Canadian-American software developer living in Japan since 2015. Into gardening, DIY, permaculture, etc.

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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • I will continue not using it. I was interested in Oculus until they sold to FB and then I nope’d right out of that. I really did think VR was neat, but various things kept me from pulling the trigger. If it becomes the only way to use chunks of the internet, I just won’t use them; I grew up still in the analog world (though we did have BBS and very early dial-up in the '80s), and I could go back to it. I’d honestly miss educational content more than anything else, but I can get books. In my lifetime, that strategy would probably still work fine.


  • I didn’t miss it so much as I didn’t think it was that important, but you’re right that it’s not a bad point to bring up. That 64.9m^2 is actually bigger than the 2LDK+Loft I live in now (55.x + the loft) in a freestanding house. For two of us, it’s mostly fine. Just because I work from home, I’d like a little more space, but it’s worked fine. Previously, my apartment was I think 32m^2 or so, which again was mostly fine.

    People here aren’t used to f-off big houses like in the US (I can’t speak for Aus), so I think of it less as a problem and more of a “this is what we do” type of thing. In the post-war boom in the US, it seems a lot of newer houses were around 92M^2 (single-source quick google), but I know that number is way higher today. Anecdotally, I’ve not found wanting bigger spaces something that a lot of my friends have mentioned (until they have toddlers and older anyway, heh), particularly when a lot of them are only home to sleep, eat, and shower.



  • Japan does not grant citizenship to those born here. There are multiple ways to acquire Japanese citizenship, most of which are based on the most recent couple generations of parents/grandparents. Multiple citizenship technically isn’t allowed, either. Anyone naturalizing to Japanese citizenship must relinquish their existing citizenship(s) unless the other country does not allow relinquishing. If found out, the Japanese government can take action to revoke citizenship (or at least parts of it; there are actually court cases about this).



  • Healthcare costs, etc. are quite different if you’re used to the US system. We still pay something at point-of-service, but it’s nothing like the US. We are legally required to have insurance (some companies will cover some or all of this), but it’s also based on income.

    I know lots of bartenders and such (and remember, no tips here) who live on their own and have money to spend. Definitely not glamorous or anything, but doable. Some, like my wife before I met her, live in fairly nice and central roomshares with another person.

    I can’t really use my expenses to show anything useful as I eat lots of (more expensive) western foods/meat/cheese, work from home and usually have some kind of climate control going, have propane rather than city gas, etc.