# Moving to Tokyo



## Dgmtexas1

Hello

My wife and I will be leaving Shanghai, China (Thank God) to move to Tokyo. We have an allowance of 10K per month, plus extras. Her business is in the Minato-ku area, but I have read about some great neighborhoods surrounding the area. I was hoping to find if 10K a month could get us a decent 2 bedroom place, not too far out from Minatro-ku area.


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## larabell

10K what? If you're talking the equivalent of US dollars, just for housing, you can get pretty much anything you want. But you'e going to have to be more specific if you want specific advice. Minato-ku covers a lot of ground and 10K could mean anything from rags to riches, depending on the currency.

In general I would expect a really nice 2LDK (ie: 2-bedroom) to run around 200,000 to 300,000 JPY if you're outside the center of the city. But even around the most expensive places like Roppongi, it shouldn't be much more than maybe 500,000 JPY -- but I haven't done much looking in those areas or at those prices.


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## Dgmtexas1

larabell said:


> 10K what? If you're talking the equivalent of US dollars, just for housing, you can get pretty much anything you want. But you'e going to have to be more specific if you want specific advice. Minato-ku covers a lot of ground and 10K could mean anything from rags to riches, depending on the currency.
> 
> In general I would expect a really nice 2LDK (ie: 2-bedroom) to run around 200,000 to 300,000 JPY if you're outside the center of the city. But even around the most expensive places like Roppongi, it shouldn't be much more than maybe 500,000 JPY -- but I haven't done much looking in those areas or at those prices.



It is $10,000.00 USD per Month


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## BBCWatcher

larabell said:


> But even around the most expensive places like Roppongi, it shouldn't be much more than maybe 500,000 JPY -- but I haven't done much looking in those areas or at those prices.


Oh, it's certainly _possible_ to spend much more than that on a two bedroom apartment in and near Minato ward. It depends on the original poster's definition of "decent."


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## larabell

Well... sure... I recall seeing some apartments in Nishi-Azabu that were larger than most people's detached houses in the States (saw them from the outside, that is). But I'm assuming we're not talking about Dave Spector here but rather someone who would be happy with what might be a reasonable middle-class apartment back home. That's another thing the OP failed to mention when asking for advice, of course.



Dgmtexas1 said:


> It is $10,000.00 USD per Month


Is that just for rent or are there other things that have to be covered by that money? Where in Minato-ku are we talking about (a station name is probably good enough). How far are you willing to go in order to get something larger and/or cheaper? How large (in sq. feet or sq. meters)?

The more information you provide, the more advice you're likely to get and the more relevant it's likely to be to your specific situation.


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## BBCWatcher

And do you _want_ to spend all of your (your employer's?) budget, or would saving some money be useful?


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## larabell

That might depend on the package. When I came here 17 years ago, my employer budgeted an unreasonably large amount of money for housing (based on some numbers from KPMG) but paired that with a payroll deduction for what housing would have cost me had I remained in the States. I asked if I could decrease the payroll deduction in proportion to what I saved them by living further away from work and they said no. So while it's always possible to save money, in come cases you would never see that money yourself so who cares.

On the other hand... especially in my case... I was thinking I might try to stick around even after the gravy train dried up so I didn't want to get stuck with a place I couldn't afford to stay in without the subsidy. I don't suppose most ex-pats would have to think about that but it's something to keep in mind.

Even setting money aside... getting further outside the city may provide for a better quality of life for certain people. For example, I'm pretty sure I'd have liked living here a lot less if I had ended up living in Roppongi (or that huge split-level house in Iidabashi they tried to put me into).

There are so many factors that it's almost impossible to provide concrete recommendations. The bottom line is that US $10K is a lot of money to spend on housing here and if that's just his housing budget, I'd say he's going to have no trouble at all.


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## Dgmtexas1

We also have 1K for transportation, 1740 for Cola (not sure what that is), 3200 for Misc. 1600 for storage, and 3K for language lessons. So, I think we are going to find some place that is quiet, but offers restaurants and entertainment, and close enough too the Shiba-Daimon, Minato-ku area.


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## Dgmtexas1

BBCWatcher said:


> And do you _want_ to spend all of your (your employer's?) budget, or would saving some money be useful?


Of course we don't want to overspend, but really used to quality, so something comfortable with 3 BR would be great.


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## Raffish_Chapish

$1700 for coca cola? $10,000 for rent? - damn you'll be ok - check out Hiroo or Juban 
Personally if I were you I'd live in Takedanobaba near Waseda uni and spank the rest in 7th Heaven in Roppongi. If you need specific guidance on the latter - glad to help ;-)


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## larabell

I'm sure you guys know this but, for the benefit of anyone stumbling across this thread in the future, COLA means Cost of Living Allowance/Adjustment. It's extra money to balance the higher prices in Japan versus your home country. Of course, most of the higher cost in Japan is housing and that's already covered so COLA is just extra money. If your office is close to Daimon, I'd go with anything along the Oedo subway line. There's also a number of fairly new and nice looking high-rise apartment buildings in Shiodome that's just one subway stop from Daimon. If you don't mind a but more of a commute (probably 15~20 mins), I would check out Odaiba as well. That would be a fun and mostly quiet place to live. I'd also agree with Raffish on Azabu-Juban (lots of expats and high-class shopping areas) but the other recommendations might involve multiple trains. Print out a copy of the subway map and bring it with you when you go to look at places. What seems fairly close when the realtor drives you there might end up to be a huge hassle when you have to commute every day (unless, of course, they're hiring a driver for you as well ).

If your employer is spending that kind of money to support you in Japan, it's almost certain they'll also hire a realtor to show you around and find an interesting place to live. It's still worth checking out some of the areas and asking around -- the realtor will probably try to put you in the most expensive place... not necessarily the place that makes the most sense for you. But if you don't settle on any specific area before you come over, don't worry about it. You're probably covered as far as finding a decent place.

Is the $3K for Japanese lessons paid per month? If so, you're looking at the price level of private lessons. Sounds like a nice package -- and fairly rare these days, from what I've heard.


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## Dubnuh

Hello, we will likely be doing this move from Beijing this summer. As an aside to this thread, do the international schools offer Mandarin, or is that too much to ask in Japan? I just hate to lose the past three years the kids have had in this foreign language.


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## workingmomintokyo

I think, Azabu, Roppongi, Ebisu, or Hiroo area. Closest to Shiba-Daimon is Azabu, I think. But if you want more restaurants and entertainment, then you'd like Ebisu-Hiroo or Roppongi! Good luck!


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## Jamie17

I got a friend who lives in Hiroo, pretty bloody nice if you ask me. Especially if someone else is paying!


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## pandapanda

Definitely Hiroo or Roppongi! Many foreign families are living in the area. FYI, 3BR apt in Hiroo costs around 6000USD per month.


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