendly people, easy travel to other SE Asia countries. I don't regret it one bit.

I'm not aware of any good opportunities out there - did you start your own thing or work remotely?

I originally found a company that 'sponsored' me as a consultant. Then I've had a number of jobs while I've been here. I'm currently remote consulting for a global company based out of NYC. Yes, it means I have a nightly 10:30pm standup, but that is an ok price to pay to get to live where I want to.

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#56

Post by latchkey »

nguyenthanhloc wrote: post #20
latchkey wrote: post #3

I know this is about Japan, but I did something similar. I went from San Francisco to Saigon about 2 years ago. Significantly lower cost of living, motorbike culture, great food and craft beer, super friendly people, easy travel to other SE Asia countries. I don't regret it one bit.

thank you for sharing the story! I'm a Vietnamese, former marketer/founder, and currently working as a banker. Can you share with me more about your experiences in Vietnam? Could I buy you a coffee, sometimes?

Yes, of course! Contact me offline. =)

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#57

Post by mikekchar »

glandium wrote: post #53
mikekchar wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind answering what I can. Of course the answers are limited by my actual life :-) Fluent in Japanese: There is a difference between fluency and proficiency. I am very fluent in Japanese. If I want to say something, I open my mouth and the words come out. If someone is talking to me, I understand what they are saying -- unless I don't, in which case I ask them to explain and then I do. I'm not very proficient…

You can get permanent residency after one year if you've been married to a Japanese for more than five years (iirc).

Cheers. Next time my visa is up, I'll have a look.

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#58

Post by devilsbabe »

lmiller1990 wrote: post #52
devilsbabe wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard that salaries are on average much lower but companies offering competitive wages do exist. Like you said, you will have an easier time fitting in and earn more if you work for an international company rather than a Japanese one. I'm a software engineer in an American tech company's Tokyo office with 1 yoe and have around ¥13M total comp.

That's nuts, I have 4 yoe and only on like ¥5M. Like a parent comment stated I am content with low pay and carrying an entire team with several years exp on me, though. You don't come to Japan for the money, or at least I didn't. Good to hear you found a well paying org (I hope you can get the chance to use and learn Japanese there as well).

Unfortunately I speak mostly English all day. I'll speak Japanese when interacting with a Japanese colleague directly but everything else is in English. I have to work actively to improve my language skills.

I'm glad to hear you're happy but I hope you try to move to a company that will pay you what you're worth. For a software engineer and team leader, that's way more than ¥5M.

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#59

Post by glandium »

lmiller1990 wrote: post #45
propman wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind. Are you fluent in Japanese? Have there been any major instances of discrimination at work? I know you’ve been there 10 years, but is this a place you’d be happy for the rest of your life to start a family and potentially retire? Please ignore if any of these are too uncomfortable or invasive.

Also not the parent but I have been in Japan for three years now (but leaving to move to my home country soon). I'll share my experience. I had basically no truly "negative" experiences based on my race. I am fluent (understand 95% - 98% of what's going on, including complex convos about tech stacks and so on (I work in software engineering). Sometimes people speak (usually not very good) English to me, assuming I do…

> Sometimes people speak (usually not very good) English to me, assuming I don't understand

This has changed in recent years. At least in the prefecture I live in (Aichi), and where I've traveled outside Tokyo, people just start talking to me in Japanese. 15 years ago, when I lived in Japan for 15 months, it would happen that they'd first try English or I'd feel they were hesitant to speak Japanese to me (but still did).

But since I moved to Japan again 5 years ago, nothing of the sort. They start in Japanese without batting an eye. I think that's because there are way more foreigners living here than there used to, and they tend to talk Japanese. And in non touristy places, there are probably more foreigners who speak Japanese than not.

Re: Some Techies Are Shunning Silicon Valley for the Japanese Dream

#60

Post by codesuki »

lmiller1990 wrote: post #52
devilsbabe wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard that salaries are on average much lower but companies offering competitive wages do exist. Like you said, you will have an easier time fitting in and earn more if you work for an international company rather than a Japanese one. I'm a software engineer in an American tech company's Tokyo office with 1 yoe and have around ¥13M total comp.

That's nuts, I have 4 yoe and only on like ¥5M. Like a parent comment stated I am content with low pay and carrying an entire team with several years exp on me, though. You don't come to Japan for the money, or at least I didn't. Good to hear you found a well paying org (I hope you can get the chance to use and learn Japanese there as well).

Where do you work at?
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