I'm an American who has lived in Japan for the last couple of years. I think my quality of life is higher in Japan than it was in America. The streets & public spaces are cleaner, I always feel safe, and the public transit is incredible. Generally, it just seems that the Japanese city governments do a better job than American cities.

The only real pain point is communication, but my Japanese has gotten good enough that I can always express what I'm trying to say, and generally understood what other people are saying. Studying Japanese everyday does consume a lot of time though.

I expect to stay here for a least a couple of more years.