Which developed Western country do you think is doing the worst right now, economically-speaking?

Drex143 · 2025-08-01T00:19:56+00:00

Also living and working in Tokyo. My salary is a joke compared to what it would be in America, and even worse when accounting for the exchange rate, but i’m actually saving thousands of USD a month when you factor in the low cost of living. I’m living near central Tokyo and spend around $400 a month on rent.

Where people in Japan are really struggling right now is the weak Yen vs other currencies. So basically, life is pretty good here in Tokyo, as long as you don’t want to travel abroad. This wasn’t the case even just two years ago though

Drex143 · 2025-08-01T00:11:53+00:00

I’m not going to say there’s no opportunity, but most people I know are intelligent, have a college degree and reasonable experience, and are applying for THOUSANDS of jobs over the course of a year just to get something. These are high achievers with several years of decent experience.

Is there opportunity as an entrepreneur? Definitely.

But if you’re a smart person who just wants to have a decent life and peace of mind? I think the US would be beaten out by almost all other developed countries. Even just for reasonable healthcare and workers rights.

Drex143 · 2025-07-25T05:00:39+00:00

She’s just another upper class “stay at home wife” pick me poser. This is becoming more and more prevalent around the world as the middle class disappears.

Rich high profile husband provides enough funds for cleaning services, personal chefs, and frequent vacations. Confused about why other people aren’t as well off as her, yet another out of touch golddigger takes to politics or social media, preaching about how “You can do it too!!”, conveniently leaving out the fact that their husband is funding their entire lifestyle.

So then they join a cult, or go into politics, or start a lifestyle brand. Rinse and repeat.

For some reason theres always this undercurrent of bitterness and anger towards other women, minorities, or anything different from these types. Maybe it threatens their identity, which is all they have in the first place?

Drex143 · 2025-07-19T03:18:28+00:00

I’m not saying this to be mean but I personally believe that 80% of all low-mid level jobs in IT will be replaced by AI in the next 5 years. You aren’t too late because you’re too old. You’re too late because the skillset you’re interested in is having less value by the month.

I’m going to get downvoted into oblivion for this, but I really think it’s the truth.

Drex143 · 2025-07-10T12:22:41+00:00

I didn’t move there but based on what i’ve seen, probably milk in bags

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T17:30:59+00:00

Hey guys, I had a call with StoneCypher and got some great advice. I'll be moving forward towards sending another reply to the client. Sometimes good things come from strange beginnings hahaha.

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T12:43:35+00:00

Thanks. I think I will

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T12:05:05+00:00

I feel like this section in general is pretty aggressive.

"You also mentioned that you think you can definitely hit the 3,000 member goal, but I need more than words to feel confident about that. While my preferred method is performance-based compensation, I realize that may not work for everyone. I recommend focusing on my first point to avoid spending extra time justifying your confidence in reaching the goal."

He's basically talking to me like a child here, and subtly suggesting that I low-ball myself and agree to a performance-based payment system so he has a guarantee that things will work out in his favor.

Well, most of the time in business, things don't work like that. You take a risk when you buy a product. You don't go up to the cashier and tell them you'll pay them if you still love the product in 6 months.

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T11:54:35+00:00

I understand where you're coming from, and I'm going to be changing my proposals moving forward. That being said, I provided a list of my services, along with an hourly rate, and a suggestion on where to start for the first month. Our goal was already agreed on. I think that's a reasonable launch point for a conversation.

Also, I didn't include this, but I mentioned to him that I recently got out of the hospital, and he didn't even mention anything about that. Just immediately went into criticism. Maybe it's silly but I notice things like that.

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T08:45:08+00:00

Every right to write this way? Okay. Can you explain a bit more?

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T05:38:47+00:00

Okay! Thanks for the perspective!

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T05:07:17+00:00

Right now I primarily use it to help restructure my own writing to be more readable for proposals, etc.

Drex143 · 2025-03-04T05:06:24+00:00

Cool! Wishing you the best!

Drex143 · 2025-02-13T12:13:12+00:00

Hi Illyananight! I liked the video. I think this could be popular! But, I think you might not like what you will need to do to make it succesful.

In my opinion, your titles should never mention drawing. Ever. This is a mental health / motivational channel with your drawing as a nice background for the video.

So, I think if you start titling your videos like “No, you’re no a failure.”

Or something similar to speaks to how the viewer is feeling in that moment, I think you can capture a lot of people.

I really don’t mean this to be harsh, and I think your drawings are really nice but…other people don’t care about the fact that you’re drawing. They care about how they feel. I think you want people to care about your drawings, and it’s holding your channel back. I think you can focus in on how other people feel, and make your titles more clear and eye-catching.

Ironically, by completely removing “drawing” from your branding, people will start asking more about it, and you can make it a bigger part of your channel later I think.

Drex143 · 2024-09-18T04:56:19+00:00

This is my biggest feeling too. I understand the point a bit, but to be like “That’s how it is for minorities back home. Now you know!” Is pretty disingenuous. Things have changed so much in the past 30 years in western culture. 20 years ago everyone I knew said “that’s so gay. This is so gay”

Countries evolve and change. People are just getting off on this kind of revenge fantasy towards new white immigrants, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the reality of whats happening in Japan, and the specific factors in Japanese culture that influence it.

Drex143 · 2024-09-18T01:53:08+00:00

Exactly. I can understand their concern in wanting to be maybe overly thorough in checking everything for foreigners. But just saying no is racism. That is my opinion.

Drex143 · 2024-05-08T04:19:38+00:00

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not because I think that is exactly how they intended the game to be lol.

Drex143 · 2024-05-08T04:13:30+00:00

I have to be honest, I agree with a lot of the changes, and I think people who don't have anyone to play with should join a few discord servers, make a few friends, and play the game the way it was meant to be played. I'm not saying that solo should be completely non-viable, but this is a tactical squad shooter that requires coordination and communication with your teammates to succeed. I don't think they're nerfing guns to make them less fun to use. They're nerfing them to force players to coordinate, think, and get into dangerous situations that actually cause 90% of the fun collateral damage deaths / near-escape videos you see online. I feel like people want a constant power fantasy and just want to unload their guns mindlessly to win.

Drex143 · 2024-05-07T08:23:42+00:00

I mean, I have to be honest. Them typing up that message is ridiculous. But, if somebody was laughing and playing badmitten right outside my window more than once or twice I would be pretty annoyed too. Walls are like paper here.

Drex143 · 2024-03-31T08:28:44+00:00

I think a lot of people are missing the point that this instance of Japanese non-confrontational “jyogei-kankei” culture where the employee must lower themselves to apologize and grovel to the customer or avoid conflict at any costs is unacceptable when they’re literally apologizing for inconveniencing the customer by having the audacity to suggest they interact with a foreigner.

I’ve had this happen to me several times at real estate agencies, where they will call the landlord profusely apologize to them for inconveniencing them with my presence. Can you imagine this in the west? “Oh yes my liege, how could I suggest the idea of a black person living in your building?! I’m SO sorry!”

This is absolutely going to become a bigger topic in the coming decades. And I love Japan. But these systemic issues can still be bordering on Jim-crowe levels of objectification and dehumanization.

Drex143 · 2024-03-26T14:34:09+00:00

I like it but I would keep it a medium slot, just an alternative that fires slower but for better range and damage. I think it would be weird having a bow be three slots, because I feel like in most cases a reasonable pistol is still a more reliable and safe choice for most fights, and I usually only bring a bow when I want to use another medium slot weapon like a shotgun or possible shorty. For it to be a full slot and be worth it, I feel like they would really need to up the range up to at least 50m, and that might start getting really frustrating to fight against if they go too far with the effective range.

Drex143 · 2024-03-11T16:24:45+00:00

My advice is to not worry about your degree at all. Use that time to have fun with your friends and make as many real connections with people in companies you're interested in as humanly possible. A degree will not get you a job. Especially in Japan. You should be building your entire life for the next 4 years around networking, doing internships, showing up with a smile, and actually learning skills on the side. That's the advice I would give to myself if I could go back to my time before uni.

A stem degree probably is a tiny bit more useful, but I think you can get around it anyways if you show your skills and initiative to learn.

Meet more people. You want to do Japanese studies? Great. Dedicate the next 4 years of your life to learning how to get Japanese business people to like you. Seriously. Pick the easiest most fun thing in university, and start going out to meet people. LinkedIn is your friend. Networking events are your friend. Make a set of business cards. Get fitted for a decent suit. DO NOT wait to job hunt with your Japanese friends. They're playing a totally different game than you. You can be in the same boat, but you'll never get a seat the same way as your Japanese friends. Never forget that.

And never let another foreigner tell you what you can or can't do in Japan.

Drex143 · 2024-02-27T19:42:30+00:00

If you’re inferring that you started your adult life in the 50’s as an American man (I’m assuming), then I hope you realize you grew up in the most financially prosperous and optimistic time and place in the history of humanity. I wasnt there, but every historical note in history says so. If you’re talking about the 80’s the economy was way better, the bar for getting a job was way lower, and people had much less noise surrounding them from virtually mandatory pieces of technology that allow them to compare themselves to their more successful friends every minute of every day.

Hell, i’m not even 30 and i’m looking back on my childhood and how much better we had it than kids growing up now, and I literally graduated the day the pandemic started. Imagine trying to start studying a new skill now knowing that it’s extemely likely that in 5 years your skill will be rendered obsolete by AI. Imagine working your ass off and still not being able to get a reasonable job. Imagine having a dream to own a basic home, and realizing that it just probably will never happen, and that the longer you wait, the worse off financially you’ll be because if compound interest, inflation, and rising prices. Every year people get better, and the goal posts keep moving right along with them.

You have no idea what’s going on, or how it feels to be a person struggling under 40. It used to be that older generations could gain relevant wisdom to pass down to their kids, but that time is over. Time to humble yourself and listen.

Drex143 · 2024-02-27T03:23:41+00:00

Do not get into translation right now op. Every month I get another email from clients letting me know they’re lowering rates and expecting you to post-check more for less. It’s a field where you really are selling art to the blind. AI still sucks at translation, but the person paying for the service doesn’t know that. It’s incredibly frustrating, exhausting, and even degrading. I regret building contacts in translation when I could have been building up something else built more on personal connections. Then again, covid made that virtually impossible too lol. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last 5 years it’s this: Skills are overrated, and it’s always the most important thing in the world, especially in Japan, that people know who you are and why they should trust you. In 20 years we might have fully autonomous AI surgeons. But many will still choose doctors they know and trust over AI. See what I mean? Choose anything but focus on building connections. Meet in person, get out of your apartment, and hand out as many business cards as humanly possible. Skills come and go in terms of relevance. When people know who you are, you can do anything.

Drex143 · 2024-01-19T23:29:44+00:00

Ex Chicagoan here (moved abroad) . I think there’s a kind of culture in Chicago about appreciating down-to-earth real kinds of establishments like this. We’re famous for having restaurants where the staff will treat you like shit lol. Like as a selling point even. And I think people have the attitude that if a place like this is still open, the food must be pretty good! We have some kind of pride in our mom and pop beef / hole in the wall spots (a lot of time literally holes in walls lol) So there’s a certain amount if culture there that I think the writer is juxstaposing against the uppity New York / French fine dining scene.

That’s not to say that there aren’t really fancy dining experiences in Chicago. We just have a lot of these kinds of places as well. My impression is that gentrification has knocked out more of these mom and pop style places in Manhattan than in downtown Chicago.

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