Everything about the US is in decline. Everything just seems so much more ghetto and run down compared to the 90s and 2000s. There is just no more national identity anymore. For example, in the DMV you now regularly encounter hawkers trying to sell flowers, to drinks, to other trinkets at intersections. You now have unlicensed mopeds and scooters all over the roads in PG, MoCo, and DC. Drive all over the beltway and you'll see all sorts of trash people dump from used mattresses to bag bags and bags of contractor waste on the side of the road. You know where you see all of these kinds of things? In second and 3rd world countries. That is what the US has become. People just stop caring about the law and take great liberties with it. You know why 2nd and 3rd world countries are the way they are? BECAUSE people in those countries have a toxic mindset of ignoring the law and have low standards for themselves. It results in things like dumping trash on the side of the road. Now the US is importing tons of this same kind of mindset by the fistful. You never see hawkers and mass quantities of mopeds and scooters driving how ever they want in civilized countries like Japan, South Korea, or Denmark. It's just death by 1000 cuts in the US. Everything is in decline and I honestly can barely tell the difference anymore between a country like Vietnam or Thailand vs the US. I still think the US has further to go down and will be more of a central American country soon in terms of development, quality of education, and crime. Just lawlessness, no semblance of identity, and trashy ingrained attitude.

Anonymous wrote:I understand, OP. I loved how clean and quiet it was even when the streets were busy and the sidewalks were full. Everything was SO clean. No urine smells or smoke stained buildings. No litter or graffiti.

I love America and DC but we do a terrible job of taking care of our nice things. capitol of the free world and we smell of urine and our national parks are full of graffiti have broken water fountains. Tents all over. Embarrassing.

The reason you enjoy Japan is because the entire society is built in the idea of the group. From a young age they are taught to do what is best for the group not the individual. That includes taking care of others, the town, etc. America is the way it is because it is based on the individual. However, as others have mentioned, it’s not idyllic, you just don’t understand the nuances. It remains an incredibly conservative, patriarchal society. They also will never fully accept you if you are foreign - there is a lot of xenophobia/racism. It is akin to the “bless your heart” superficiality of the Deep South. If you truly admire the Japanese way of life, live it here - it means picking up trash when you are out and paying taxes to support safety nets for everyone.

I understand, OP. I loved how clean and quiet it was even when the streets were busy and the sidewalks were full. Everything was SO clean. No urine smells or smoke stained buildings. No litter or graffiti.

I love America and DC but we do a terrible job of taking care of our nice things. capitol of the free world and we smell of urine and our national parks are full of graffiti have broken water fountains. Tents all over. Embarrassing.

I really wish America was more orderly and rule following. Every year I think we get more unruly. The jaywalking is out of control in my suburb and there’s a crosswalk really close that they could use. No one knows how to drive. I’m a millennial too, not some cranky elderly person. It’s so nice to visit countries like Japan where there’s no littering. People aren’t saying they have a right to shoplift.

My relative lives there and I recently visited him- housing is expensive and I think overall he is unhappy. He speaks Japanese, has a Japanese wife and family, and still feels like an outsider after 15 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just there in August.

Yep.

Clean, safe, educated people.

Everyone is so polite, willing to help you. Never did we feel safe in the big cities. No trash anywhere. Food healthy.

Here, cities dirty and crime everywhere. Many drug users. In US education is not valued. Too many people on welfare. And tooooo many illegal immigrants where Japan has virtually none.


We are wasting to much money on social programs, welfare, migrant aid and not using money for roads/bridges. In Japan everything is well maintained.

US is in decline. If you don’t see it, then you’re blind. We had family visit from out of country. They were disgusted at The shit in San Francisco and witnessed a robbery.

Shame.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the US. San Francisco is the poster child for A City on the Decline though. As another pp said, we have institutionalized people living in poverty and crime here that Japan simply doesn't have.

I mean this gently, but some of you truly don't pick up on the nuances of Japanese culture. They're overly polite to you, but they don't want you to live there. It's a very fake nice that they use and you naïvely walk away thinking they like you.

My brother has been to Japan several times. They're extremely polite to white westerners, but they won't let you into their inner circles. One wealthy Japanese man insisted on paying for a luxury hotel room for my brother and his wife. But it was more about how he wanted himself/Japan to be seen, not about liking my brother and his wife.

Another time, my brother pointed out to a Japanese man that he dropped his wallet. The Japanese people all commented that they couldn't believe there was an honest white man and they insisted he move to the front of the line. They didn't know he could understand him. They were holding him in disdain while celebrating him. It would be easy to overlook the disdain part if you don't know what to look for.

There's a lot of nuance to unpack there. You would probably have a fabulous couple months then be lonely as hell after a year.

Thank you for sharing this!

You are probably correct.

It was popular in the 80s to live there and teach English. Friends of mine did. One friend was a gay man. He said there was a concept of having gay sex while drunk which you forget about the next day, therefore you are not gay. No one lived openly. I doubt much has changed. There is a lot of drinking to go along with the expected workaholic culture and they have the word for dying at your desk from overwork.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did the JET Programme 20 years ago and lived there for 2 years. Living there was the best time of my life. People were polite, public spaces were clean, lots of great Asian food, though not a lot diverse variety like Mexican at the time.

I don't know if I want my kids to live there unless they go to an international school.

Is it reasonable to assume there's no matzo ball soup to be found there, no real Jewish population?

That's your major obstacle? Just do what others do, and bring a suitcase full of goods that are difficult to find in a foreign country (and you won't have an issue bringing in packets of Manischewitz soup mix).

Great, that solves one issue. What about having jewish friends/community for Shabbat, and other jewish holidays? I find that to be very valuable in my life.

Japan has a well defined and long standing ethnic culture, many centuries-worth. The US does not and is nothing particular. The only people with a valid claim to this land were subjugated and marginalized long ago. No one can fairly complain about others coming here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was just there in August.

Yep.

Clean, safe, educated people.

Everyone is so polite, willing to help you. Never did we feel safe in the big cities. No trash anywhere. Food healthy.

Here, cities dirty and crime everywhere. Many drug users. In US education is not valued. Too many people on welfare. And tooooo many illegal immigrants where Japan has virtually none.


We are wasting to much money on social programs, welfare, migrant aid and not using money for roads/bridges. In Japan everything is well maintained.

US is in decline. If you don’t see it, then you’re blind. We had family visit from out of country. They were disgusted at The shit in San Francisco and witnessed a robbery.

Shame.

Japan is an island - easier to keep out the immigrants.

No, it's easier to keep them out because the people are homogeneous.

The US is a melting pot, but only in big cities. Easier to blend in.

The UK is an island, but they have issues with illegal immigrants because they are way more diverse than Japan is, due to colonialism.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:America is a great country. Do we have problems? Of course all nations do. And while it politically things seem dire right now, the best thing to do is stay and vote and help, not leave. Time takes time and a hundred years is just a blip on the linear course of world history. Our greatest natural resource is our young people, our children. If we can nourish that resource properly we can move to a better society.

Our young people are being desensitized to violence, a la school shootings and the like. #1 killer of children is guns in the US. Statistically, they are safer in Japan, or any other developed world other than the US.

Yes, but let’s be frank. Children being killed by guns is a very specific cohort. You can research what that cohort is pretty easily. You can also just read the major city newspapers every Monday morning to figure it out. If you remove that group the statistic that you cite changes appreciably.

What specific cohort are you referring to?

Sandyhook kids cohort from a tony CT suburb?

Parkland HS kids cohort from a diverse UMC suburb?

Uvalde kids cohort from a mostly Hispanic lower/middle class suburb?

Columbine cohort from a mostly white, middle class suburb?

Apalachee cohort from a pretty diverse rural area?

My kids go to a school more like Parkland.

Anonymous wrote:I was just there in August.

Yep.

Clean, safe, educated people.

Everyone is so polite, willing to help you. Never did we feel safe in the big cities. No trash anywhere. Food healthy.

Here, cities dirty and crime everywhere. Many drug users. In US education is not valued. Too many people on welfare. And tooooo many illegal immigrants where Japan has virtually none.


We are wasting to much money on social programs, welfare, migrant aid and not using money for roads/bridges. In Japan everything is well maintained.

US is in decline. If you don’t see it, then you’re blind. We had family visit from out of country. They were disgusted at The shit in San Francisco and witnessed a robbery.

Shame.

Japan is an island - easier to keep out the immigrants.

Anonymous wrote:I was just there in August.

Yep.

Clean, safe, educated people.

Everyone is so polite, willing to help you. Never did we feel safe in the big cities. No trash anywhere. Food healthy.

Here, cities dirty and crime everywhere. Many drug users. In US education is not valued. Too many people on welfare. And tooooo many illegal immigrants where Japan has virtually none.


We are wasting to much money on social programs, welfare, migrant aid and not using money for roads/bridges. In Japan everything is well maintained.

US is in decline. If you don’t see it, then you’re blind. We had family visit from out of country. They were disgusted at The shit in San Francisco and witnessed a robbery.

Shame.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the US. San Francisco is the poster child for A City on the Decline though. As another pp said, we have institutionalized people living in poverty and crime here that Japan simply doesn't have.

I mean this gently, but some of you truly don't pick up on the nuances of Japanese culture. They're overly polite to you, but they don't want you to live there. It's a very fake nice that they use and you naïvely walk away thinking they like you.

My brother has been to Japan several times. They're extremely polite to white westerners, but they won't let you into their inner circles. One wealthy Japanese man insisted on paying for a luxury hotel room for my brother and his wife. But it was more about how he wanted himself/Japan to be seen, not about liking my brother and his wife.

Another time, my brother pointed out to a Japanese man that he dropped his wallet. The Japanese people all commented that they couldn't believe there was an honest white man and they insisted he move to the front of the line. They didn't know he could understand him. They were holding him in disdain while celebrating him. It would be easy to overlook the disdain part if you don't know what to look for.

There's a lot of nuance to unpack there. You would probably have a fabulous couple months then be lonely as hell after a year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:America is a great country. Do we have problems? Of course all nations do. And while it politically things seem dire right now, the best thing to do is stay and vote and help, not leave. Time takes time and a hundred years is just a blip on the linear course of world history. Our greatest natural resource is our young people, our children. If we can nourish that resource properly we can move to a better society.

Our young people are being desensitized to violence, a la school shootings and the like. #1 killer of children is guns in the US. Statistically, they are safer in Japan, or any other developed world other than the US.

Yes, but let’s be frank. Children being killed by guns is a very specific cohort. You can research what that cohort is pretty easily. You can also just read the major city newspapers every Monday morning to figure it out. If you remove that group the statistic that you cite changes appreciably.

Maybe so if you narrow it down to a cohort, but what about the day-to-day grind of people breaking the law in broad daylight and no one says a thing. Someone keys a row of cars for fun. 3 kids jump out of a car at midday and steal 9 Rolexes from the store window. You wake up and your car's tires are gone, your car is up on milk cartons. More people jump the turnstiles than actually pay. It's a steady drumbeat with the mass murders as the melody. I'm so done.

Where the heck do you live? I’m 52, have lived in the U.S. my whole life and have never seen such things.

Anonymous wrote:Japan is a hard place to live if you are not ethnically Japanese.

There are people whose families have been there for generations who can’t become citizens.