Interesting. What did your family and friends think of your decision?
My father thought I was going to be home in two months time, and who would blame him? How the hell could a high school graduate financially sustain himself in a place like Florida, let alone the third most expensive city in the world. It's been more than a year and we skype frequently, he lets me know how proud he is of me and the truth is I'm extremely homesick for him and my step-mother. I'd go back to America for a few months if it meant being in my old bed and waking up to a delicious breakfast like I use too. My friends? My friends never really talk about it, I don't think they're as interested in it, they're all very busy with work and school and I understand that, we play some games on Steam and they'll sometimes ask me about certain cultural things but other than that they have other things to worry about and I respect that a lot. Tips about Tokyo: One thing you have to learn is that there's always a way, in Tokyo, tourism is expensive, having fun is extremely expensive, but surviving and getting where you need to go isn't. You can live off $1,000 a month with how the exchange rate is currently, it's just a matter of finding the best place to live. Remembering that convenience costs money.
I think the most crucial part of all of this was my father is a financial advisor, I never owned a car, and my town had nothing in it. I had managed to save up all my life, money I had been given to spend with friends, birthday money, christmas money, all of my life. When I was young my father had taken notice that I was saving a lot and made a savings account where he started putting it back for me, he began managing that money and as I got older it became sort of a hobby to see it grow, made me feel good. As a graduation gift he matched what I had saved and gave me the account to do with what I please. That being said, it was surely enough to take care of myself for awhile, not enough to sustain myself indefinitely, and my dad knew that with my other plan I would have drained that pot completely. And as of this year I have drained it but I lasted much longer on it than I thought I would have. When I saw the end coming I got a part-time job teaching English and I am currently working on some side projects to start saving up again. One thing a friend of mine asked me was why I didn't spend it on college, why spend it on a language school, and the truth is I have more of a chance of getting into college with a scholarship here in Japan for being a white male english speaker than I did in America. I would have rather given this the opportunity than have been trapped in Georgia spending that money on a small college.
Man, this is incredible. Thanks for sharing. I've always had the dream in the back of my head that one day I would just grab my money and some belongings and leave to just make my way like this. It's good to be reminded that it really can be done if I ever feel like I need to. What would you say the hardest part of this has been for you?
The hardest part would be getting the visa to do this, without a visa it's hard to get a part-time job, you can't have a bank account. Japan is an extremely strict company when it comes to your visas, the easiest option is to become a student; however if you are Canadian, Australian, and German(and a few others) you can come on working holiday for a year and do whatever you please. For me, I had the money so I opted into a language school which took care of my visa. After that it's adjusting to the culture, and I'll go ahead and say Tokyo is completely different than the rest of Japan in terms of how people act towards you and how things are done. I believe it's the best starting point for anyone. I have a few others things I could say about this but I'll save that for another thread :)