I've been lurking for a while and thought it was time to offer an introduction of sorts.
I'm from the eastern US originally, and grew up in an extremely economically depressed area. I had no money for education and there was no work to be had nor money to move, so I had to make do without a degree and pretty much educate myself.
I managed to get quite a bit of experience of experience with computers over the years one way or another, and when I was forty, I landed a position in artificial life and robotics research at a prominent research institute in Japan. I had originally intended to stay a year, but life happened (read: no real reason to go back...
, I got married, and stayed on for an additional fourteen. (The wife and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary next year...Eventually the lab I worked for closed and my wife and I moved back to the states to try and find work. That was during the worst of the Great Recession.
Last December, my wife and I moved back to Japan and settled near Kobe. I keep busy studying Japanese, practicing my computer programming and growing carnivorous plants as before. We've rented a small field this year and wish to try growing things that do not eat small creatures (and perhaps, a few that do....
.We are not terribly well informed regarding money management or investing (ex. what's this 401K thing the well-off speak of, etc.), but we did manage to save about 50% of my gross income (before taxes, not after) while I was working in Japan, and still have most of that. I am also eligible for Social Security from the US, and the Japanese employee pension (EHPI (shaki hoken ?), not the other one).
Just trying to figure out what's next, constructive suggestions are most welcome....
