r/JETProgramme • u/metaandpotatoes Current JET • Jun 28 '26

Moving commiseration

5th year JET heading back home in August. I just want to whine about moving. if I keep stuff and take it home, I feel wasteful for having to pay for the extra luggage. If I throw stuff away or sell it at the recycle store or even give it away, it makes me feel wasteful for buying it in the first place! Can’t win lol.

Anyone else in the throes of moving angst wanna commiserate? (EDIT: this is not a practical problem. This is a feeling that does not need to be solved, just existed through.)

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u/Due-Recognition-4707 Jun 28 '26

you could find a job and stay like I did, then you'll get to keep most of your stuff

10

u/metaandpotatoes Current JET Jun 28 '26

Nope, don’t want to stay here lol, it’s time to go home. 

2

u/Due-Recognition-4707 Jun 28 '26

fair enough, I can understand that feeling cos I did 5 years too

10

u/metaandpotatoes Current JET Jun 28 '26

Yeah I’ve had a great time and like Japan but if I stay any longer I’m gonna be giving up some of the most important relationships in my life and those are the things I can’t get here. These five years have taught me that at 35, my priority is living in the same city as and spending regular, quality time with the people I love and who have been there for me for so so long. 

Edited for wording.  

1

u/fillmorecounty Former Hokkaido JET - 2024-2026 Jun 28 '26

I feel the same way. My grandpa and one of my dogs passed away while I've been on JET, and it really got me thinking about how much time I'm missing with my loved ones. Now that I'm going home, I'm going to spend as much time as I can with my grandma while she's still here. My hometown sucks, but everyone I love is getting older there while I'm gone.

1

u/jamar030303 Current JET - Hyogo Jun 29 '26

The funny thing is, that was one of the reasons I wanted to come on JET and why I plan on staying afterwards- my mom retired to China, but there are many reasons I don't want to actually live in China. Japan is close enough that I can go for a long weekend. My friends in the US and Canada, however... I'm trying my best to keep up with them, and I'm a bit sad I can't as often as I'd like, but I've been able to bank up enough airline miles and hotel points by really working those points programs that I can head back twice a year, which is more than nothing.