Which countries come to mind first when we think about studying abroad? The US and European countries. Indeed, Europe is close and much more understandable. It is beautiful, tasty and comfortable there. It is cheap to fly there; we are close to the European mentality. And the opportunity to stay in the country after studying and obtain dual citizenship attracts many.

However, as someone who has studied and lived on both ends of the continent, I can say that today the developed countries of Asia can be the best choice for studying and living. And there are four reasons for this.

1. Availability of scholarships

As I wrote earlier, you can study for free or almost free in many European countries.

But Asia is now not inferior to its Western colleagues in attracting international students. China is the leader in terms of the volume and number of scholarships awarded to foreign students. Korea, Japan, and Singapore are not far behind either.

Scholarships in China → http://www.campuschina.org/content/details3_74779.html

Scholarships in South Korea → http://www.niied.go.kr/user/nd35203.do

Scholarships in Japan → http://jds-scholarship.org/about/index.html

Scholarships in Singapore → https://www.edarabia.com/scholarships-singapore-international-students/

At the same time, finding a part-time job while studying in Asian countries is ten times easier than in Europe. At least because you can teach English and get very good money for it.

2. Economic growth and ample employment opportunities

Let’s be honest, Europe is no longer so developed. The economy is growing very slowly, business activity is not so high, and there are more and more problems with employment. In Southern Europe, unemployment can be as high as 30%.

But in Asia it’s the other way around. China, Korea and Singapore are growing and developing. The domestic market is growing, and more and more local and international companies are expanding their activities in the region. I’ve known a lot of students and young professionals from Europe who moved to China simply because they’re much more likely to find high-paying jobs there, even in European companies. Danon, Carrefour, Audi, BMW are all opening and expanding their offices in Asia.

3. A developed service sector and innovations at the household level

After spending several years in Asia (I’ve lived in Shanghai and Singapore), going back to Europe was a bit of a culture shock. The roads are not so good, neither are the trains. Stores are closed on weekends and holidays, and in general, half of the services close early. In many places, you can’t pay by card, and it’s impossible to find Apple Pay support at all. Even Russia (namely Moscow) has now gone far ahead in digitalizing the service sector.

Asia is even more advanced. The cosmic speed of delivery, the widespread use of taxi services, bicycle rentals and more. In China, giants like WeChat and Alibaba have taken everyday life to a whole new level: paying for everything you can, transferring money, booking tickets, ordering a taxi or food delivery, even investing on the stock market can all be done through one app. Even on the street, you can buy fruit in a stall by paying for them using a QR code.

By the way, ATM manufacturers are completely withdrawing from the Chinese market, because no one withdraws money or carries cash anymore.

Asians are also always working. You can order a roll of toilet paper at 1 a.m., and it will be delivered by scooter in 15 minutes.

4. Special treatment for foreigners

Of course, no one is massively belittling Russians in Europe, as our national media imagine. However, you can still feel a certain complicating factor in Europe that you are a foreigner. To get a job, all other things being equal, you need to be more qualified, more active and more proactive than locals.

In Asia, however, your “foreign person” is an advantage. Foreigners are much more actively admitted to universities: organizations are fighting to improve their international status by attracting more students from abroad.

As you can see, there are excellent opportunities for education and career building not only in our familiar European countries, but also in more distant Asian countries. Don’t limit your options, the whole world is open to you!

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/ucheba-v-azii/

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