That tears it. This year I'm going.

[amandagmu]

wha! Tell me what school is paying for you! I need to go for a year of study sometime in the next two years... free sounds good!!!! You don't have to do something like teach English or computers to others, do you?

~Amanda

[Harvey]

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/IUC/10month.html

This is the school I meant.

It's a school for Japanese language located in Yokohama. It's a scholarship granted by the school. The only trouble is, tuition is paid for, but living costs are not... And living in Yokohama without a salary isn't as cheap as in China!

I think I'm going to try it though. This pushes my Chna plan back a year.

Am I a slacker?

Am I so easy to influence?

Can money buy my soul?

I do not know.

I waffle.

[stephanhodges]

Maybe they also have a Chinese program there.

In any case, it sounds like a good opportunity. It does cost "something" to live in China, and go to school, so the difference between the two should be the deciding financial factor.

[ask_weasal]

Being that china is so cheap you will be inclined to spend money, especially if you have a chinese g/f or if you like chinese girls and clubbing. It can get as high as japan sometimes

[xuechengfeng]

If you aren't stepping outside of your comfort zone, you aren't growing. Good job, and good luck.

[Harvey]

Being that china is so cheap you will be inclined to spend money, especially if you have a chinese g/f or if you like chinese girls and clubbing. It can get as high as japan sometimes

That's amazing to hear... that's insane! I was thinking you would have to live like a king in China to spend so much money...

If you aren't stepping outside of your comfort zone, you aren't growing.

Good point. I hope this Japanese program stretches me enough. They say it will, and I'm going down there next week to check it out to be sure it's high enough level to make me squirm. If not, I'll just go to China and save 10 months of my life.

If so.. I'll go, and after that. Finally China.

Btw for golden week I was in Taiwan! Had blast!

[mrtoga]

I beg to differ with the poster above. You would need a veritable harem of women here in China to be spending at the level of "average partygoer" in Japan. Just a late night taxi fare home in Tokyo would pay for a nights revelry and more in swish Beijing bars.

Harvey, I challenge you to spend a month of your Osaka salary here in Beijing in the space of one month. You might do it, but you would likely be totally exhausted at the end of the month!

[jeffofarabia]

mrtoga makes a good point. even taking a taxi in japan will destroy your monthly budget. i remember taking a friend from japan to a chinese restaurant once. we had three or four dishes, three beers and he insisted on paying. i decided to let him, just so he could compare the prices. the total bill was around 40 kuai or less than 500 yen. then is no way we could have gotten one dish at a chinese restaurant for that amount there. and forget beer.

when i lived in beijing i would routinely take taxi trips home and it could cost up to 100 kuai. the same trip in japan would have easily cost me 20,000 yen. so there is no comparison in price unless you are eating hotel food every day.

enjoy both countries. i have.

jeff

[novemberfog]

If you received the scholarship to study in Yokohama, you would be a fool to not take them up on the offer. Free study is free study, and you can live cheap near Yokohama. Live in Yokosuka near the US Naval base. Taxes are cheaper near US military bases, but you are close enough to Yokohama if you need anything fancy. Or you could live a bit into the more rural areas in Kanagawa. Maybe 30 minutes from Yokohama, it is not that bad honestly. (trust me, I have been looking into it) You could teach part-time as well to help pay for expenses, but I suspect you could easily find people who want private lessons with a native English speaker. If your tution is paid for, and if you have housing at the school or some form of subsidized housing, then life is not bad.

I've traveled all over Japan (for work and sight-seeing), and to be honest the price is not all that different. Sure, restaurants are cheaper in the countryside, but you can find cheap places even in Tokyo. You just have to be aware. Read Hot Pepper on the train, don't get stuck in expat communities, everything you need is all around you.

If someone is going to pay your tution so you can study, don't be a fool, take them up on the offer. Putting off living in China for a year is not going to destroy your career or anything. If you have a scholarship, you are damn lucky, and should take advantage of it. I work hard just to get home by 8 PM on most nights. I would LOVE to be able to take time off and study language for a year. That is what I am saving my money for!!!! You are so lucky, do not forget that! After you finish your study, you can then study in China.

By going to study in China, your Japanese level will naturally regress. But a year of intensive study can nothing but positive. It will help hammer things into your head if nothing else. If it is free, take the chance though! And hey, if you do decide to do it, contact me sometime. I don't live in Kanagawa, but I am not so far away.

Good luck Harvey, sounds like you have a lot going for you!