(Chinese version below)
In 2010, I came to Tokyo, Japan with a working holiday visa. In the past 10 years, I had several changes – from the immature 20’s to the still not fully ripe 30’s; from going to Japan alone, and now going to Germany with Curry Boy; from only speaking a bit Japanese, to now having no problem in a daily conversation; from being afraid of speaking English, to now mixing English and Japanese even though I knew the grammar is wrong; from only friends from Hong Kong, to now I have friends from all different continents. There were laughters and tears in these 10 years, I accepted it and they are part of me. And I’m looking forward to write a new chapter onwards!
Give Up Japan Permanent Residency and Move to Germany
Many people would immediately asked: “Have you obtained your permanent residence in Japan?” The short answer is “No.” I agree that Tokyo is very easy to live in, it’s safe and clean, people are polite, and everything seems to be delicious, but after living for a long time, we both want to see the world that we have never seen before. In the past, I went to Japan alone, but now I’m with Curry Boy, it should be easier to go to a new country. Before you have children, seize the opportunity and it’s time to leave.
Düsseldorf, Germany vs Chicago, USA
As for why Germany? In fact, there is no particular reason. Curry Boy has two choices when changing jobs, Chicago in the United States or Düsseldorf in Germany. Our first thought was to lean towards the United States, at least we don’t have to worry about the language, and the house is big. What about Germany? You have to learn German, the tax rate is high, and the only food seems to be sausages and beer! Later, I asked my friends for their opinions, and surprisingly one-sidedly supported Germany. One of the important reasons is that the US president(Trump) is insane and the crime rate is high. The slow pace of life in Europe should be quite suitable for us.
Quality of Living City Ranking – #6 Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is located in the northwest of Germany. We had never heard of this place before. Fortunately, the first impression was good: according to the 2019 Mercer Survey on quality of life, Düsseldorf ranked 6th! (Tokyo ranked #49, Hong Kong ranked #71) This survey is based on transportation, entertainment, education, crime rate, housing, natural environment to evaluate. How good is it? You only have to live. Although what I know is still superficial, I believe that many wonderful things will happen in Düsseldorf!
Covid Brings Visas to a Standstill
Plans are nothing. Planning is everything. When we decided to go to Germany, Covid-19 hit the world and caught me off guard. In March 2020, our visa applications were cancelled, and we only have been waiting. The endless waiting was really annoying. In this situation, we worried that new company will lose patience and cancel the employment, and we also worried that we won’t be able to go anywhere as the epidemic intensifies. Moving house overseas is a big project. And we expect to leave Japan in about one and a half months after we got the visas. No visa, no official moving day. So the two of us could only learn German online while decluttering.
Do what can be done within your control, and don’t think about anything that’s out of control, like Covid and visas.
Two people with two hands, the emigration is a success!
After waiting for half a year, we finally got the visas! I was mainly in charge of the Japan side. The first task was to sell everything. I used Mercari, a very popular second-hand trading platform in Japan, to sell 90% of our belongings, including sofa, dining table, desk, bookshelves, TV, rice cooker, oven, toaster, pots, books, clothes, even the half-used shampoo and conditioner were all sold! The other task was project management – setting up timeline, monitoring Todo progress, cook daily meals and other trivial matters.
Curry Boy was in charge of major tasks, such as looking for accommodation, flight tickets, transportation arrangements, pitching moving company, buying insurance and handling all the documentations. At first, I thought this big project packed with too many Todos which were overloaded. But in the end, two people with two hands, completed the tasks one by one, and turned out the process went smoothly. What’s left is the strength and stamina of packing and excitement!
When I have time in the future, I will update the blog and record the details of my new life. This excitement I had it once 10 years ago, and the happiness belonged to one person; now it comes again 10 years later, and the happiness belongs to two people. The Best is Yet to Come!
2010年拿著工作假期簽證來到日本東京，10年人事幾翻新，由未熟的20代，到現在半生熟的30代；由單身赴日，到現在雙人赴德；由日文半桶水，到現在日文依然只是3/4桶水；由怕講英文，到現在知道文法是錯的都會照講的日英混雜；由只有香港人朋友仔，到現在認識了來自五湖四海的朋友仔⋯⋯在日本這10年沒有白過，多了十幾條白頭髮之餘，深信生活智慧也有丁點增長！
棄永住 去德國
很多人會第一時間問：「在日本拿了永住權了嗎？」「沒有。」「為什麼不先拿永住權才走呀？」其實我倆沒有憧憬要長住日本，反而是想什麼時候可以走出日本？我認同日本是很好住的，既安全又乾淨，日本人又有禮貌，什麼都好吃似的，但住久了我倆都想去看沒有看過的風景。以前膽粗粗隻身赴日，現在有咖喱男齊上齊落，去別的國家應該更容易吧！趁現在還未有小朋友，抓緊機會，動身是時候了。
德國Düsseldorf vs 美國Chicago
至於為什麼是德國呢？其實也沒有特別原因。咖喱男轉工時有2個選擇，美國Chicago或德國Düsseldorf。我們最初第一個想法是傾向美國，至少語言方面不用擔心，房子又大。德國呢？要學德文，稅率又高，食物好像只有香腸和啤酒哈哈哈！！！後來詢問過朋友仔的意見，出奇地一面倒支持德國，其中一個重要原因是美國總統是癲的（一矢中的），而且犯罪率又高。歐洲生活節奏慢，應該也蠻適合我們吧。
生活質素排名第6的城市
Düsseldorf(杜塞道夫)位於德國西北部，在這之前我從來沒有聽過這個地方。可幸第一個印象很好：根據2019年關於生活質素的Mercer Survey，Düsseldorf排名第6!（東京排49、香港排71）這調查是按交通、娛樂、教育、犯罪率、房屋、自然環境等等來評估。到底有多好呢？真的要住過才知道了。雖然我知道的仍然很皮毛，但我相信在Düsseldorf將會有許多美好的事情發生！
Covid令簽證急煞停
好，到決定要去德國，又來一個Covid殺全球一個措手不及，3月時簽證申請被取消，一直在等，無了期的等待真的令人囉囉攣。這個時勢，既擔心新公司會失去耐性取消雇用，又擔心疫情愈演愈烈我們會四處都去不了。因為我們預計拿到簽證後大約一個半月就要起程，需知道將整個家搬走是一個很大的工程，但一天沒有拿到簽證，一天都不能正式kickoff，我倆唯有一邊上網學德文，一邊斷捨離家中物品，在控制範圍內能做的就先做，Covid、簽證這種out of control的事就不想了。
兩個人兩雙手 移居成事了！
足足等了半年，終於拿到簽證！首項任務我主力負責賣家當，用近年日本很紅的二手買賣平台Mercari將9成家當都賣掉了，梳化、餐桌、書桌、書架、電視、電飯煲、焗爐、多士爐、鍋、書、衣服、就連用剩一半的洗頭水和護髮素都賣了，哈哈哈！還有就是Project Management，設Timeline、監察Todo進度、日常三餐等瑣碎事項。咖喱男則負責大事，例如對德國方面的，找房子、訂機票、交通安排、找搬運公司、買保險、處理及申請入境時需要的文件等等。由最初覺得好大個Project，好多Todo，結果兩個人兩雙手，事情攤開來慢慢做，過程尚算順利，現在剩下來的就只有pack箱的力量和興奮的心情！
未來有時間我都會更新部落格，記錄一下新生活的點滴。這種心情，10年前有過一次，快樂是一個人的；如今10年後再來一次，快樂屬於兩個人的。The Best is Yet to Come!
