Small update on this:

I ended up landing a new job, but one that's still in Japan.
It's a good gig, with a good team, but I've started to feel like leaving the country again for good. So i think now is the right time to begin preparing in earnest.

ay yo congrats?!?

I just got to purple in tekken 8 last week too!
we should play sometime 🥊

My friend mentioned that it took him 13 months to a find a new job after getting laid off, and i don't want to move back without a job lined up.

So.. i expect this to be a very long year.

But..! i'll do what i can bit-by-bit and rely on whoever i can to make it.

But that's not a bad thing. I love a good fresh start and that kinda.. excites me? more than anything.

(And i want to adopt big ass dog goddam it)

Moving back would essentially mean building up my social support network from scratch.

I've kept very loose ties with my old friends from university, and we still meet when i go back, but they are busy and have their own lives

It's honestly the same for my extended family back home too.

It's not necessarily *that* important to me, but it's one of my top priorities for sure.

Close 2nd would be to see my parents more frequently.

I really only come back to the US once a year to visit them, and it doesn't feel like it's enough anymore.

But when i think about if any of these goals require me to be in a Japan.. there's really only one: Getting PR

I'm only a few months away from being able to apply for it.

Though the approval process can take up to 7-8 months for Osaka, once you have it you have it for life.