* Car culture was really grating on me. Before I moved to Tokyo, I lived in Atlanta, a city carved up by I-75/85, where getting almost anywhere takes a 15+ minute drive on the highway. Highway traffic regularly spills onto neighborhood streets, and I felt like I was risking my life every time I went out walking / biking. I've also lived in downtown Seattle and suburban Michigan, and the situation was slightly better, but with the same car-first paradigm.

* As I've gotten older it started to dawn on me how isolating American cities can be, especially without the community structure imposed by a school / university. People talk about America losing its "third place", and with permant-WFH we now seem pretty eager to get rid of our "second place" as well.

* By comparison, Tokyo is designed at human-scale. I have everything I need within a 5 minute walk, which means I regularly run into the people who live near me. When I want to go farther I can always choose the appropriate mode of transportation for the journey: feet, bicycle, train, car, all in perfect harmony. For this reason, I also found it easier to maintain and build friendships -- no need to organize transport, just hop on a train.

* I'm still young with few obligations and I want to learn more about the world before I choose a place to settle down. I know what life in America looks like. I'm learning about Japan. I hope to spend some time in Europe, eventually.

* The political situation in the US concerns me. I'm not confident the US will be a nice place for me to live/retire 40 years from now. So for me, choosing to stay put seemed at least as risky as moving somewhere unfamiliar. Even if I eventually decide to return, I'd like to know that it was my own choice and not just inertia.