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.
Having a door handle that cannot be opened from the outside without a key is considered locking the door, at least in Japan. Probably Korea too.
Also, using the rear wheel obstructor built into the bike frame is also considered locking your bike in Japan. Actually locking your bike to a sturdy object is considered weird.
There was also an absurd fashion trend of having really long wallets that stick out of your back pocket. I can’t imagine such a fashion trend working in any other part of the world.
People regularly leave valuables unguarded in cafes, in even well known sketchy neighborhoods in Tokyo. Sketchy neighborhood means “you can probably buy sex” and “there’s a lot of gambling” not “if you leave your laptop out on the cafe table when you use the bathroom it will be stolen.”
Yeah, I’m not saying there isn’t more danger of property crime in Europe (although it depends on where in Europe; where I live now in Germany no one locks bikes in the inner courtyard in the small housing complex where I live, accessible freely from the street, for instance, and when I lived in the Netherlands I didn’t lock my bike at all when stopping at small towns and rural areas, although I generally did in cities); I’m saying you don’t have live continuously worrying about this stuff. I don’t worry about locking the front door, or about having valuables easily accessible, or about my surroundings; I just keep house keys on me and pull the door shut when I leave, and I keep valuables where I’d keep them anywhere in the world. I go where I need to go, even in places considered sketchy and even at night, with no particular worry. The level of alertness you need to have in Europe is grossly overstated by some.