For me it’s the opposite. I did a year abroad in Tokyo 8 years ago, and had so much more creative opportunities due to the open creative culture. Whereas London by comparison lacks this grassroots welcoming energy. In London the arts tend to run on nepotism. For anyone young with no contacts, and little experience but a desire to break out - it’s very tough. But the living in Japan with the paperwork and daily life was tough: so many rules you’re learning about (largely unwritten), the paperwork, can’t have a bank without a phone - can’t have a phone without a bank, the rental system, the medical system, etc.