From Rural Germany to Metropolis Japan: How Us American Expats Are Feeling

all right everyone it's time to get real and  raw in this video and I'm meaning that by   really telling you guys how we're doing we've just  moved a few months ago from a very rural beautiful   countryside in Germany to a metropolis part of  Tokyo here in Japan and there's a lot that's   been on our mind and we feel like we really want  to give a good update now that we're a few months   in and now we're finally able to start putting  together a lot of our current feelings on our   situation but first an update for those who are  just joining us we're an American Family who lived   in Germany for 2 and 1/2 years we moved to Japan  here with my job with the US government and we're   expected to be here for just a few more years  once we moved here at the beginning of December   we were really given a few weeks to just kind of  get settled down we enjoyed a slower Christmas and   New Year's holiday exploring some local temples  and local activities around shortly after we   were able to go to see the snow monkeys in the  north get to experience our first little bit of   snow here in Japan and then shortly after we were  able to go to Taiwan where we explored the Lantern   Festival some tea Fields had an amazing time and  then more recently we've been able to finish out   with doing some more local trips here in Japan  even though we've had an amazing time there are   still some things that we want to share with you  okay I'm trying to find the best place to record   this and it's truly just not going to happen  without background noise I just want to chat   with you guys and be real and I've got to say I'm  feeling a little bit emotional so hopefully I can   get through this Cher just gave the recap of  everything that we've been doing here in Japan   it's it's been such a whirlwind and there's just  been so many emotions at this point we're like 4   months in and I just I guess I thought that we'd  be a little more settled than we are obviously   moving from rural Germany to Metropolis Japan is  a huge move we knew that we knew it was going to   be a lot and so it's not like what I'm feeling  comes at a big surprise it's just like the timing   of it prior to coming here I assumed that Willow  would be in her Japanese school or International   School whatever she was going to be in we wish  she could be in a German School however there is   not one within an hour radius of us and it's just  too far anyways I thought she was going to be in   school by like January I thought we'll have like  one month break it'll be so fun like celebrate   the holidays just get to like soak Willa in more  have more time with her but here we are in April   and she's just about to start go figure I've got  a say I've loved having the time with her however   4 months is a long time to not be in a routine  and to not have a lot of time to like work nap   times have been a little bit interesting with Noah  because normally she's just a contact Napper but   with Willa that's not really possible so anyways  that's been an adjustment not only that because   we've been traveling so much we have not really  spent time at our new house moving into our new   house is still fairly new and although we've like  been in our house for over a month we've really   really only stayed like probably a week at our  house so we're just like a huge mess everywhere   we have to put a lot of things away and we're  definitely not feeling settled so to be honest   with you guys we're feeling overwhelmed and we've  been questioning our move I knew I knew that would   come because although it wasn't really shown we  did have moments of questioning when we moved to   Germany there was probably around the 2-month mark  we were just like overcome with a lot of emotion   I think like the newness of it wore off and there  was a moment of struggle for sure so maybe you're   hearing that and being like but I thought you were  doing really well because like if you watch your   culture shock video I was honest and was like  honestly the adjustment has been excellent like   better than expected it's been a lot but it's been  really good and that was true when I recorded that   definitely true it's been interesting to have  it be such a smooth transition at the first to   now feeling that way and I think I figured it out  I think at the beginning I did a really good job   of trying to be social get us out on activities  Willow was in swimming lessons pretty early on   um she started gymnastics and not only that but we  were going to like weekly activities on Bas and I   made it a big priority to make friends for myself  but also friends with parents that have kids   Will's age and I just really wanted her to have a  friend because her German experience was so great   because she made so many amazing German friends  that I was like if she can just have like one   best friend friend I think she'll do amazingly and  that's what happened and all of that was really   good but once we started moving and really having  to make big decisions about our house and then   moving in I feel like we just got out of routine  and that's when things have just kind of felt so   overwhelming you'll see in the next couple videos  that my family at this kind of crazy time has also   came to visit us and we have absolutely loved that  but I'm not going to lie and say that it hasn't   like added to the craziness of bit it's been  really awesome to have them here because they've   helped us with our stuff that was here and just  I mean we've missed them we loved showing them   Japan good morning our stuff is here woo what  are you most excited about my bed my dresses I   knew that was going to come kind of crazy how the  timing of everything worked out so now we're at   the point where our family we just said goodbye to  which is always super hard to do but now I think   our life is about to really begin we're getting  really close to the point once everything's put   away in our house that we can like tie this move  transition up into a bow hopefully a bow pretty   bow and wrap it and put it away and be like  that stage of life is done with now we're just   going to get on to living and just getting into a  routine taking better care of ourselves mentally   physically and hopefully watching Willa thrive in  our new Japanese school and me being able to get   into more of a Groove with the YouTube work and  part-time work and just being a mommy having more   one-on-one time with Noah we're going to get there  I can feel it we're hopeful so anyways that's most   of our thoughts I would say the other thing to  mention is just when we got into our house there   was a big shock to the system of the size of  our house especially before our stuff came when   we were in temporary Furniture I just remember  feeling like I do not know what we're going to   do when our stuff comes like I am very nervous  for it and although we tried to sell some stuff   like we just we should have sold more and our  Germany house was just so big that it was hard   for me to picture all of our stuff fitting here  in Japan right now there's going to be uh it feels   good that it's all in one small sleeping pads in  there this closet's like full almost all right but I'm very happy to say now that with the  help of my parents and um still with getting   rid of some stuff are things are fitting and not  only just like squished they're fitting fairly   comfortably that is a good news and it makes me  feel much better so anyways that's a little real   chat with you guys I feel like we've just shared  so much that I I find myself just wanting to like   talk to you guys and like this is how we're  doing like we love all this travel but like   so many of you guys are so sweet to like how are  you doing how's the transition been and we've done   some q&as on Instagram and on our patreon so if  you do want to join our patreon to get a better   feel of conversation like this that's where it is  because um we do a lot of more just unedited Q&A   videos and we chat with a lot of you guys over  there there there's that for you but it just   feels nice to share our feelings with you here  yeah we did get a lot of beef from moving from   Germany to Japan and here I am say like you were  right in a lot of aspects we're still happy with   our move we knew hard times would come I'm proud  of us for doing this still but we're kind of just   in the thick of it right now as you guys can tell  I'm in my office today doing this during my lunch   break really trying to make the most of all of  our time because there just seems like there's   so many things that we have to do and that's one  thing that I wanted to touch on because as you   move to any new country there's a lot of things  to learn for one there's a new language here but   there's also new rules there's new Customs there's  new laws that you have to follow registration   processes but a few of the things that we have  to talk about is like for one everyday stuff   like recycling it is on another level I'm sorry  Germany but Japan really has taken it to like   another level and I don't mean that as a neag  Germany has an incredible recycling program   and we really enjoyed it there that being said  Japan is on another level and it does take a lot   of time even like the last few weeks we have to  daily refer back to the book that highlights what   days things go out when they go out where you have  to take them how they have to be separated and it   can be kind of a lot it's starting to feel more  like natural so it's not that big of a deal but   it is something that does take time and energy  and especially when you're dealing with um you   know maybe a lack of sleep or a cluttered house  um and all of these other things that I'm going   to talk about it can add up to be a lot of mental  load um and physical in the end even for like our   parking spot at our house this is something that  was new to us we had to go and take paperwork   to the police station so that they can come and  visually inspect the space in front of our house   to see if our vehicle can fit now fortunately  we have a two vehicle parking space and we're   only using one of them so it's not that big of  a deal but it's still two if not three separate   trips that you have to make to the police station  to get this paperwork approved it's another one   of those things that can just add on that load  and that heavy weight of things to do um and it   just happens to be quite a bit at the first that  it can be kind of overwhelming and that brings   me to my next topic of taxes as many of you guys  know a tax season is in full swing right now but   fortunately because I'm living abroad I actually  have a 2-month extension for filing taxes Rissa   and I are really grateful that we've been working  with bright tax over the last 3 years because it   has reduced a lot of stress for us it's investing  in less stress when you have a professional in   your corner which is really nice especially this  year because we moved at the end of the year and   we were still getting settled in when all of those  tax forms were coming out for the first few years   of our marriage I was really on top of the taxes  and I would happily take the time to spend hours   going through all of the documents but with all  of the changes that we've had to our financial   situation over the last few years which includes  multiple online businesses a rental property   back in the States and if you're like us and the  government has helped you move overseas there are   additional documents that you have to be sure to  include every year and it can get quite confusing   so that's why I'm excited to tell any American  who is living abroad to check out bright tax   because it has really made a difference for us and  our family during the tax preparation season and   I'm really looking forward to working with them  again this year investing in less stress making   sure I'm getting all the correct deductions and  more importantly just making sure that I'm getting   filed on time and doing it the right way so go  ahead and click the link down in the description   to find out more information how you can file  your US taxes while living abroad with brightex   another thing worth mentioning is that we really  love a lot of the conveniences that we have here   I know we've talked about a lot of the changes but  to be quite honest we've really loved our location   of the house if you watched our house hunting  videos we really debated back and forth between   two homes and looking back we're really glad that  we chose the house that we did for a lot of those   conveniences we can't mention convenience without  mentioning convenience stores or the convenience   which I happen to have a very cherished place in  my heart for the egg salad sandwiches you know   the white bread fluffy egg salad mixture in the  middle I get those at least weekly and honestly   I think a lot of the reason why I do is because  it is so convenient and a quick snack to have   and so having those little conveniences like that  is pretty fun and does bring us a little bit of   joy and although the sandwiches are really good  we do have to say that bakeries are definitely   not the same just today I had three different  little like rolls uh one was like a melon bread   one was like a pepper and cheese croissant and  another one was a uh lemon cinnamon roll and   although the latter two were pretty good they just  they just weren't the same that is something that   riss and I we talk about we're just like oh we  could just have like a simple loaf of bread or   a little Brechin to go with something it just it  sounds so good and that's something that we really   do miss and I think it wouldn't be fair to really  share kind of an update about like mental health   and like how I'm really doing because I know R and  I get on here and we tend to be pretty positive   people for a lot of our marriage and a lot of  Our Lives I think we've both been some of the   most optimistic people that I know but I will say  that over the last few months it has been taking a   mental and physical toll on us um you name it like  there's just little things that start to build up   so yeah I think life has been a little bit more  difficult the last few months coming over here   was a high the first few weeks and months have  been you know really fun to explore and to get   to know the country a little bit more to hear  language to taste all the different foods but   now that like things are settling in it's been an  adjustment and sometimes that means that like you   just feel down about the situation like you look  back and think why did we move we have said before   in other post in other videos like that we know  growth is going to come from it we know that we   we loved our time in Germany and we grew so much  and we were going to take that and have that as   a chapter of our lives and make the most of our  time here in Japan and I think turning that page   to try and make the most of Japan is going to  be different than what it looks like in Germany   they want to make it very clear even though we  are having a hard time and we're going through   a rough patch we still love the fact that we're  here in Japan and we've still loved so many parts   of it uh but I think it's important for you guys  to see and for us to even express verb it is hard   there are moments when we definitely question our  decision but then at the same time it's also true   that we are really excited and looking forward  to what is coming ahead now that we've shared   a little bit of our feelings over the last few  months of life here in Japan I want to say thank   you to everyone because truly so many people have  been giving us encouraging words following us even   after we've left Germany to see how our life pans  out here in Japan and it really means a lot for   people giving recommendations for health care  to see doctors uh learning the language really   adjusting to life here in Japan so thank you  again for anyone and everyone who has commented   and wished us luck in our journey here and we're  really looking forward for what the future brings   for us continue to stay along following our  journey here in Japan don't forget to hit the   notification Bell And subscribe if you haven't  already and we will see you on the next video

Channel: Our Story to Tell

Views: 16,906

Keywords: familytravelvlog, travelvlog, movingtojapan, lifeinjapan, americansliveinamerica, yokosukajapan, cultureshocks, japancultureshocks, howarewedoing

Id: l5sp6AP84nk

Length: 14min 50sec (890 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 14 2024