How old are you, where are you from, where are you living now and what took you there?
I am a 40-year-old Canadian and currently live in Japan. I will begin a more nomadic life starting next month. My main reason for coming to Japan was my need to see more of the world. I just wanted to completely change my surroundings, thinking and life. Coming to Japan was a great way to do that.
How long have you lived there and how long will you stay? What keeps you there?
I have lived in Japan for 13 years now but will be leaving in less than 4 weeks. Japan is a fantastic country. My wife and I are going to spend more time away from Japan, but we will always return regularly. The quality of food, richness of the culture, appreciation for art and general safety levels are incomparable to any other country in the world.
Probably the biggest draw for us is the diversity, freshness and quality of the food. Japanese have an appreciation for fresh, unprocessed and diverse flavors without the rich sauces and spices used in other countries. You can really taste everything here. Eating out and groceries can be much more expensive in Japan but definitely worth it.
What do you do to make a living?
We owned an English school for ten years but we recently sold it. Now our income is mainly from investments but we will keep working on smaller internet projects that interest us as well as my blog JetSetCitizen.
Describe your average weekday and weekend day.
My days are all pretty much the same. I generally get up at about 11:00 AM, eat breakfast and then work on the computer for a little while. After that I might go for a run and then go out to a restaurant for lunch. After lunch, I will generally work until 9:00 or 10:00 PM on the computer (or at my school in the past.) My wife and I have a late dinner then I usually work on the computer for a little while longer, play guitar and read before bed.
Some days we will visit another city or do something outdoors, but a lot of my time is spent behind a computer screen with breaks for exercise, guitar, housework and reading.
What skills have you learned while living abroad?
For me the most valuable part of living abroad is questioning all assumptions about how life is to be lived. There is no right or wrong way to do anything. Our cultures teach us to live and work in a certain way, but living abroad proves that those assumptions are unfounded. Living abroad has improved the quality of my thinking and made me a more well-rounded and complete person.
What are you missing (professionally) by not being in your home country?
I think I would have connected more with the business community and perhaps made more money if I never left Canada, but I don’t miss it at all. The experiences I have had are far more valuable. With the Internet it is possible to connect with an international audience so I do not feel my professional life is lacking in anyway.
If you could live anywhere, where would that be and why?
I love Japan, so I will always want to spend part of the year here. Quality and healthy food is important to my wife and I so Japan will always be an important country to be. Canadian summers are amazing and the cafe culture of Budapest is also fantastic. I don’t think I could settle down to one place while I am healthy enough to travel, though. My future will be spent rotating through Japan, Canada, Hungary and some shorter travels in between. I could also imagine spending a few months every year in Bali, Thailand or the Philippines. I haven’t been to Central or South America yet though. Maybe Costa Rica or Guatemala might be a home base in the future?
What is your favorite gadget that makes your work life abroad better?
I am not much of a gadget person. I actually hate technology. I don’t use a cell phone or digital camera. However, a big part of my day is spent in front of a computer so my 17″ MacBookPro is essential. I also have an iPod for listening to music in the car.
Do you have a favorite book that inspired you to travel or consider a different way of living?
I can’t really say that a specific book has inspired me to travel or live abroad. I enjoy reading about the great philosophers so perhaps the idea of questioning everything in life stems from that background.
I have read popular books like Vagabonding and the Four Hour Workweek but I read those long after I was living abroad. Most of us come from immigrant backgrounds so I think there are plenty of motivating stories in our own families. My father escaped from communist controlled Hungary during the revolution. My difficulties relocating to another country are nothing compared to that.
Other than yours, do you have a favorite expat blog?
I don’t really read expat blogs but one of my favorite travel blogs is UncorneredMarket. Audrey and Daniel write very detailed posts with lots of fantastic photographs.
