America
- Good pay
- Bigger Houses
- Free internet
- Not an ethnostate
- Nice/open people
- Nice Nature
- Public Respect (somewhat)
- While the chances are low, shootings and police/ICE violence is not 0%
- Universities, really good if not best (as an academic)
China
- Clean, Major cities are clean but more polluted and trashed than other two
- Ethnostate, forever an outsider
- Increasingly difficult internet.
- Nice/open people
- Safe Society
- Universities, pretty mid to bad at best unless its top
Japan
- Cleanest
- Ethnostate, forever an outsider, but not being stared at or random photos like in China
- Free internet
- Nice Nature
- Public Trust
- Public Respect
- Safe Society
- Universities, pretty mid to bad at best unless its top three
I feel forever trapped between these three countries with family, languages, culture, and religion. Very lost on which to pursue for my career. A recent trip to China has made me very much feel not China. I cannot stand the staring, photo taking making me feel like I'm a zoo animal, even more so for my child. But it is nice and pay can be decent. I also really like Chinese people and culture.
America has a lot of good, but I'm so sick of having to be stressed about its politics and the culture of violence. I do love the nature, individual freedom, and academic (tho the recent not being able to comment on Israel has been insane).
Japan is great on the surface but subtle racism, bad pay, and trump-copy cat prime minister is concerning. Committing to China or especially Japan over the US is fucking my family financially if we want to visit family in the other two countries.
Side note, I love being fluid between three cultures but not having a stable home in one place is somewhat exhausting.
Another random thought is America is actually so comfortable compared to China or Japan when it comes to being yourself.
Edit: why is everyone being pedantic or getting upset over one word rather than just answer lmao
American here who just immigrated to Japan with my Japanese spouse and mixed child 2 months ago. We left for our family’s safety, and are very happy with the decision.
I will say though: if you don’t have any Japanese family members moving with you, living in Japan can be very difficult. I have JLPT N1 certification, have lived and worked here for 6 years previously, and am very comfortable speaking/reading/writing Japanese, but I wouldn’t try to live here long term without my spouse… it’s just… tough. People here have never been terribly welcoming of non-Japanese, and with the recent surge in popularity of the openly anti-immigrant Sanseito party (gained 13 seats in the upper house last year), it’s not looking great for us foreigners here.
Still, for US, this felt like the safer option compared to the states right now.
I know this isn’t a cut and clear answer to your question, but just hoping I can provide some context from personal experience to help you make an educated decision for own unique situation.
Thanks for sharing your own experience! :)
That's kind of my own feeling... Japan has some difficulties but its safer than the states...