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I've been considering a move to Japan. My pay would likely be several tens of thousands of dollars less (still very good, relative to the market but less than what I could command in a Western market), but it's also an opportunity to have a very different life experience. Money vs. experience, it's really tough for me to figure out what's more important.
A couple examples of AI engineers moving to Tokyo (I know it's different) and sharing some thoughts on Twitter: - David Ha w/ Google Brain: https://twitter.com/hardmaru - Adam Gibson started Skymind in Silicon Valley and moved to Tokyo a few years back: https://twitter.com/agibsonccc
At least Japan lets non-permanent residents avoid taxes on income from abroad (that stays abroad) for the first 5 years. Depends on your home country whether this lets you avoid their taxes. In some cases, this can save a lot of tax.
Why would anyone willingly move to an authoritarian dictatorship?
From the point of view of somebody who lives in a place with clear air and a decent paying job, I would require significant extra compensation to move my residence to a place with air pollution on the level of New Delhi, Lahore, or Beijing.
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Thanks for the insights, much appreciated! To be clear, are you a westerner who made this move, or a Chinese native? If the former, how did the startup culture compare to the US startup culture? >of Chinese descent and speak the language What about westerns who speak mando? Is it workable or still too much of a culture shock? Is racism abundant?
>mando Is it a regional norm around you to refer to Mandarin as "Mando?" Never heard of this in my life...
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Thanks for the insights, much appreciated! To be clear, are you a westerner who made this move, or a Chinese native? If the former, how did the startup culture compare to the US startup culture? >of Chinese descent and speak the language What about westerns who speak mando? Is it workable or still too much of a culture shock? Is racism abundant?
>mando Is it a regional norm around you to refer to Mandarin as "Mando?" Never heard of this in my life...
China executes thousands of political prisoners per year to harvest thier organs on an industrial scale.
I’ve sort of done the move. If you are not ethnically Chinese and speak the language, there will be a few things to get used to. The degree will depend a bit on where you end up. For example: - pollution can be a big problem. - if Chinese company, work culture can be very different. More top down, longer hours etc. - noisy. Most places you go in big cities you are surrounded by noise. Cars, people, construction. It d…
I would like to add: Even if you are ethnically Chinese and speak the language, don't go back to China unless you really cannot find a decent job in the west. Especially if you are young and educated in the west, here are the things to consider: - It is not very hard to find a STEM job in the west, and the pay is good. - Your parents are healthy now, not much to worry. It's better to get a green card before they get…
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I don't think you're going to get away from this. By living in and working in China, paying Chinese taxes, and supporting Chinese companies, you are directly supporting an authoritarian regeime.
As a Canadian living in and working in America, I have a similar although less dramatic moral difficulty. The fact is that the American government is curiously abusive compared to your average developed national government.
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For me it was the money and opportunities. I turned a blind eye to the power abuse, human rights violations and corruption, and moved to the US anyways.
"I turned a blind eye to the power abuse, human rights violations and corruption" I'm not sure how you can compare the US, which does have it's problems, but is one of the least racist (and offers many more opportunities to people that start with nothing) countries in the world to China, one of the most corrupt and authoritarian. In China, for example, you need to include your head shot on your resume and I've known…