Just Hungry

Well, if Japanese ingredients are important to you, then why not the west coast of America (like California or Washington) or even Hawaii?

What else is important to you?

Food wise hknk's choices are great.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and there is an incredible amount of choice in food here. Not only variety of ingredients and freshness of seafood and fruits and veggies, but in the amazing diversity cultures in restaurants and groceries.
Plus being the home of PC's, Silicon Valley and IT, finding a job shouldn't be a problem. Tons of companies have work from home jobs over the internet.

Now the but...$$$Prices$$$. It is one of the most expensive places to live, real estate and daily living. However it may not be that much more than Zurich.

On the plus side though, prices in Hawaii and Japan don't seem so bad after living here. LOL!

What a great opportunity though, but yeah, I do get how that can be overwhelming.

Oh my frickin god. I wish they asked that question at job interviews. I'd have an easy time of it.

There is a little triangle (or not so little) in the East of Asia consisting of Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul. My house will be a boathouse (or a whale, depending on what I'm reading at the moment) and I will travel between the three.

WOOT!

SINGAPORE....where eating is a favourite pastime. The city is modern and charming. Easy access to Asia. Great weather.

I agree that if Japanese food and ingredients are crucial, there's nowhere else than Japan. Everywhere else in the world has such limited and/or expensive items.

BUT.. if that's out of account, I DEFINITELY say MONTREAL. That city has such good vibes, incredibly multicultural, and let's not forget: AMAZING & VARIED FOOD. There's an ENDLESS choice of restaurants, tapas bars, dessert shops, artisan patissieres/bakeries. Most of them are little cute family-owned ones, which means that they're usually really warm and welcoming! For grocery shopping, there's so many authentic European delis. Chinatown is also really nice! Everyone is also veeeery friendly! Commuting and using the transit is never a bore, it's always a nice time to walk outside (maybe not as much in the winter). BUT YEAH, I love that city. I was born there and I miss it soooo much! I'm getting bored of Vancouver..

Oh well, Maki! I hope you find a good place to move to soon! I can't wait to resume serious cooking!

For food, I think few places can top Hawaii, especially if you like to garden, I've never tasted produce as fresh and delicious as I have there. The farmer's markets are enough for me. They sell papayas as though they were apples most places. I daydream about having my own garden in that rich volcanic soil. They also have such variety of cuisines and access to other fresh ingredients like seafood.

Japan, especialy Kyoto, seems awesome in terms of food quality too. The produce and seafood can't be beat. I also daydream about living on a green tea farm.

What a great question to be able to ask oneself. I feel tied to the place we're in because of our children's school. (Not unhappy about it, just it would seem daunting to change a really great thing.) Is your partner's work as flexible, or have I missed something?

Vancouver you must move to vancouver... it's great town..

Right now, I live in France, Strasbourg. But I just got a job offer in San Francisco. I'm still debating whether going or not, as it seems like a great city. Langage is crucial for me, so I would suggest moving in a country where this is not an issue, so you have friends quite quickly.

So yeah, New York is awesome, so is San Fran and Berlin and Montreal. But weather wise....

Although I live in Los Angeles, I would agree with those who recommend San Francisco! Fantastic food city! There is a food blog called Hedonia. Check them out! http://hedonia.seantimberlake.com/ Good luck in your search. Is there a possibility that you can take a little vacation to your chosen spot before you actually move there? I wish that I would have done that before I moved clear across the country. Good luck Maki, it's a big world! Yippee!

The food is one of the main reasons why I would move to Japan immediately - if I was given the chance...

The variety and quality of japanese food is amazing and a lot of things are just tough or impossible to get outside Japan. Each region or town has its own delicacy and in each season you eat food only available or especially delicious that time of the year - e.g. fresh bamboo sprouts in May, rice cakes around New Year, etc..
And this is only the food, let´s not talk about hot springs...

Can´t we just switch lifes and I move to Japan in your place ;-)

If I was able to move anywhere in the world without any of the restrictions I would move to Japan, other than that I would not want to leave Australia.

Come and live in Australia for awhile. ^^

My top three choices of where to live if food was the only factor involved in my decision:

Vietnam
Mexico
China

Montreal is a good choice for food variety, and there are some good places for asian foods on the south shore.

Maki, you may want to look at individual state-sponsored health care options in the USA. Some states have decently priced medical coverage for self-employed people.