Japan Is Giving Away 8M Abandoned Houses

Post by barry-cotter » Thu, Nov 29, 2018, 2:16 AM UTC

emilecantin wrote: post #164

gwbas1c wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is it just me or is the prospect of working from home in the middle of nowhere terrifying? My wife dragged me kicking and screaming to a rural area that's a popular vacation area. (I must admit that I wanted to end up in a different rural area that's also a popular vacation area.) My neighborhood is excellent, and there's plenty to walk to. Rural areas still have dense spots with plenty of things to do. There's jus…

I did that jump, but in Canada. I moved from a medium-sized city (pop. ~180K) to a literal village (pop. ~900), then I lost my remote job a few months ago. I just jumped back into freelancing, and for now I actually have too much work. There's a lot of demand for North-American developers on the freelance market. Also if your cost of living is low (as it tends to be in rural areas), you can afford to charge a little…

Post by alsetmusic » Thu, Nov 29, 2018, 2:21 AM UTC

barry-cotter wrote: post #297

jaredklewis wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Contrast that to countries like most of the West, where at least a solid proportion of people consider it socially unacceptable to discriminate socially based on someone's looks or origins.. Those things are also socially unacceptable in Japan. My experience is that the often discussed "micro-agressions" against foreigners happen about as often in Japan as they do in my own country (US, grew up in Texas). Of course…

Using tear gas at the border is an American thing, not a Trump thing. https://www.businessinsider.com/border-patrol-also-used-tear... > The use of tear gas at the border by CBP began in 2010. > Since fiscal year 2012, CBP has employed tear gas a total of 126 times, but its use hit a 7-year high under Trump in fiscal year 2018.

Post by casual_slacker » Thu, Nov 29, 2018, 2:31 AM UTC

snowwrestler wrote: post #227

iandanforth wrote: post #180

The more interesting thing about this is that it is part of a new type of economics, contraction economics. The global trend toward birth rates below replenishment means that first-world countries are maintaining their population growth through immigration. As some countries embrace restrictions on immigration, and ultimately all countries plateau in their population growth (projected to be around 2100) it means that…

I disagree that there is a significant correlation between expanding population and an expanding economy. In fact there are plenty of examples of countries whose economy expanded way faster than their population, which implies that factors other than population dominate economic growth. (If population was the dominant factor in economic growth, we would see a consistent correlation between the two.) Every day we read…

Post by SenHeng » Thu, Nov 29, 2018, 2:36 AM UTC

nroets wrote: post #302

SECProto wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hotels are already cheap in Japan ($60 a night will get you quite a nice business hotel with hot spring in most places I've been) and Airbnb is subject to local restrictions (federal law passed recently allows local governments to place restrictions on Airbnb - you have to get a permission letter from your city Hall to be allowed to list on airbnb - and they can deny you for any reason eg neighbour complaints). Perso…

$60 a night is not cheap. I traveled (cycling) for 3 months in South East Asia and my average hotel bill was $8, some of them brand new hotels.

Post by Iamhisalt » Thu, Nov 29, 2018, 2:41 AM UTC

jaredklewis wrote: post #279

swombat wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on my experience visiting Japan and talking to both expats and expat-friendly locals there, I think the issue is more cultural than political. If you live in Japan but don't look Japanese you never really feel welcomed as a Japanese. Contrast that to countries like most of the West, where at least a solid proportion of people consider it socially unacceptable to discriminate socially based on someone's looks or…

> Contrast that to countries like most of the West, where at least a solid proportion of people consider it socially unacceptable to discriminate socially based on someone's looks or origins.. Those things are also socially unacceptable in Japan. My experience is that the often discussed "micro-agressions" against foreigners happen about as often in Japan as they do in my own country (US, grew up in Texas). Of course…