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im chinese, been in china and japan a fair amount live in canada. stayed in china 5~ years
depends really where you're going i guess, rural or urban? i went to tokyo and osaka and it was really nice. never been to beijing or shanghai that much though.
i think japanese culture is a bit more western then chinese, and the quality of life is slightly higher in japan.
however i'd be biased since i think japanese food is the best in the entire fucking world.
i don't think too much of my chinese heritage that much to be completely honest, i feel more like a canadian and don't worship chinese culture. but that's just me, take it whichever way you want to
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On September 24 2010 13:57 Jibba wrote:Show nested quote +On September 24 2010 13:52 infinitestory wrote:On September 24 2010 13:45 LolnoobInsanity wrote:
China is so dirty though. Keep in mind that there's a huge veil of smog that covers most of the large cities. If you want to live in an urban environment, I would suggest Japan. The summers are unbearably hot. As a Chinese person, I would highly recommend keeping away from China unless you have some specific reason to be there. It's a great place to vacation or start up a business, but it's definitely not the greatest place to live. It's getting better though. I saw many a clear day on my visit to Beijing this summer (I have photos from the top of the Beijing TV tower where you can see the horizon), although the weather was very hot like you said. There's no shortage of air conditioning though. Plus Japan is ridiculously hot in the summers as well. I know it's tough to do, but I think finding a way to visit or experience each country first is a really good idea. I know some Japanophiles who grew up worshiping it and then when they got there, found their impressions of the culture were completely wrong. I also know some people who like the grime and chaos of China's big cities.
How hot does it get? Just curious since im apply to study in Yokohama next spring.
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Oh yeah, another thing to take into consideration. Last I checked, Japan was at the top, or near the top, in terms of lowest obesity rating and highest life expectancy in the entire world. Their lifestyle and food must have something to do with it.
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it really depends on location..
see, if ur in the wrong place in china, it can be extremely hard to find reasonable housing prices...
china certainly has a lot of benefits though. just dont get in trouble is my advice because of their government o.O
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I've had the same the same decision to make 6 years ago and chose China. I don't regret it 
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Um... do not go to China, I have alot of friends that came from China a couple of years ago and they have nothing but bad things to say about China, Iv'e even heard some things about harvesting organs and stuff lol. But Japan, is awesome, i went there one summer and I had the time of my life, not everything is expensive, if you avoid buying superfluous stuff in the main cities, (kinda like how it is in the US) you will be fine. It's all about where you buy stuff
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Japan has a higher quality of living than China. Personally I would pick Japan and Korea in that order because I know how polluted and noisy Chinese cities are, which I really hate. Not to mention some of the despicable business practices in their food industry in recent years.
Also don't expect to have good internet in China unless you are living in a major city/university dorm, whereas in Japan and Korea have excellent high speed internet as a standard.
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I did an exchange to a really rural university in Japan, and it was actually a lot of fun.
Assuming you will be going to a decent university, a much higher percentage of Chinese student will speak English (and be willing to communicate with you in English) than Japan. This is speaking from experience.
Overall, I think Japan will be less of cultural shock to you than China.
Do you know the potential cities? It would be nice if you could list them and perhaps I can offer more advise based on cities and universities.
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Japan has a higher quality of living than China overall. Personally I would pick Japan and Korea in that order because I know how polluted and noisy Chinese cities are, which I really hate. Not to mention some of the despicable business practices and scandals in their food industry in recent years.
Also don't expect to have good internet in China unless you are living in a major city/university dorm, whereas in Japan and Korea have excellent high speed internet as a standard
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On September 24 2010 13:38 Beef Noodles wrote:
Don't just pick based on which language is more practical. If you don't love the country and its people, you won't learn the language and then its just a huge waste. Ignore my first post and go with the country you think you'd like the most
this.
dont base it on the language.dont base it on city, dont base it anything other than culture. base it on the culture because all the other contingents are secondary to the culture. try to learn as much as you can about each culture respectively and decide based on what you love/enjoy.
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On September 24 2010 14:20 bubblegumbo wrote:
Also don't expect to have good internet in China unless you are living in a major city/university dorm, whereas in Japan and Korea have excellent high speed internet as a standard.
My dorm in Japan had no Internet... It really depends on the region.
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go Japan
its nice there
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On September 24 2010 14:07 Sindri wrote:
Oh yeah, another thing to take into consideration. Last I checked, Japan was at the top, or near the top, in terms of lowest obesity rating and highest life expectancy in the entire world. Their lifestyle and food must have something to do with it.
This is a funny point. Since you associate their diet with their low obesity rating and high life expectancy, don't you think this suggests that it's very different from elsewhere, which means it might be very difficult to get used to.
When I first went to Japan, I was constantly hungry, and I lost fifteen pounds in three months, and that was a horrible experience. It takes a long time for your body to adjust to a new diet (I have a theory that your body has to learn to absorb new foods, such as fat from fish instead of oil), and not everyone enjoys it.
Obviously, same goes for Chinese food too (but I think that might be easier to adapt).
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Osaka27181 Posts
On September 24 2010 14:05 salidsnake wrote:Show nested quote +On September 24 2010 13:57 Jibba wrote:On September 24 2010 13:52 infinitestory wrote:On September 24 2010 13:45 LolnoobInsanity wrote:
China is so dirty though. Keep in mind that there's a huge veil of smog that covers most of the large cities. If you want to live in an urban environment, I would suggest Japan. The summers are unbearably hot. As a Chinese person, I would highly recommend keeping away from China unless you have some specific reason to be there. It's a great place to vacation or start up a business, but it's definitely not the greatest place to live. It's getting better though. I saw many a clear day on my visit to Beijing this summer (I have photos from the top of the Beijing TV tower where you can see the horizon), although the weather was very hot like you said. There's no shortage of air conditioning though. Plus Japan is ridiculously hot in the summers as well. I know it's tough to do, but I think finding a way to visit or experience each country first is a really good idea. I know some Japanophiles who grew up worshiping it and then when they got there, found their impressions of the culture were completely wrong. I also know some people who like the grime and chaos of China's big cities. How hot does it get? Just curious since im apply to study in Yokohama next spring.
This summer (Osaka) was the hottest in recent memory for everyone, about 37 for two solid months with 60-100% humidity. It was awful. That being said it was an aberration, and usually it sits around 33 or so with a shorter hot spell of 36-38.
For me the humidity kills me. Back in Canada we got days of 35 or so but it was bone dry. Here I get a shower walking to my shower.
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Go with Japan, it is a much easier transition for Westerners. You wouldn't even have Facebook or Youtube over at China. 
It is a higher cost of living and Japanese would not be anywhere as useful and practical as Chinese would, but it beats it on every other level.
Plus you could just take a short holidays to see during your breaks, Chinese cities like Shanghai and Tapei are very easily accessible from Japan.
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in my opinion going to china will be better off in the long end because china is thriving and will be rapidly as japan growth is steady even though they have 2nd best economy, but im sure the people will be nicer then to there own people because your "white". + its cheaper to live there. even tho japan is cleaner and nicer place to live in.
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china son. i can get you a job today teaching english. PM me.
Japan would probably make a cooler vacation but if you want to live and develop in asia then there is no question about china > japan. i have done both.
if you want a lifestlye and a people not much different than what you are used to then go to japan.
if you want to be blown away by culture and societal differences then come to china (beijing > shanghai since shanghai is the most uncharacteristically chinese chinese city)
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It honestly depends on what your focus is, because are you planning on doing a career in something involving china or japan? You have to look at their life style and what type of life you'd like to live. If you work in a Japanese company your salary would be pretty low and probably would have to rely on bonuses. Life there is interesting though, I'd say more of a focus on prestige imo. China, while running from a communist government socially, has a growing capitalist economy, thus you can maybe take a shot there or with a company having strong business relationships there.
If it's for fun man I'd pick Japan.. but that's cuz im Japanese so I'm biased haha... -__-
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I'm from Korea so I wouldn't know if China or Japan is better, but if it were up to me, I would go to China. Just to learn Mandarin, I heard it's the language to learn for the future business people.
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EPT
