I’ve heard from a lot of expats who reluctantly have to be relocated to Europe that it could be difficult to adapt back to life in European cities again, some told me they got ‘’spoiled’ by the feeling of safety in Seoul, Tokyo Shanghai or like Hongkong, also the convenience such as accessibility to supermarkets, convenient stores etc. There could be more but that’s all I can recall.
So did you find it difficult or challenging once you go back to live in Europe, after experiencing Asian cities for several years, if not, i would be interested to know why as well.
Live in Tokyo, often back in Euro. No problem whatsoever, most Euro metro have shops open late, great public transport etc. - not Tokyo or Seoul or Hong Kong level, but good enough for most intent and purposes.
Remember, for you to satisfy that ice cream craving at 2am, some poor sod on minimum wage must be willing to man the 7-11 all night. That has various implications.
Either way, both are great! No problem adapting back and forth.
And cities in Europe have lower density and shorter working times compared to cities in East Asia.
Meaning there is way lower demand for such thing anyway. And fewer people willing to take the job, so higher salaries would be necessary to attract anyone.
Yeah I think this is something a lot of people forget. The work culture in many Asian cities is much, much more intense than much of Europe for example - as an expat we can typically move into jobs that are sometimes less demanding than the jobs locals have to do.
Realistically, I’d rather take the 5 weeks of holiday plus bank holidays that I get in the UK than the time off my Korean friend gets in Japan. It is extremely hard to even book a week off unless its its golden week.
I live in Tokyo too and havent gone back to europe dor such a long time that’s why im freaking out a little, how about safety? And may i ask which city you used to live in Europe?
Exactly, some of the expats forget how privileged they are