Gustav van der Meulen | グスタフ•ファン•デル•メウレン
“Would you consider living in Japan permanently?”
日本に永住しようと思いますか？
Please share your answer to Gustav’s question in the comment area below.
About Gustav:
| Father | Dutch |
| Mother | Japanese |
| Age | 37 |
| Born in | the Netherlands |
| Lived in | the Netherlands - USA |
| Speaks Japanese | ⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪ |
| Reading and Writing | ⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪ |
| Speaks | Dutch - English - German |
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Hi Gustav, I’ve met you once in Amsterdam, remember? 🙂 I would like to live in Japan but I think it will be hard too. My Japanese isn’t good and the working mentality is so different. What about you?
@Romie
Hai, I do remember it. 😉
Maybe it would be hard, but it could be well worth it. Yes the work-mentality is crazy, but what if you could be working for a non-Japanese employer for example. The language you learn as you go along. The only problem I see is fitting in. They do discriminate, tend to themselves. But if you set your mind to it, anything is possible. Think of all the oishii food, the cool gadgets, the beautiful sceneries, clean and save streets, and promptly public transportation. Oh well, there will always be positives and negatives, yin and yang, but that is live. If you want to go, go for it! Gambare
Yes you’re right, maybe someday I will choose to live there. I went to Japan last april and enjoyed the polite people, beautiful Hanami and very good shopping… and the food… that’s 1 reason pack your bags!
Ah yes, Hanami-season! That is nice. Did you go for a picknick under the trees? How many times have you visit Japan? And yes, the food….. even the food from the various mini-marts are so delicious!!
I’ve been there 4 times. 2 times in summer, 1 in autumn and the last time in spring. I loved the temperature and flowers in this season. Summer can be a bit too hot. It’s been only 4 months but I already want to go back! How about you? Been to Japan recently?
Definitely. I’m in the US now, and have been for many years, but it’s been going in a bad direction, so I’d be more than happy to live out my life back in the motherland. I’ve not been back since 1964.
Sad to hear that things are going in a bad direction. Hope things will get better very soon. But since 1964 is a very long time. Have you been going back and forth since then? Or else it can become a ‘Culture-shock’ or ‘Time-shock’ because things are not the same anymore. And where in Japan would you live?
Certainly possible. There is nowhere like Japan. If I went back, I wouldn’t and couldn’t live in Tokyo anymore though.
@Ken
Nice to hear. Yes, Japan is a whole other planet. Why would and could you not live in Tokyo anymore? And where would or could you live in Japan?
I lived there for a bit, and no. I felt too constrained. it’s so lovely to visit though.
For how long have you lived there? And I can understand the answer: No. Sometimes visiting is nice but returning home is best, wherever that may be.
Absolutely!
YOSH!
Yes
Kampai!
If my life circumstances were different, possibly. Although, the amount of natural disasters freaks me out.
Wuhaha that is funny. Yes, no one would like to be confronted by an earthquakes, or a tsunami, or even Godzilla (;p). Where do you live now?
I’ve never lived there, nor can i speak Japanese but I’d certainly consider living there
Well good for you. Just go for it!
I could … but I doubt my husband would
And… why would he not?
actually …. Back in 2005 I almost left my life in Greece to live in tokyo! I wanted so much to try and live there with my obaachan and my Japanese family and all my hafu friends (back them there was a very dynamic hafu group in Tokyo) but at the last moment I decided to stay in Greece since my job was allowing me to travel to Japan often.. But now I regret not moving…
How does the saying go… you don’t regret the things you did, just the things you didn’t do.
Is it too late?
I lived in Japan and spoke Japanese fluently the first 9 years of my life. When I was young, my dream was to work in Japan as soon as I finished university. Later, I decided against doing it because I was married by then and decided the move would be too hard on my husband. Even later, I realized that the dream was based on some kind of revenge, to prove that I am a worthy person in spite of being a Haafu. I am much older now, happily living in Ecuador and have no need to prove anything to anybody. I want to write a play about my Japanese mom’s life was like immediately after WWII so I’ll be going back to Japan to do some research someday. I can’t imagine wanting to live there but I’m open to changing my mind once I stay there for a few weeks.
@JBSario
It is good that you eventually realized that there was nothing to prove to nobody, only yourself. Was that urge coming from Japan, or Ecuador, or some particular people in your live? And how is the play going along?
Lived there 20 years. Would gladly go back there to live permanently but not sure I want to retire there….maybe in the outback where it’s much cheaper! 🙂
20 years is a long time. Maybe even enough ‘Japan-time’ in your life? But you live in Australia now? And the Outback is cheap? Maybe I should go there some day.
Nope, I love California(;*. I would however, like to visit(;*
@Celestial Fanessa
I can understand, ‘California-loving’. Do visit Japan.
I am currently working in Japan, but I can’t see myself working here permanently because I can’t see myself conforming to the ridiculous work culture.
@Star
What do you think is ridiculous in their work culture? And where do you work, what do you do?
I spent my first 14 years in Japan, then 17 abroad, and have been back for 8. I see myself continuing to work here, but will most likely leave when I’m ready to retire. Maybe because I don’t feel like I have a real “home” here.
@fri
Where did you live for 17 years when you were abroad? And how come you do not feel that you have not got a real ‘home’ in Japan? I am interested.