Coming from Tokyo to Bay Area and having family here, I wouldn't miss it much. Only things I miss are friends and food, which are both from my cultural attachment.
That's said, many youngstars from Tokyo go back after staying here for several years, probably because of the loneliness and the boredom. So your points well taken.
1)How long have you been in Tokyo?
2)What part of Tokyo do you live and work in?
3) How easy/hard did you personally find establishing a relationship (in the non-romantic sense) with the locals?
4) (If you're an American) How do you handle you're taxes?
5) What were some of the more surprising things about Tokyo that aren't mentioned enough?
6) How easy is it to get out into the countryside?
7) Where does one find expats to hang out with who aren't coworkers?
/r/tokyo
/r/movingtojapan
/r/JapanFinance
/r/japanlife (don't post unless you already in Japan, but good info on daily life in Japan from foreigner's perspective)
/r/JapanTravel (if you want to be tourist only)
I think Bangkok matches this pretty well.
I'm not saying it's super dangerous but it's definitely not 'Tokyo safe'.
If you count number of bedrooms, but if you look at sq.footage isn't it much much higher than almost anywhere in the US?
Is this true? I would think that at least 50% would be able to speak English. Perhaps even up to 80%. Anyone else with first-hand experience?
But same is true, in reverse, for western foreigners living in Japan. Very few are able to communicate in Japanese.
Pros:
- Safe almost everywhere even at night and generally very clean
- Infinite amount of things to do, you'll never finish exploring new restaurants (with delicious food) and stores
- International events happen there: conferences, concerts, etc.
- Very walkable (including the metro), especially around city center
- Reasonable housing prices - high, but comparable to cities in the US
- Politeness is baked into society and unpleasant interactions with strangers are very rare
- Rest of the country is fairly accessible by train for a weekend trip, and there's plenty of beautiful nature if you get out of the city
Cons:
- Difficult language and few people speak any English
- Fairly closed society/culture, you'll always be an outsider (but there are plenty of expats)
- Toilets in restaurants often suck and public trash cans are rare
- Bureaucracy is quite bad and inaccessible if you aren't fluent in Japanese
- Work culture is bad, though being remote could make that a non-issue
Some runner ups:
- Lisbon (excellent weather, low prices)
- Copenhagen (super safe, great quality of life)
For me though, the top 3 criteria by far are 1) a lot to do, 2) very safe, and 3) don't need a car, and Tokyo is pretty much the only major city that meets those.