I’ve set up a few gitlab servers at companies and it’s always been well received. Doing it from scratch may be more complex than you want, but I think there are docker images for a more turnkey type solution. And the option of building CI/CD pipelines in the future is always nice to have.
I can only speak for myself, but I fought as hard as I could before making the tough decision to leave. I spoke up to friends, to my mostly republican family, spoke up at work (government contractor) which almost cost me my job, spoke up on social media, called my elected representatives and lawmakers, went to protests, and helped organize protests.
But after June/July 2025 I began to realize we were not getting the momentum we needed to stop the MAGA movement, and it was time to begin making a plan B (physical escape).
I’d like to think most others like me have also tried to make an impact, but at some point you have to jump ship. There’s no reason to go down with the others who refuse to wake up and smell the fascism.
Thank you <3
Airplane tickets - $8k, Sending 2 boxes of things air freight (we lost 2 boxes doing sea freight to the US a few years back, so not trying that again) - $2.5k, Vet visits + vaccinations for dog to be allowed in Japan - $1.5k, Repairs on house to list it for sale - $11k, Short term apartment rental while house is on market - $12.5k, Giving away all our stuff because there’s not enough time to list everything for sale online and spend 1-2 hours per listing dealing with people trying to haggle… and then re-buying the essentials in Japan - $20k+ (honestly idek, could be much more. Haven’t sat down and added up how much value we gave away)
This doesn’t include the $50k we dropped our house sale price to make it sell faster, or the $100k+ per year less I’ll be making at work here.
So yeah, clearly our priority here was not maximizing our net worth. We’re significantly downsizing our lifestyle financially, and prioritizing our family’s safety and peace of mind instead. It was not an easy decision to make.
This is a fair point, and one that I’m concerned about. But our only 2 choices were America and Japan, so we’re taking our chances with Japan for now.
Thank you. We’re on the outer edges of a major city, close to my wife’s family. Yeah, unfortunately this country has never been terribly welcoming to foreigners. I certainly wouldn’t want to live here long term if I wasn’t married to a citizen. I did it for 5 years in my 20s and got burned out.
US citizen who just finished immigrating to Japan 2 days ago. It took 8 months of planning and prep work, at least $50,000, and brought my wife and I to the edges of our sanity for the vast majority of those 8 months.
But we are finally free. Fuck ICE, fuck MAGA, and fuck Trump.
I worked a 4-10 in 2014, but also worked 20 hours on the weekend driving for uber. Combined I only made about 40k, so definitely not worth it.
Now I work a “normal” week, but from home with no weekend work, and make $150k. I also only do like 10 hours of actual work per week, so I prefer this situation…
But I’m voluntarily giving this job up next month and moving to a country where I’ll probably work 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, making 30k… because I don’t want to support America with my taxes any more, and because I want my family to be safe.
But yeah, if we’re talking same job but shorter week, I would choose the shorter week every time.
Good thing he brokered that peace deal so he could promptly threaten Palestinians with more violence. They might not have heard the threat over the sound of all the bombs and crying children.
American here who just immigrated to Japan with my Japanese spouse and mixed child 2 months ago. We left for our family’s safety, and are very happy with the decision.
I will say though: if you don’t have any Japanese family members moving with you, living in Japan can be very difficult. I have JLPT N1 certification, have lived and worked here for 6 years previously, and am very comfortable speaking/reading/writing Japanese, but I wouldn’t try to live here long term without my spouse… it’s just… tough. People here have never been terribly welcoming of non-Japanese, and with the recent surge in popularity of the openly anti-immigrant Sanseito party (gained 13 seats in the upper house last year), it’s not looking great for us foreigners here.
Still, for US, this felt like the safer option compared to the states right now.
I know this isn’t a cut and clear answer to your question, but just hoping I can provide some context from personal experience to help you make an educated decision for own unique situation.