Hi all – long-time reader and occasional commenter here but I got locked out of my old account so started a new one to ask for some advice. I’ve been doing middle market M&A since graduating college 5 years ago and have been at the same firm for 4, I'm now a 2nd year associate, and I really like the work I do and the people I do it with. All around great situation.
Here’s the ask – I met a girl about a year ago, we really hit it off and there’s a strong chance we go the distance, but her job (USAF officer) just moved her to a new posting near Tokyo, for probably 2.5 years. Neither of us is a fan of long-distance for that length of time, so the current plan is to bring me over in the spring, which would put me in Tokyo for ~2 years. I know I’ll love Japan and money isn’t a concern – I’ve always wanted to experience life abroad, took Japanese briefly in high school and would learn enough to get by, and I have plenty of money saved up. My concern is what comes after – we’d likely return to the States (and have some flexibility re: location – possibly my current city), and I’d like to return to M&A or similar at that time. I’d be open to it in Japan too, but my initial research is indicating that finance in Tokyo without real Japanese skills is a no-go, and my best bet would be something on-base / US government related. A two year gap from the industry is not ideal, but I’m curious to see if anyone else has been in a similar situation before, what they did and how things worked out. Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for the comments.
