Moving to another country is a big step in anyone’s life. It can be stressful to think about find accommodation, work, friends in a foreign country, and mix in the lifestyle there.
Many foreigners who move to another country, prefer to live with people to avoid getting lonely. Sharing an apartment with flatmates is also comparatively cheaper than renting a studio apartment by themselves. However, when moving to another country, it can be difficult to find people who are willing to co-rent an apartment.
Fortunately, countries like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan offer share houses, to ensure the comfort of the moving foreigners. They are suitable accommodation for people that wish to co-rent a space and want to save money on buying furniture and appliances.
Share houses are rental places with private rooms and shared spaces like the kitchen and dining area. People from different backgrounds live together at a share house and learn from each other. Share houses are quite popular amongst young people with a penchant for exploring the new and exciting.
Local Friends And Acquaintances
In some countries, people are apprehensive when talking to foreigners and are less likely to be polite or helpful. It can be difficult to become friends with the local people in such a country. Sometimes the only friends and acquaintances that a foreigner makes are people from work. A limited social life and a feeling of not belonging can leave you frustrated and sad.
When living at a share house, you get an opportunity to interact with both non-citizen residents or expats and the local people of the country. You will be meeting these people in the shared spaces of the house like home theatre, living room, kitchen, etc. and are likely to become friends if you have similar personalities or interests. This is how you can end up making friends in the local community.
Being friends with locals can expose you to the local culture and community. They will open doors to freely explore the country during your stay.
Local Customs And Basic Communication
One reason why the locals are apprehensive of foreigners is that they feel that their customs are misunderstood and disrespected by those who don’t share them. When you live with the locals or become friends with them, you can observe their customs and learn them. The way that the locals speak, greet, and the topics that interest them vary from country to country. From your local housemates, you can learn these customs and communicate efficiently.
You will also be able to learn their table manners and eating etiquette. Whenever visiting a restaurant or eating lunch with colleges, you will be able to earn bonus points for following local etiquettes and can prevent feeling like you don’t fit.
For example, In Japan, people greet each other by bowing. It can either be a small nod or a deep bend. Greeting with a deep bow, it is seen as a sign of respect.
Similarly, in Taiwan, you are expected to sit with your hands on the front or in your lap, as opposed to spreading them and taking up space. Spreading your legs while sitting somewhere and obstructing the way is also considered impolite by the people.
Festivals And Seasonal Events
The festivals and seasonal events celebrated in various countries are different, even New Year is celebrated differently in most countries.
Festivals and seasonal events are epitomes of cultural activities, food, clothing, entertainment. It is a privilege to experience cultural gatherings of communities on their celebrated occasions.
For example, Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival and Biennial Butterfly Beauty Festival are two festivals that can only be witnessed in Taiwan. Similarly, Seollal or Lunar New Year’s Day and Chuseok are very enthusiastically celebrated in South Korea.
When sharing a house with locals, you can ask them to let you accompany them to festivals and events. You can ask them about the activities conducted and why people celebrate a particular festival. It will not only increase your general knowledge of the place and help you feel included but will also open your eyes to a world you had never known before.
And who knows, maybe some of your housemates will invite you home, to experience celebrating the festival the local way with their families.
Local Foods
Countries with rich culinary histories have given some recipe or dish to the global food market, that is obsessed over by many. The Chinese have the credit for noodles and dumplings, the Mexicans have their tacos, the Americans eat hamburgers, the Japenese have given the world Sushi, and the South Koreans have made Kimchi and Bulgogi famous. However, are these the meals that the local Mexican, American, or Japanese people consume every day? No, they are not.
While these foods are popular, they are not what the locals eat daily. For example, when moving to Japan, you will find many restaurants that serve multiple types of Sushi. But when you live with a Japanese local, you will be able to eat ramen, gyudon beef bowls, dashi soup stock, fish, and rice cake, amongst other local dishes. Similarly, A local in Taiwan will be able to introduce you to Zong Zi, Oyster Omelet, Minced Pork, etc.
Living with local people will enable you to observe and experience their eating habits. Every culture has some easy to make soul food or some traditional dish that is not sold at restaurants and diners.
When a local housemate at your share house cooks their traditional food, it will be culturally authentic and not modified to make it five-star. It will taste like home and is the best way to expose yourself to the local way of living.
Local Language
In some countries, it can be difficult to make friends and navigate around the city if you do not know the local language. In some countries, the names of shops, lanes, and train stations are often written in the local language. You can learn how to reach from office to home and from home to office and can interact with most people in English, but if you need to visit the local clinic or shop, you will find it difficult to communicate your needs. There can be misunderstanding and confusion when trying to understand each other.
At such a time, having a local friend or housemate can be a blessing. Not only can they accompany you for your doctor’s appointment, but they can also help you learn how to write, read, and speak the local language if you plan to stay in the country for longer.
When someone in the group is unable to understand the local language, people often unintentionally end up excluding them from the conversation. Foreigners experience such situations in countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, India, and South Korea. For example, people in these countries prefer to speak in Japanese, Mandarin, Taiwanese Mandarin, Hindi, and Korean. Someone who doesn’t the local language may feel different and left out.
Regular conversations with native speakers of a language are the best way to get fluent in speaking a language. In no time, you will be able to understand the talk between your local colleagues and reply to them, if you are sharing the house with a native speaker.
Deeper Understanding Of National Character And Values
It is easier to learn the customs and language of a country, but quite challenging to understand their values, perspectives, and lifestyle. The way of living in the West and the East are very different. While individualism and independence are cherished in the West, in the East local communities are valued more. Whereas, in the Asian Continent, many countries are passionate about family values, culture, and religious beliefs.
Understanding the culture and perspective of local people is very essential to understanding their lifestyle and priorities. When living at a share house with the local people, you will be able to get a better idea of the local values. Do people respect the elderly? Are patience and punctuality considered essential virtues in the country? Do people often discuss the climate, is it associated with certain traditional myths? When living with a local person, you will learn a lot about the way of thinking of the locals of the country.
This will make it easier for you to converse with them. You will also be able to understand them instead of judging the way they live. This will make you a better human and will enhance your personality.
Local Information
Every country has some areas most visited by the locals. They serve the best local dishes and provide cheap shopping opportunities in such areas. With local friends from your share house by your side, you will be able to take your sightseeing and exploring to the next level. You can avoid tourist destinations and activities and live the way locals do.
If you’re moving to Japan, Taiwan, or South Korea and wish to move into a share house, you can reach out to us at BORDERLESS HOUSE. At share houses by BORDERLESS HOUSE, we have an equal ratio of foreigners and local housemates, to ensure that the foreigners are exposed to the local culture and community.
The purpose of a Working Holiday in Japan is to foster cultural exchanges and promote mutual understanding between Japan and its partner countries/regions. The program is designed to provide the youth (must be under 30 years of age) with opportunities to appreciate the culture and general way of life. It allows the participants to live and work in Japan without a full-time job, a university or language school course, or any visa sponsor.
Young people from various nationalities with a Working Holiday visa are allowed to be on vacation around Japan and also do a part-time job to cover some of their travel costs. The visa is valid for 1 year. And each individual can only participate in Working Holiday programs ONE time in life.
Since the main purpose of doing a working holiday is to experience the culture and lifestyle in Japan, instead of doing paid work and earning money, people who participate in working holiday in Japan can also apply for temporary academic activities, voluntary work without pay or internship without pay. Just remember, this visa is specifically designed for you to have a lot of free time to travel around Japan, then to do some work to make money so you can travel more.
<Countries/Regions>
Since 1980, Japan started working holiday programs, until now, Japan has introduced the programs with the 26 countries/regions in the world.
As of 1st April 2020, citizens of the following countries and regions are eligible for a working holiday visa in Japan:
Argentina/Australia/Austria/Canada/Czech Republic/Chile/Denmark/Estonia/France/Germany/Hong Kong/Hungary/Iceland/Ireland/ Korea/Lithuania/Netherlands/New Zealand/Norway/Poland/Portugal/Slovakia/Spain/Sweden/Taiwan/United Kingdom
<Age>
A working holiday visa is a special visa for young people between the age of 18 and 30, both inclusive at the time of application for the visa.
However, for Australia, Canada, and the Republic of Korea, an applicant should be between 18 and 25 years of age except in those cases where the competent authorities of Japan agree to extend the limitation of age to 30 years. As for Iceland, the applicant should be between 18 and 26 years of age.
To prepare for a Working Holiday visa, there are 2 most important parts of the processes which are gathering all the required documents and sending your application to the he Japanese Embassy, and then settling in:
①Application/Paperworks
The first step is to fill out the Visa Application Form which includes your basic information, such as nationality, age, and passport details. There is also a section with yes or no questions about your legal and criminal past, which means you must have a clean criminal record to participate in the working holiday visa program. A passport-style photo which was taken within six months to the application is also required.
You are also required to submit a proposed itinerary and outline of the intended activities. As I mentioned – the main purpose of the Working Holiday for you should be experiencing the country, so the Japanese government wants you to go to every corner of its beautiful country, and that’s basically what you need to write about on your proposed itinerary. You can demonstrate some detailed travel plans to show you’ve done the research and you’re well planned. But of course, this is flexible and you can always change your plans afterward when you get to Japan. They’d love to see you are not just visiting the capital or tourism spots, but planning to visit multiple prefectures instead.
②Housing
After you get the visa and you are ready to go to Japan, the next thing you may be concerned about is probably housing. And I would recommend starting out living at a share house for sure since living in a share house gives you chances to meet many people from all over the world, it helps you to get advice and support from others and immerse yourself in the local culture and make local friends. It may bring you some good changes in your plan in Japan! And you don’t need a guarantor to rent a room at a share house. Moreover, the minimum stay at share houses is usually one month, which is about a good amount of time to explore a city. It’s also easier to cancel or extend the contract, that can keep the flexibility of your plan! On top of that, the shared house is fully furnished, so you can basically just move in with a suitcase. So I believe staying at a shared house is the best choice for when you first get to Japan and still sorting things out!
Check share houses in Tokyo
Check share houses in Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe
③Other necessary preparations
-Money: For the application, you are required to prove you have sufficient funds in the bank to pay for your stay in Japan (around $3,000). But Japan is considered to be one of the most expensive countries in the world, especially a big city like Tokyo, so you usually will need to prepare more than that if you don’t plan to get a job and start to work right after you arrive in Japan. Depends on each person, you can check this blog for your reference about the cost of living in Japan.
-Insurance: One of the mandatory things that you have to do before your arrival in Japan is to subscribe to the national health insurance plan.
-Internet: You will have Wifi at home if you choose to stay at a shared house, and there is Wifi access at the convenience stores, train stations, and most cafes and restaurants as well. Another handy option is a Pocket WiFi, which is usually charged with monthly payment, which is more flexible. And you can also check out some SIM card options at BIC Camera or Yodobashi Camera, there are many plan options designed for foreigners with a lower cost. Or you can check this mobile service for foreigners.
If you are enjoying your life too much in Japan and you intend to stay longer in Japan rather than going back home, converting to a standard working visa is possible! But you will need a company willing to sponsor you so you can get a work visa that allows you to stay for extra 1,3 or 5 years!
So if you are interested in getting a regular working visa after your working holiday visa ends, feel free check our 【Ē・SHOKU・JŪ 】Housing & Career Support Program that helps you to land your dream job in Japan and stay for a longer period in Japan!
If you love Japan and would like to spend more time in the country to experience the culture, learn the language, or you’d just simply love to have more adventures in Japan, a working holiday program could be the best option for you! Especially if your country is one of the partner countries with Japan, you should seize the opportunity! Best of all, applying for the working holiday program is entirely free! If you meet the above criteria, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t apply. This could be a life-changing step for you 🙂 
