Poll of the Day > Would you rather live in Paris or Tokyo for 5 years

(+) Yeah! (+)

I wouldn't really care to live in either place but if I had to pick one I'd pick Paris. It would be way easier to learn French than it would to learn Japanese, and the culture shock wouldn't be as significant. Not to mention you'd be closer to a ton of interesting places to travel to.

Neither.

I'm 6'3" - I'd basically be a kaiju in Japan. And in spite of taking 7 years of French in school I couldn't even ask my way to the bathroom today.

I'd be miserable in either place.

Tokyo. I've known a few people that went to Paris and seen a bunch online. It smells like BO and the French are extremely rude lol

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Neither.

I'm 6'3" - I'd basically be a kaiju in Japan.

That's a weird reason.

And in spite of taking 7 years of French in school I couldn't even ask my way to the bathroom today.

Immersion typically helps a lot in one getting fluent with learning a new language.

I'd be miserable in either place.

Have you been to both places?

I'd love either. I'd probably lean more towards Paris though.

Tokyo, I have no desire to ever go to Paris.

'Paris, France'

If this was asked back when I was in high school, the answer would be different.

faramir77 posted...

It would be way easier to learn French than it would to learn Japanese

No lie. I'd be happy just translating written text, but that has several stages in Japanese.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I'd be miserable in either place.

Same. One locale comes across like an endless romance novel with couples hand in hand, and the other was great in the 90's and 2000's when arcades were everywhere.

Tokyo any day. You couldn't pay me to live in Paris

Hmm Tokyo is winning very handily. I was going to make this London vs. Tokyo at first but I thought London would win easily because of the English factor. Maybe I'll make a London vs. Tokyo poll later

Last I heard, Paris had streets lined with garbage, rats and infested with bed bugs. So I'll take Tokyo.

Ive spent a fair bit of time in Paris and been to Tokyo a few times. Honestly, theyre both pretty cool cities but Id rather stay where I am.

Tokyo has less crime

Tokyo solely because they have DisneySea which is far superior to Disneyland Paris.

speedpunk posted...

That's a weird reason.

Not really. Not when you understand that life can be uncomfortable when you're living in a world when nothing is designed for your body. And plenty of Westerners have talked about how everything feels too small there.

Not to mention the social implications. People shorter than me have mentioned feeling awkward or constantly being stared at for their height.



speedpunk posted...

Immersion typically helps a lot in one getting fluent with learning a new language.

Assuming you're interested in being immersed in the first place.



speedpunk posted...

Have you been to both places?

I've never eaten a dog turd in a hot dog roll either, yet I can confidently say that I have absolutely no desire to ever do so. Nor have I ever stuck my dick in a blender and set it to puree, but I'm still pretty sure it would be a terrible idea.

Deductive reasoning is a wonderful skill humans possess. It allows us to use reason and experience to know things without needing to test a theory directly.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Not when you understand that life can be uncomfortable when you're living in a world when nothing is designed for your body.

If you're 6 foot 3 that's literally every place in the world. I know in the US at least all public accommodations are designed for the mean height of both adult men and women of 5 foot 8.

I seem to have somebody on ignore who is talking about languages. I just want to add that thinking youll pick up a language easily because you live somewhere that its widely spoken isnt really the case. Learning a language requires a huge amount of effort from the learner, even when surrounded by it.

Also, Im 63 living in Asia and its more or less a non-issue.

As 6 4 the real issue is the flight there.

I'd pick Tokyo too. Sure I'd have no idea what anyone is saying but I think it would be fun. A totally different culture. And if my expenses are paid then I'm not even working. I could attend school and maybe learn the language.

It's insane so many people pick tokyo vs paris. I've been to both locations and I would pick paris over tokyo. I know there's the weeb facto rand tokyo is a nice place. But living there for 5 years you'd get bored unless you travel far. Paris is phenomenal to live in. Taking the train there each district of paris has its own culture. Every time I got off the train I felt like I was in a brand new place. Tokyo has no such experience it's more Japan. Not dunking on Tokyo, but that's my impression.

badjay posted...

It's insane so many people pick tokyo vs paris. I've been to both locations and I would pick paris over tokyo. I know there's the weeb facto rand tokyo is a nice place. But living there for 5 years you'd get bored unless you travel far. Paris is phenomenal to live in. Taking the train there each district of paris has its own culture. Every time I got off the train I felt like I was in a brand new place. Tokyo has no such experience it's more Japan. Not dunking on Tokyo, but that's my impression.

Well, if you want to travel, I guess it also depends on whether you find Europe or Asia more alluring. Both have their charms.

Paris, I know some French. As an American, I'm sure they'll be warmer to me than in Japan.

I can't decide.

Literally no preference at all. I'd toss a coin to decide.

I feel like Paris probably reeks of second hand smoke.

Probably Tokyo. I have a cousin somewhere is Japan. So, Id be able to visit him sometimes. And Ive always wanted to go. Paris seems cool, too Though, I dont remember any of my lessons of learning French. My sister has gone there. And if I lived there, shed probably visit a lot. Though, my whole family would visit Japan, too. My mom and stepdad are actually going soon. And me and my siblings were trying to convince them to let us go, as well. But its probably a no-go

Either way, Japan seems to be the answer for me

I've lived in Japan and have lived in Korea for 11 years so Asia isn't anything new to me. I like Tokyo quite a bit though so that's what I voted. Although honestly, I speak passable French and have a few French friends. It would be cool to go there and have all my expenses covered. But maybe committing to live in Paris for 5 years without ever having gone there would be kind of annoying at this point in my life.

I think the final tie breaker is that if I lived in France I'd have no access to live baseball while Japan would give me all the baseball I could handle (which is lots of baseball).

BADoglick posted...

I feel like Paris probably reeks of second hand smoke.

Well, I have news for you about something Japanese people really love doing and have loved doing for a very long time.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I've never eaten a dog turd in a hot dog roll either,

I apologize if I've offended you. I was simply curious if you had been to either location mentioned in the topic. If you don't wanna answer, you have that right.

So have you ever been to Japan or France?

Tokyo, Paris is pretty cool but Japan is cooler.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I'm 6'3" - I'd basically be a kaiju in Japan.

Did a Google search... average height of men in Japan is 5'7, but despite the idea that everyone under 6' is a manlet in America, the avg height is only 5'9, just a 2 inch difference

Damn_Underscore posted...

Hmm Tokyo is winning very handily. I was going to make this London vs. Tokyo at first but I thought London would win easily because of the English factor. Maybe I'll make a London vs. Tokyo poll later

This is video game site my dude. You could put Tokyo up against a magical fantasy utopia and everyone would still choose tokyo

OhhhJa posted...

This is video game site my dude. You could put Tokyo up against a magical fantasy utopia and everyone would still choose tokyo

We'll have to see won't we

I just enjoy more Japanese things then French things, the hugest hurdle to living in Tokyo is the outrageous rent, but in this scenario it's already paid for.

This is actually a pretty tough choice for me bit leaning toward Paris. Benefit of being in Paris would be that I could essentially visit most of Europe pretty easily. If I'm in Tokyo I can visit... well Japan. Both countries have great cuisine but hard to beat easy access to great bread and cheese. As for cons, I've heard both countries are pretty hostile toward foreigners

Also, as someone who likes to smoke weed pretty sure you'd be fucked if you got caught with weed in Japan. Probably not a big deal in France

OhhhJa posted...

This is actually a pretty tough choice for me bit leaning toward Paris. Benefit of being in Paris would be that I could essentially visit most of Europe pretty easily. If I'm in Tokyo I can visit... well Japan. Both countries have great cuisine but hard to beat easy access to great bread and cheese. As for cons, I've heard both countries are pretty hostile toward foreigners

Also, as someone who likes to smoke weed pretty sure you'd be fucked if you got caught with weed in Japan. Probably not a big deal in France

From what I've heard it's mainly Paris where people are hostile.

According to Abroad in Japan he says in his decade of living in Japan (I don't think in Tokyo though) he's had dealings with openly racist people only a handful of times, but he does speak fluent Japanese so that cuts the cultural barrier significantly.

OhhhJa posted...

Also, as someone who likes to smoke weed pretty sure you'd be fucked if you got caught with weed in Japan. Probably not a big deal in France

I'd welcome a long break from weed. After you go without weed long enough, you learn to live without it. Then you also get really fuckin high next time you partake.

It's actually easy for me to go without it. I do it all the time for weeks or months at a time. But I still like to do it and don't want to be somewhere where I can't even have it every now and then

But I'm also not a wake and bake kinda guy. I never smoke while working or anything like that. I just might hit it a couple times when I'm winding down for the night

This Australian had been to France andwill visit again.

If I was asked this when I was younger, it would be Japan.

I rather go to Greenland or Sweden though.

Tokyo.

Tokyo seems like it would be more of a buzzkill

And 5 years is a long time...

Jen0125 posted...

Tokyo. I've known a few people that went to Paris and seen a bunch online. It smells like BO and the French are extremely rude lol

Yeah just in the realm of politeness I'd take Tokyo over Paris.

did someone expect any result other than tokyo on a gaming website

FatalAccident posted...

did someone expect any result other than tokyo on a gaming website

I put Iceland over Tokyo, idk how they feel about tourists, I don't want to go anywhere where tourists are disliked.

I can't think of a place in America where tourists are disliked, maybe Times Square, but that's just because of the already terrible congestion.

Yellow posted...

I put Iceland over Tokyo, idk how they feel about tourists, I don't want to go anywhere where tourists are disliked.

I can't think of a place in America where tourists are disliked, maybe Times Square, but that's just because of the already terrible congestion.

Times square is nothing but tourists/transients/transplants, but yeah America is so much of a melting pot that's it's really hard to tell if anyone is a "tourist." Gonna stick out like a sore thumb being an American in France, especially if you can't speak French or some other neighboring language

Tokyo is literally the only megacity I would ever consider living in.

badjay posted...

I've been to both locations and I would pick paris over tokyo. I know there's the weeb facto rand tokyo is a nice place. But living there for 5 years you'd get bored unless you travel far. Paris is phenomenal to live in. Taking the train there each district of paris has its own culture.

I mean, that's true of Tokyo as well. You've got anime/gaming mecca Akihabara, the ritzy district of Ginza, sumo heartland Ryougoku, and the nightlife capital Shibuya, among others. Not to mention, given how central Tokyo is you can literally be anywhere else on Honshuu within a couple hours on the shinkansen.

Depends, working Paris, if I had income without a job Tokyo

Japanese work culture is ass

They both have their pros and cons, but I voted Paris because of the insignificant culture shock. French is my first language. I'm the equivalent of an American going to England.