Asklemmy

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.

Leaving out the fact that America's economy is in freefall and it's currently experiencing a fascist collapse is............a choice.

Uhh where the hell in america you getting free internet? Not a thing. $70 a month for 200 Mbps.

America is way too huge to make a generalization on the people but I'll tell you on the non-coasts, youll run into hick racist assholes. But its cheap to live in those areas.

The landscapes are awesome on the west side.

I wouldnt move here since its about to experience a full collapse with many jobs being lost and a full on acceleration to fascism. Most people want to get out of America, not move in lol.

Disagree with the US not being an ethnostate. If you're not white, then it does feel like an ethnostate. I was born here, but I've always been made to feel that this isn't my country. I'm a guest here. I'm tolerated (in the blue states), but not welcome. I'm constantly getting news that half the country hates people like me and wants me to leave (again, born here!)

But, uh, yeah, if you're white or white-passing, then yeah, the US is your ethnostate. 👍

You can actively work on countering the negative effects, so I'd start with just a list of positives. If all the negatives were gone, which country would you choose?

Let's suppose it's the USA. You're uncomfortable there, because of violence and ICE scares, but everything else is fine. You can look at local crime rates, especially gun violence. Find an area/school where these statistics are near-zero. You can mitigate the ICE risk by retaining an immigration lawyer and making sure that all your paperwork is in order.

Make the same type of list with Japan and China. What would you need to do to mitigate the xenophobia/ethnic differences? (Are you already fluent in both languages?)

You also mention finances, which should probably be near the top of the list. Figure out a realistic cost for your entire time at school, then work with your family to understand what's doable and what stretches them past the breaking point.

if you stay in a foreign country for 10+ years, your neighbors, shop keepers, etc. will get used to you. but really, the deciding factor in whether anyone can move to a foreign country is the work available to them. if you don't get a good job, with reasonable hours, probably with an international company, good luck making it work.

If by America you mean the USA, then totally no. Current hell with government will only worsen there. China seems appealing, but some government policies and language complexity makes it hard to live there until you adapt. Remains only Japan. Despite still having some complicated compared to English language, it is the best option here on my opinion.

Universities, really good if not best (as an academic)

What are you talking about?

Whether the US is the right choice for you probably depends on your skin tone and where you'd be living. If you appear Asian and move to rural Texas, you're probably gonna have a bad time. If you look Asian but move to somewhere like NYC where there's more of a melting pot of citizens and currently liberal leadership, it will probably be a better experience.

There is a lot of bad stuff happening here, but it isn't detrimental (currently) to everyone equally. I personally wouldn't consider China due to the extreme censorship and heavy handed government, but the US is tracking that way. Japan has its own issues as you mentioned, but I'm not well versed enough to speak on them.

It's definitely not a clear cut choice and you'll probably have to eat some shit regardless of your choice. I think the potential is highest in the US for success compared to the other choices, but you could also walk into the wrong store and get arrested by ICE.

If you have to choose between one of those three I think the choice has to be japan assuming you have guaranteed work lined up at all three locations with reasonable pay for the area at least.

Are you black? Honest question.