• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

If You could live anywhere else, where would it be?

quickwhips

Member
Delaware. Its small and I can go 45 minutes to do anything I want to on average. I live in a rural area but have fiber internet with fios and 4 acres of land. I make way more than the median income here but would be broke in a big city. It is perfect for me and the family.
 
for those who picked Japan, just keep in mind that the country is still at large somewhat xenophobic, especially in the countryside with older generations. chances are even if you're able to live there, you won't ever truly be a real part of them. plus a lot of their stuff are not really design for westerners in terms of size, so there's that too.

that being said, as someone of Asian heritage (Chinese), I would love to live in Japan also. I've been there 3 times and had gone to a lot of different areas. LOVE every single one of them and won't minding settling down there if work/money isn't an issue. thou if I'm renting one of those small apartments, then cooking at home would kinda suck. but there's plenty of good and affordable places to eat over there so it's not a big issue.

outside of Japan, I think probably one of the Nordic countries. everything seem to be clean and nice out there and people tend to mind their own business and leave you alone. won't mind if I can get a small place out in the edge of city.
 

Quasicat

Member
Somewhere with a nice view of the ocean. Without researching, I would say Hawaii or Puerto Rico (well...maybe without the hurricanes). I’m not sure where, but it would need a strong electrical and internet infrastructure so I could still play games and run my Plex server.
 

Wvrs

Member
I’d like to live somewhere in Japan. Not sure if it’d be Tokyo, though. I have just always been infatuated with the culture. I would like to learn Japanese and honestly, if I could learn fluent Japanese and afford to live there the rest of my days, I would. I feel like that is where I belong in this world for some reason.

It's probably not, man. I live in Korea but know many people who who lived in Japan before. The two countries are similar in this respect - you will always be a foreigner.

Doesn't matter if you live there for 10 years, have a Japanese wife, speak fluent Japanese, you'll never be truly accepted.

It's one of the most homogenous societies on the planet. Casual racism (more like xenophobia I guess) is very high and, unlike in the west where xenophobia gets called out, in East Asia some drunk old guy could scream at you on the subway to go back home and no one will say a thing against them.

I like living in Korea, it has many great things going for it. I have a Korean girlfriend, I'm learning Korean, I became interested in the culture, history and love the food. But I still experience indirect or direct xenophobia constantly. I'd like to live in Japan too and maybe will. But I could never belong to either country.
 

Durask

Member
why does everyone want to go to Japan

Real kobe beef. That's my reason to go there again.

It's almost impossible to get real Kobe beef outside of Japan.

I guess you can buy it here but you also have to know how to cook it properly. I am not putting a $200 steak that was sent via Fedex from Japan on my Weber grill. :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
Last edited:

Tevious

Member
Japan.

I want to spend a year there as a student at a Japanese language school and get a part time job while I'm at it. Tokyo preferably. Maybe Kyoto.

Kyoto? Have you done your research? Just because Nintendo is there doesn't mean Kyoto is a great place to live. I've been there, and sure there are some neat old temples and castles in the area, but the city is old and it kind of seemed like a dumpy place that is much in need of some infrastructure renovations. The train station is really neat, though. So unless old, rundown, and cramped is your thing, you'd probably be much happier in Osaka, which is a short train trip away.
 

Compsiox

Banned
Kyoto? Have you done your research? Just because Nintendo is there doesn't mean Kyoto is a great place to live. I've been there, and sure there are some neat old temples and castles in the area, but the city is old and it kind of seemed like a dumpy place that is much in need of some infrastructure renovations. The train station is really neat, though. So unless old, rundown, and cramped is your thing, you'd probably be much happier in Osaka, which is a short train trip away.
I've been to Kyoto. Thank you for your concern.
 

JimiNutz

Banned
Ideally I'd like to live on a beach.
Somewhere quiet where the weather is good, the sand is white and the sea is clear blue. Maybe one of the Carribbean islands.

I do have family in southern Italy though so that's probably a more realistic prospect and I'd happily live there.

I did used to like the idea of living in Australia too.
 

Mohonky

Member
I do like Japan; culturally its an interesting place and I enjoyed the time I spent there.

Canada also, just seems a really nice place, quite cruisy.
 

Porcile

Member
There is a big difference between visiting somewhere as a tourist and enjoying all the delights guilt-free and actually having to live abroad and make a career, plan for the future etc. One lesson I've learned is that if you are moving abroad you really need to have a good job lined up beforehand.

Another sucky ass thing about living in Asia while the rest of your family is half way across the world is that if there are complicated family issues then you basically have to make the choice to stay or leave forever. I've seen plenty of people who like living here who have to leave because someone got sick. It's something that people don't really consider. This has become much worse since covid too.
 

JJMC

Neo Member
Italy or Switzerland, maybe spend a few years in Spain, France and Austria, depending on how much I'd have and the future prospects for my children I could consider staying where I'm at right now. Other than Europe I'd probably just enjoy Japan for a year or two, but there are very little places that are visually appealing that don't carry far too much danger for someone who's lived as a basement dweller.

Dying in Mars does sound good too.
 
Last edited:
It's probably not, man. I live in Korea but know many people who who lived in Japan before. The two countries are similar in this respect - you will always be a foreigner.

Doesn't matter if you live there for 10 years, have a Japanese wife, speak fluent Japanese, you'll never be truly accepted.

It's one of the most homogenous societies on the planet. Casual racism (more like xenophobia I guess) is very high and, unlike in the west where xenophobia gets called out, in East Asia some drunk old guy could scream at you on the subway to go back home and no one will say a thing against them.

I like living in Korea, it has many great things going for it. I have a Korean girlfriend, I'm learning Korean, I became interested in the culture, history and love the food. But I still experience indirect or direct xenophobia constantly. I'd like to live in Japan too and maybe will. But I could never belong to either country.

Ive visited Japan over 30 times (mostly due to work) and about 10 of those was vacation. I feel like I was supposed to be born in Japan how much I like it. However after all those travels and airbnb, it becomes very obvious. A great place to visit, spend some time but social life and to live...theres a reason why Japanese leave and never come back. Currently I live in Vietnam and have a Vietnamese gf but like you said, you are a foreigner at the end of the day. Viet people are way more friendly and open but work wise, if you dont want to be an english teacher, your options are severely limited.
 

Rubik8

Member
I’ve traveled to Germany for work and I really loved it there. Most Germans speak good English so the language wasn’t a problem for me while visiting, but I wouldn’t want to live there unless I spoke the language. If I did, Germany would be my #1 pick.

I’ve been to Canada many times and aside from the winters, it’s a lovely county full of lovely people. I would move there if given the opportunity. On my last visit, I met many people who were immigrants there, and they all loved it.
 

Kamina

Golden Boy
Iceland - somehwere near the coast
Japan - in a small rural village in a traditional house up a hill
Ireland - on the countryside in the green lands
 

Adam Wart

Neo Member
Ive visited Japan over 30 times (mostly due to work) and about 10 of those was vacation. I feel like I was supposed to be born in Japan how much I like it. However after all those travels and airbnb, it becomes very obvious. A great place to visit, spend some time but social life and to live...theres a reason why Japanese leave and never come back. Currently I live in Vietnam and have a Vietnamese gf but like you said, you are a foreigner at the end of the day. Viet people are way more friendly and open but work wise, if you dont want to be an english teacher, your options are severely limited.
I have never been to Japan but if I were to choose which Asian country to move to permanently i would choose either Japan or Korea :) What did you like most of all about Japan? I heard that in terms of worldview Japanese people are significantly different from Europeans. Is it true? My dream place is Spain. I am a fan of their local soccer championship and really appreciate there social and cultural way of living. Moreover, they say that real estate there is quite affordable to buy compared to, say, France or Italy.
 

wondermega

Member
Grew up in Boston (suburbs), moved to LA 20 years ago (in my twenties) and settled (again) into the burbs in the past year finally. I really wouldn't mind living out the rest of my life here, but money and lifestyle allowing, there's for sure a couple of places I'd love to live longer-term. Off the top of my head, NYC would be a blast (though probably a bit old for it now, in my mid-forties - I like quiet!) and somewhere in Europe (London? Paris?) would also be amazing. I like Asia and would love visiting there again, but not sure I'd really want to live there.. I probably need to see more of the world before I'd want to settle on somewhere else I could resign the rest of my days.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
Grew up in Boston (suburbs), moved to LA 20 years ago (in my twenties) and settled (again) into the burbs in the past year finally. I really wouldn't mind living out the rest of my life here, but money and lifestyle allowing, there's for sure a couple of places I'd love to live longer-term. Off the top of my head, NYC would be a blast (though probably a bit old for it now, in my mid-forties - I like quiet!) and somewhere in Europe (London? Paris?) would also be amazing. I like Asia and would love visiting there again, but not sure I'd really want to live there.. I probably need to see more of the world before I'd want to settle on somewhere else I could resign the rest of my days.

NYC is falling apart dude, and it's probably going to be a decrepit shithole for the next few decades, you missed your chance.
 

Haribokart

Banned
Currently in England, if I had a LOT of money I'd want to live in Manhattan (my overall favourite place in the world) but otherwise I'd choose Canada or Scotland.
 
Last edited:

Tschumi

Member
I live in Japan now, which is probably where a fair few people want to live, but I was racing at Bathurst with GT earlier this morning and I just felt like I wouldn't mind going back home to the ACT/NSW in Australia and walking/driving across so countryside. Maybe an extended trip that ends out amongst the natural formations towards the edges of the true outback~ then maybe loop down to the goldfields through some mountains and have an iced chocolate and a caramel slice and a sausage roll on a veranda~
 
Well, I wanted to live in China and here I am. I've been here for more than a year now, loving it.


Still miss family and home to death, but it was my choice.
 

dorkimoe

Member
Im in Illinois. I’d like to live in some small town in like Montana or Wyoming. Seems beautiful. (as long as they had internet)
 

Hugare

Member
My sister is moving to Nantes, France in january, to live with her boyfriend

She asked me if I would like to move with them, to look for a job and stay there

French Gaf, is it too hard to find a decent job in France without speaking french? lol

I am Brazilian but I have portuguese citizenship, so staying in Europe wouldnt be a problem in terms of visa and etc.

Would TOEFL or IELTS help me to find a job? Or it would be money wasted?
I'm pretty sure I could get a great score
 
Last edited:
I have never been to Japan but if I were to choose which Asian country to move to permanently i would choose either Japan or Korea :) What did you like most of all about Japan? I heard that in terms of worldview Japanese people are significantly different from Europeans. Is it true? My dream place is Spain. I am a fan of their local soccer championship and really appreciate there social and cultural way of living. Moreover, they say that real estate there is quite affordable to buy compared to, say, France or Italy.

Well firstly the basics, food wise they have everything you ever wanted. Its not one of those places where you have mainly one type of food and then hope to find other western type. Also its not even seafood dominant, tons of fried stuff, beef,pork etc. Same goes for supermarkets, they have it all.

Massive metropolis bit a ton of nature everywhere. Huge parks, trails, hills, mountain if you like snowboarding, they got beaches as well. People are super friendly, even if some would lack English knowledge, they will not let you hang dry and will whatever way they can help you with your question. They dont say "no" and walk away.

I love tech and games so its heaven for window-shopping. Also its very walkable place, hell even between metros it can be a lengthy walk. Super clean, organized etc.

BUT one thing you wont find in Japan is compassion. You know how sometimes you can get a guy that knows a guy to speed up a process or skip over a step. Yeah Japanese they follow the book to a T lol. I managed to get stuck and miss my flight because i wrote my details by mistake. Theres no scratch that and write on top...no heres a new paper and back of the line. Recycling is good and noble but man it gets tireing when you have 3 garbage cans in every household and the garbage truck comes like every 3-4 days.

Overall id love to live there but only if i can work for a foreign company. Otherwise ull be at work 12 hours a day and cant deny your boss an invite to drink which is all the time so you just follow like a sheep. Also i am very middle class but man the prices you pay for shoebox apartment is ridiculous. $3000 a month for like 25 square meter. Yes people live outside the city due to cost bit then you also have to accept lower rent but 3 hours a day commute to work.
 

Zug

Member
My sister is moving to Nantes, France in january, to live with her boyfriend

She asked me if I would like to move with them, to look for a job and stay there

French Gaf, is it too hard to find a decent job in France without speaking french? lol

I am Brazilian but I have portuguese citizenship, so staying in Europe wouldnt be a problem in terms of visa and etc.

Would TOEFL or IELTS help me to find a job? Or it would be money wasted?
I'm pretty sure I could get a great score

Your options for jobs are quite limited when you don't speak french in France. Even more so if you don't work in Paris, where most multinationals have their HQ.
You might be able to find a niche job where speaking portuguese and english is needed, although, tourism is pretty much dead at the moment.
That, and all the unemployment due to covid, meaning there will a lot more competition on jobs when things will restart.
If you're a decent software developper you should be fine either way, but then, you would already know that.
 
Currently I live in Kent, England.

gSS0nT3.png


I would ideally like to live in Cornwall, England:

zMSqjYG.png

It's a lot nicer and has far fewer people in it.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
CA73-AF32-4-ECE-4-B3-D-8380-8-E95-CEE5-EB18.jpg

I’d love to live in Japan for a while. To at least take in as much as I possibly can. Other than that I’d like to live somewhere in Europe. I’m tired of the suburbs. It’s crowded and it has lost its soul. I love the city because of the diversity, but I miss the trees and the crisp air.
 

mango drank

Member
Is England's humidity as bad as people say? I've always thought it'd be cool to live there.

The humidity can't be as bad as it is in Japan.
 

DJR

Member
Staying within the UK, my dream is to retire (or if I could ever afford it beforehand) to St. Ives in Cornwall. Always stayed there as a kid in the summer holidays and went back this year for the first time in about a decade. Love it there, if only to spend my days in the Sloop Inn watching the world go by...


jFt69Rj.jpg


fQMj5hI.jpg
 

Adam Wart

Neo Member
Taking into account current circumstances in the world and the fact that no one knows when pandemic is going to be over I would choose to move to the Arctic :messenger_grinning_smiling: here I can be sure not to meet too many people so it is supposed to be safe. Not long ago i started to study the history and culture of Iceland and I found myself thinking that the more I dive into their culture the more I want to live there.
 

Moogle11

Banned
Probably Northern Italy. Loved it when we visited. Good climate. Easy to get around the country and other parts of Europe via train, which is also a bit plus as I hate driving and flying is a hassle with security etc.
 

thefool

Member
I've traveled a fairly bit and I'm pretty happy where I live. It's not like I even have a lot of options, as a southern european, I pretty much can't live in central/north/east europe (way too cold). South america and africa are not particularly great options, that leaves me the us and nz/australia. The latter two I haven't visited yet, the former I really enjoyed california vibes but there's no way I could live in the us.
 
Last edited:

Yoshi

Headmaster of Console Warrior Jugendstrafanstalt
Probably Austria or Switzerland, because of the fantastic nature. If I wanted to go to a non-German speaking country, probably Ireland, because my wife would love it there and it is in the EU. Also it has no insane weapon laws or health care system.
 

Gravnak

Neo Member
I would like to live in a area that has a few more sun hours. The winter is nice, but it is really dark where I live. I have always actually dreamed of a sunny christmas!
 

notseqi

Member
Still Netherlands or Scandinavia, maybe Switzerland. Enjoying some snow right now, could live like this forever. Dog disapproves tho.

Right now, Tanzania. No pandemic-related insanity there.




6ZoyLvz.jpg

84153012.jpg

noice politics, mate

'For our research, we first looked at where the claim about Magufuli originated. In televised remarks on May 3, the president said he was placing an order for an herbal tonic drink developed in Madagascar and touted as a cure for COVID-19 — despite the fact that there were no proven scientific remedies for the disease at the time of this writing. Rather, scientists and public health officials said the best way to stay healthy during the pandemic was to avoid exposure to the virus.'
 
Top Bottom