{"id":2328,"date":"2023-01-07T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2328"},"modified":"2023-01-05T09:37:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T00:37:59","slug":"living-in-the-countryside-vs-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/living-in-the-countryside-vs-the-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Living in the Countryside vs the City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Living in the\ncity can be very different than living in the\ncountryside. If you are curious about the differences between the two, check\nout our article on living in the city vs living in the countryside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When people think of Japan it is rarely the countryside that will come to mind. Most people will picture cities like Tokyo or Osaka and think of the urban areas instead of its beautiful countryside. Even though the city has its own allure and conveniences the countryside has its own sites and sounds that most people have never experienced before. Depending on where you live you will experience an almost completely different kind of Japan. Knowing some things may help you when going to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are not sure yet if the city or the countryside might be more suitable for you, going through our list of pros and cons of each will hopefully give you a better idea and help you decide where you will eventually want to look for an apartment<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

City<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pros:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple\nlanguages <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\ncan find lots of things in all of Japan’s major cities. It is even more\nconvenient for visitors in that they have more English than usual in more\nplaces. Many of the restaurants have menus in English with full-color pictures\nof their food, the train and bus stations have everything in English, the\nescalators play messages in multiple languages to help visitors find their way\naround, and most of the people that live there are comfortable when dealing\nwith foreign visitors. They try to make every visitor feel as comfortable as\npossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding\nimports <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since\nthe cities see far more people and businesses, they will naturally have access\nto more import items than other places in the country. There are a lot of\nstores that specialize in selling foods and other items from other countries,\nand they can easily be found. There are even a few chain stores that can be\nfound all over the country that give a wide selection of import items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job\nOpportunities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\ngreater concentration of people will lead to more opportunities for people to\nfind employment. This is not only true for the native Japanese but also for the\nforeign population. There aren’t going to be many lucrative positions available\nto non-Japanese workers, but you will have a much easier time finding something\nin a field you are interested in. There are even many international\ncorporations that use the cities as their extended company homes, and they have\nall their workers live in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City life is never going to be the cheapest way to live, but there is a large selection of apartments and houses that you can choose from to ensure your living area fits all your needs. Village House<\/a> has affordable properties in major cities across Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transportation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting\naround the cities of Japan is a breeze, and everyone has public transport that\nruns as close to on time as possible. You can count on the buses and trains to\nrun on time, and the taxis are always near the station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small\nHousing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nthough there are a lot of choices when looking for a place to live, they are\nusually going to be much smaller than what most western foreigners are\naccustomed to. You will have to rethink how you usually deal with your living\nsituation, and most people see it as a major problem while others learn to deal\nwith it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expensive<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living\nin the city is never cheap and Japan is no different. The major cities see a\nsizable increase in the cost of food, living, and other facets of life. You\nwill need to be able to budget well and try to keep your spending in check or\nyou may end up in a bad situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noise\nand Pollution<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since\nthere are so many people living in close quarters it is easy to see where there\nwould be extra noise for the people living there. Not only that, but there are\nall kinds of construction happening at any given time. You may end up with an\napartment that is next to a major roadway too. If you find that you are a light\nsleeper the city may not be the place for you. There is also a larger amount of\nair pollution since all the cars going in and out of the city leave plenty\nbehind in their travel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transportation\nTime Only<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou don’t have a car or a bike, then you will be at the timetable of the trains\nand buses. You will have to adjust your travel to fit their operation times\nwhich will result in you having to leave events or friends earlier than you may\nlike. If you miss the last train or bus you will have to find a place to stay\nor pay for a taxi to get home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Countryside<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pros:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quiet<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living\nin the countryside brings the great benefit of having quiet surroundings. The\nmost noise you may hear will be the cinquedeas during the summer. It can be\nvery relaxing and allow you to fall asleep in no time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since there is more room and not as many people living in the areas, the housing is generally cheaper and larger. You can find a house for rent that could give you two to four times more room than in the city. You could also consider a Village House apartment<\/a>, which are spacious and affordable. You can really get a feel for old Japan and can even experience the traditional side of Japan as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature and Scenery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\nhas so much natural beauty that you may miss out if you only stick to the\ncities. There are big forests, tall mountains, huge lakes, Mt. Fuji, and other\nkinds of places to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\nwill be sure to come across traditional aspects of Japan when living or\nvisiting its most precious sites. Almost all of its natural landmarks are open\nto the public and it would be beneficial to anyone who visits them. You will\nget a true view of what Japan is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since\nthere aren’t more people out in the country the job opportunities are going to\nbe smaller. You can still find work, but it takes a little more work to find\nit. There won’t be much, and everyone will be competing for the same jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less Foreign Language<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nthough the stations and main buildings will have some, there are many places\nthat will be only Japanese. There will be even fewer amounts of people who\ncould speak anything other than Japanese. This is good for practice purposes\nbut can be a major hurdle when first learning the areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less Imports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou want to find things from your home country, you will have a much harder\ntime getting any items you’re looking for. You can simply find the Japanese\nequivalent, but if you want the actual thing from home you will need to pay\nextra for it or get it directly from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a tough decision trying to find out which one will benefit you the most. Some people want the urban setting and love busy city streets, while others will want the quiet slow pace of the countryside. They will give you a different view of the country and each one will be a great experience on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter your preferences, if you are still searching for a new home, you might want to consider having a look at Village House apartments<\/a>. With many properties located outside the major metropoles and rental apartments in 47 Prefectures all throughout Japan, chances are high that you can find your perfect apartment! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in the city can be very different than living in the countryside. If you are curious about the differences between the two, check out our article on living in the city vs living in the countryside. When people think of Japan it is rarely the countryside that will come to mind. Most people will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}