Potential move overseas

[HeathP]

If your commute would be that far it may be better to live closer to work, as Tokyo is crazy expensive to live in. I lived 45 minutes south of Tokyo and had a 1300 sqft house and it ran about $1,900 a month with utilities it was around $2,300 but I do love Tokyo it is an amazing city and has so many great things to see, do and offer as does the rest of Japan. There are a ton of Expat communities, groups, magazines, food websites, etc… for Japan that make life there a whole lot easier. Also most big cities in Japan the signs are in English and Japanese. Japanese is quite easy to learn as it is has a pretty straightforward language structure (Unlike English).

I know many people that lived 1hr 30 mins from their work and just rode the train to work. A lot of employers in Japan comp some or all of a persons train fare. I knew guys that would ride the Shinkansen(Bullet train) from 2-3hrs away and would stay in a capsule hotel during the week and ride the Shinkansen home for the weekends. If you live in a smaller city/town you will probably get to know your neighbors better and have a chance to be a part of a community. Every Japanese neighborhood has a community society/watch group that takes care of the neighborhood, conducts nightly watches, plans festivals and parties, takes care of the local shrine, etc… you'd probably miss out on this living in a mansion (Upscale Japanese apartment) in Tokyo.

[Rick M]

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[HeathP]

Living like a local is key; using the train and bus systems, riding a bicycle, using your utilities (electricty, heat, water) like a local, doing laundry like a local (hanging it on your balcony to dry) understanding and appreciating the trash sorting system, and so much more. If you truly try and understand the culture and live like a local life will be much easier on you and you can live relatively cheaply. One great example is produce; if you buy it at a Japanese grocery store you will probably be freaked out by the prices, however, if you shop at a small Mom and Pop produce vendor (usually near most major train stations) the prices are almost the same as the USA and again you begin to build a rapport with people in your community. By the end of our stay we knew and had a relationship with the local bakery, fruit vendor, vegetable vendor, butcher shop, tea shop, etc… and it really helped us to feel like we connected with the people.

[Stephen Parks]

I haven't heard anyone saying that Japanese is an easy language to learn before!

Deciding where to live would be tough for me. I really like the idea of getting a more authentic experience, but at the same time I don't want to stay single forever and need to be somewhere where I'll be more likely to mix with other singles and be social (serious introvert here). The housing allowance would at least make the decision a little simpler by easing the financial impact. And I guess if I'm renting the place and the furniture, moving to a different area wouldn't be too difficult. Commuting expenses are also covered as I understand.

I was told that many of the married ex-pats live in Yokohama, but surely there are single people there as well. I'll keep asking around.

Thanks for all the encouragement!

[HeathP]

You start off with Hiragana, move up to Katakana and honestly you can get by not knowing a whole lot of Kanji, even College educated Japanese don't know all the Kanji characters, when I left Japanese people carried around electronic pocket dictionaries so they could read Kanji they didn't know. I am sure they just use smartphones now though. If you make it to Tokyo my friend Kanako teaches Japanese for a living and is an excellent teacher and was a great friend to my wife and I. You can easily find a group of like minded individuals in Japan to hang out with regardless of the interest. Sure areas like Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, etc… are big cities and have lots going on and plenty of places to meet people but you can do that in small towns too. I guess it depends on what kind of a Japanese experience you want. Same could be said for America; you could come here and experience New York or rural Iowa depends on what your are looking for. I hope that housing allowance is quite substantial if you want to live in Tokyo. The "cool" neighborhoods in Tokyo can run $5-10K a month for an apartment. If you decided you didn't like it and wanted to move thats pretty easy in Japan and Japanese movers are 1000% better than American movers. They are quick, pack your stuff so well it will never break and they also slip their shoes on and off when entering/exiting your house without missing a beat carrying heavy furniture. They rock!

[Bob Gross]

"The "cool" neighborhoods in Tokyo can run $5-10K a month for an apartment."

You can pay as much as $2K a month for a rental… and that is just a slot for parking your car!

–B.G.–

[Stephen Parks]

I won't be living in any areas that expensive, that's for sure.

[Rick M]

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[Arapiles .]

"You just need to make the cabbage$$. A single American professional needs a pay package of no less than ~US$8k/mo if you want have a shot at a fun/decent life here with housing taking up nearly 50% of your net."

When I first lived in Japan in the early 90s I was on about a third of that – and not only had a great time but actually saved a bit. My house was a "unit apato" (unit apartment) with a loft for sleeping in, a one-piece bathroom and a small sink and single burner. The thing is that that was all that I needed. The apartment my uni provided was even smaller, but I really liked that one too. As is normal in Japan, my employer paid for my 6 monthly travel card (between work and the nearest train station). Public transport in Tokyo is the best in the world – fast, frequent, safe and clean. Didn't ever need a car, so no expenses there. Tokyo has a good cheap restaurant every couple of metres so eating out was cheap – even the convenience stores do good meals. I was on the bottom Japanese tax bracket so paid about 10% tax. I paid Japanese social taxes so my medical expenses were covered. Tokyo's a 24 hour city so you can do everything at anytime. And Tokyo is cheaper now than it was at the start of the 90s!

I lived in a local neighbourhood, knew the shopkeepers and locals, got my hair cut locally, learnt the language ..

(Of course, when I went back on an expat package and with a wife and kids I rented something bigger (actually not that big – pretty similar to the one Rick linked to – my allowance was up to Y1m/mth and I had single colleagues who spent every cent of that – e.g. large apartments on Omotesando) but we decided that we just didn't need anything that big ) and had a car … and private schools … )

And I still miss the Japanese mountains: they are far more accessible than anything here in Australia.

"I haven't heard anyone saying that Japanese is an easy language to learn before!"

Speaking it is comparatively easy, and hiragana and katakana are manageable – it's just the kanji after the first 100 that make it tricky …

[Rick M]

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[Arapiles .]

Hi Miguel

Is that last photo Kinpu-san?

[Anonymous]

"I haven't heard anyone saying that Japanese is an easy language to learn before!"

That comment was probably referring to grammar and syntax. It is well to remember that when you learn a language, you are learning a culture as well, and in that regard, no language is easy. It takes years of intense effort to learn a living language and the culture whose content it expresses, an effort best made immersed in that culture, where it unfolds around you every day from dawn to dusk, and you are forced to engage the people, in their language, in real time, initially to accomplish the basics of life and eventually to learn new ways of thinking and perceiving. No combination of instructors, text books, and language labs can accomplish that.

Edited for clarity

[Stephen Parks]

Rick, I really like the idea of finding a place near a station on the line that goes to Fuchinobe so I wouldn't have to transfer on the way to work. Just get on, get off, and just a half hour like you say, but the trip to Yokohama proper or Tokyo wouldn't take that long either. Thanks for the idea!

Yes, Schlumberger is the company. I don't know if there is a CoLA on top of the housing and transportation allowances, so that is something else for me to check on. It may be something that I will have to try to negotiate, whereas the other allowances seem to be standardized.

I'm used to living in a 900 sq-ft. apartment and trying to keep my energy usage and environmental impact low. I'm not very materialistic – relatively at least – and I maintain a good gap between my income and expenditures.

[Rick M]

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[Stephen Parks]

What? No king-size beds? Yeah, my current 900 sqft is 1-bedroom. So, get a 2 or 3 bedroom apt and use one of them as a closet…

I have some legit reasons to visit Japan for work, but that probably won't be until Jan or Feb.

One thing I've noticed in the satellite views is that there aren't many community parks around in the city.

If I weren't concerned about the risk of isolating myself and being forever single, I'd be tempted to live just west of Fuchinobe where it looks like there are foothills galore (I can't tell the elevation).

[Greg F]

Have you considered Calgary Alberta, Canada, 60 minutes away from some of the best hiking in the world with a booming oil industry.

Culturally it is similar to the states, and only a little more expensive to live in then Houston but with significantly higher Salaries. (Higher tax though).

Great hiking, climbing, skiing culture here.

[Stephen Parks]

I hadn't considered that. We do have a product center in Calgary, though it is for completions equipment, not what I'm involved with currently. My biggest concern again would be the long winters with short days, though not as bad as Norway or Alaska. I'm looking at the map now, so many great places in Canada and the US within a day's drive of Calgary.

[HeathP]

Tom, I never attempted to learn Japanese before I moved there and the first few months I thought there was no way I would learn it but after being immersed in it all day long, studying on my own, getting a private tutor and taking 2 semester worth of Japanese college courses I would say I had about a 3rd grade understanding of Japanese. Which worked well enough for me for the next 4.5 years I was there. I could converse with neighbors, co workers, friends, order foods at restaurants, get directions and do the day to day routine without any worry of not being understood.

Stephen, living near a station has benefits and downsides as well, easy access to trains, buses, and most major stations have a ton of shopping. But at the same time I doubt you will get to know your neighbors that well and the noise and crowds at stations runs until 1-2 am. My friend Grant lived right next door to a station in a modern 20 story apartment building and you could always hear the noise. You also don't need $8k a month to live there. My wife (who didn't work) and I lived completely comfortably off $5k a month. We traveled extensively in Japan and throughout Asia and we always had a ton of extra money in the bank. I preferred living in the suburbs as we were always invited to neighborhood parties and celebrations year round.

[HeathP]

Here are some pics of the house we rented for $1800 US

[HeathP]

Here are a few more shots of the additional rooms

[HeathP]

We lived right near Kamakura and I loved our neighborhood

This pic is of a Bon odori festival in our neighborhood

[Anonymous]

"Tom, I never attempted to learn Japanese before I moved there and the first few months I thought there was no way I would learn it but after being immersed in it all day long, studying on my own, getting a private tutor and taking 2 semester worth of Japanese college courses I would say I had about a 3rd grade understanding of Japanese. Which worked well enough for me for the next 4.5 years I was there. I could converse with neighbors, co workers, friends, order foods at restaurants, get directions and do the day to day routine without any worry of not being understood."

Which is basically my point. Immersion in the living language/culture is the only way to really learn a language. After 4.5 years, as you said, you were at the 3rd grade level, an indication of just how far you had to go, even after that amount of time. This is not a criticism by any means. It is that way for all but a few who are linguistically gifted, or grow up speaking more than one language. There is just no substitue for time and immersion.

[Stephen Parks]

Thanks for the pics, Heath. Looks like you could even see see some green out of the windows. Your points about being in a busy area are good ones. I'd certainly be more comfortable in a house a little out of the city, but I'm concerned about not having enough single people nearby to mix with share activities with in the suburbs. If I had a wife, sure, I'd be there, but I'll still keep it in mind as I gather more info. Sigh, it seems I always have my life phases out of sync.

[HeathP]

Stephen,
Japan is very very hilly, you will definitely get quite a work out just walking around day to day. We lived on top of a pretty good hill and were the corner lot. We could see down the hills and through the forest to two different little harbors with fishing boats. There was also a temple near our house that was always playing Taiko drums. The biggest problem I had living in Japan was how cold the houses got in the winter due to the lack of proper insulation. It didn't matter if it was my house or a friends apartment they were always freezing cold in the winter and hot in the summer. We had Kerosene heaters and wall AC/Heater units but used the kerosene more often as kerosene is pretty cheap in Japan. Also these aren't your grandpas space heaters. They are electronic, with a fan, have all sorts of bells and whistles like carbon monoxide detectors and will shut off tipped over or if they detect an earthquake. If you want to see more neighborhood or city pics just let me know I have thousands of photos.

Suburbia in Japan isn't American Suburbia. I lived in a city of 500,000 and we were only 15 mins from Yokohama. There are plenty of younger people and plenty of a nightlife regardless of where you live. There are tons of little bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, etc… in every neighborhood.

[Greg F]

The list of hiking destinations within a days drive are

Glacier National Park in Montana, Banff, Waterton, Yoho and Kootney are all in the 2-3hr range. I go on single overnighters in all of the these places and the hiking more than makes up for the driving.

And also in range for any of the 4 day weekends are the following,
Coastal BC
Pacific NW
Idaho
All of Montana
Yellowstone
Tetons

And if you are crazy like me you can take a 4 day trip to the Canyons in Utah as long as you have two drivers its about 18hrs to Zion

So those are the benefits, the downside is winter. Now our winter is not that cold relative to other places in Canada. We get Chinooks in the winter which bring the daytime temps above freezing about 1/3rd of the days. I would say we only get a week of painfully cold wether (-20 C which I think is around 0 F). Darkness is an issue but not as bad as even 3 hrs further north. I find only December and January to be bad. The key to handling winter is to get outside during it. I would say only one or two weekends a year aren't nice enough to go outside. If you take up Cross Country or Downhill Skiing or snowshoeing you can take excellent trips.

The other thing with Calgary is that it is sunny during the winter. So there are very few dreary days. They might be short but they are nice.

[Author]

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