I worked in a small US office of a Japanese company and they let Japanese employees come visit America for six-twelve months - I think they only let married, more senior people come over so the employee would have more incentive to go back to Japan. The US office shut down and most of them quit after their contractual obligations were up and emigrated to the USA.

My first job in Japan was working at one of these places so I've seen it first hand. In my case I left to join a US startup with an office in Tokyo. Most of my former colleagues did similar and are now working either in startups (mostly Japanese) or for foreign corporations that do development work here.

Even working for a US company in Tokyo I made a fraction of what I do here in the US. High level engineers I worked with got offers from google and Microsoft in Tokyo and the offers were less than $100k USD. They declined. Some moved to Europe, I moved back to the states. It’s mostly young single western men I see willing to take the pay cuts to live in Japan.

>It’s mostly young single western men I see willing to take the pay cuts to live in Japan.

My SO and I have seriously discussed moving to Tokyo when it comes time to raise a family. We're both pretty disappointed with the culture here in the US that makes it difficult to let your kids be independent and self reliant (See: Parents getting their kids taken away for letting them walk to the park, etc), and we've loved the time we've spent in Tokyo.

The salary situation makes this pretty tough, though.

If you're upset about US politics, and you are looking to relocate, I would suggest Germany. Having spent 3 months in both Germany and Tokyo, I can tell you German salaries are much more reasonable, the politics are relatively sane, the quality of life is great, they are more likely to speak English in the office, and are very welcoming to tech workers (just apply for a freelance visa to start).

That said, blockchain jobs in Japan are supposed to be abundant and pay more like US wages.

Hi, I have been keeping an eye on blockchain jobs in japan as well. ->That said, blockchain jobs in Japan are supposed to be abundant and pay more like US wages. do you mind sharing some source about this?

Maybe look at rural areas. My sister brought her kids up in rural New Zealand. First advantage: kids are taught to be self reliant from a young age. Second advantage: small rural schools mix ages in small classes so kids are more rounded. Third advantage: less access to drugs (which is only going to become worse). Maybe do AirBnB for a month somewhere and see what you'ze think.

>Third advantage: less access to drugs

Unless it's Cannabis.

Maybe.

But alcohol, cigarettes and Coca Cola are less available if you live on a rural farm.

Most of Western Europe and especially the Nordics kick ass when it's time to raise a family. I've never been to Japan, but judging by all the info I've read about it, the work-life balance tends to be on the bad side. That's generally not the case in Europe.

Anecdotally, I have a close friend who works at a U.S.-based high end manufacturing facility which used to be owned and managed by a Japanese company.

It was sold to a U.S. company, and everything about management and corporate culture has gotten worse. People are less happy and feel they have less job security, which translates into poorer performance and reduced commitment. Japanese companies have their issues, but a lot of Americans have much to learn from them about making employees want to stay.

I did exactly this — moved to Tokyo since it's such a great place to raise a family — and I've been very happy with the decision so far. The salaries and work culture can be tricky, but if you can find yourself a nice (work-based) bubble in a western firm or startup or something, it's possible to piece together a nearly ideal situation since the home environment is so great.

Please consider Switzerland, education here is very decent and revolves around practical experience as teens mature.

Salaries are fair and correspond to the cost of living.

Look at a private school first.

If you're from the US your salary expectations will be higher but as a Kiwi I would say I'm getting a better deal here than I would be in NZ.

What kind of a job did your colleague apply for at Microsoft? They don't do much development work in Tokyo.