# Cost of living



## hando4949

I am thinking of coming to Japan to live for 6 mths. I know this question is open to a lot of different things like where I want to live, what my lifestyle is like, ect but want to get s ball park figure on how much a month, in $'s, it might cost.
I am on an income of $53,000 a year, clear of any expenses. Is that enough.
Thanks
AusMex


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## nighstar

the cost of living in Japan is high, especially compared to Mexico from what i've heard.

i suck at guesstimating and on such little information i can't really say for sure... what i can say is that i am paid around $4,000 AUD/mo and live comfortably on that in the small city of Kochi.

i don't know how much help that will be to you, especially if you intend to do a lot of tourist stuff while here as traveling, eating out etc in Japan can be expensive.

goodluck.


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## pasturesnew

hando4949 said:


> I am thinking of coming to Japan to live for 6 mths. I know this question is open to a lot of different things like where I want to live, what my lifestyle is like, ect but want to get s ball park figure on how much a month, in $'s, it might cost.
> I am on an income of $53,000 a year, clear of any expenses. Is that enough.
> Thanks
> AusMex


sorry to pick up on your words but you say "Im thinking of coming to Japan and then you mention income of $53,000.00" - are you self employed ? or do you anticipate being transferred to Japan with your Employer. Your salary equates to just shy of Yen 4m a year which in Tokyo terms is not high but not breadline. If your single then you should be fine, though make sure you have plenty of savings to bring with you in order to secure accomodation, ie deposit - key- agent fees, unless your Employer will cover these <can amount to 7-8 months rent in total !>. If you can provide more info then for sure you will get more feedback....


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## hando4949

pasturesnew said:


> sorry to pick up on your words but you say "Im thinking of coming to Japan and then you mention income of $53,000.00" - are you self employed ? or do you anticipate being transferred to Japan with your Employer. Your salary equates to just shy of Yen 4m a year which in Tokyo terms is not high but not breadline. If your single then you should be fine, though make sure you have plenty of savings to bring with you in order to secure accomodation, ie deposit - key- agent fees, unless your Employer will cover these <can amount to 7-8 months rent in total !>. If you can provide more info then for sure you will get more feedback....


 Thanks for your reply, I am retired and looking to live out of Tokyo, in a small city.
I want to be able to rent a car every few weeks to travel around a bit, as well as useing the rail system. I am not one to eat out a lot, so resturants prices wont worry me to much, prefer to eat in "roadside" places.
I also want to do side trips to Vietnam, china hong kong for a week at the time.
I do not need or want luxury, just clean place.


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## pasturesnew

hando4949 said:


> I am thinking of coming to Japan to live for 6 mths. I know this question is open to a lot of different things like where I want to live, what my lifestyle is like, ect but want to get s ball park figure on how much a month, in $'s, it might cost.
> I am on an income of $53,000 a year, clear of any expenses. Is that enough.
> Thanks
> AusMex


check out the following link for tokyo living , will at least give you an idea of what goes on and where...

TOKYO LIVING | Area Guide


your circumstances are somewhat different to mine as I will be relocating to Tokyo for work and my J wife and little one will be joining me. 
If you dont mind living basically I understand that you can secure accomodation for as little as 59-60000 YEN a month but it will have no frills and may even have shared services....you probably wont want to go down the standard route of renting given your relatively short period of stay and the significant cost involved in the standard rental market, I would suggest you consider staying at a Gaijin House or Guest House arrangement....
In terms of travel you should check out the Japan Rail pass, you can only purchase this outside of Japan, it will allow you to travel at a significant discount
If you want easy access to your money then you should consider opening up a Bank Account with Citibank or a another foreign bank in Japan as there is lots of paperwork involved in trying to secure a Japanese account......


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## GAllen

*thinking of coming to Japan*



hando4949 said:


> I am thinking of coming to Japan to live for 6 mths. I know this question is open to a lot of different things like where I want to live, what my lifestyle is like, ect but want to get s ball park figure on how much a month, in $'s, it might cost.
> I am on an income of $53,000 a year, clear of any expenses. Is that enough.
> Thanks
> AusMex


Hello AusMex, I have a question. How was living in Mexico for you? Im interested how would it be to live in a Spanish country. I have family in Spain and Peru. Thanks, GA


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## knockker

hando4949 said:


> I am thinking of coming to Japan to live for 6 mths. I know this question is open to a lot of different things like where I want to live, what my lifestyle is like, ect but want to get s ball park figure on how much a month, in $'s, it might cost.
> I am on an income of $53,000 a year, clear of any expenses. Is that enough.
> Thanks
> AusMex


Hi, I live in Japan so I can answer your question. First of all, your income is more than enough to live in Japan as long as you live ordinary life style. Let me figure out some costs of living. Rent for house:$400~$700 per month, depending on a location you live, utility cost may be $60~$70, food will cost $200~$400 again depending on what you want to eat and whether you choose good shop to go. I don't think you need your own car because various means of transportation are available. Additonal tip of information: an average income of Japanese is somewhere around $40,000~$50,000. Any question,don't hesitate. See you.lane:


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## pasturesnew

knockker said:


> Hi, I live in Japan so I can answer your question. First of all, your income is more than enough to live in Japan as long as you live ordinary life style. Let me figure out some costs of living. Rent for house:$400~$700 per month, depending on a location you live, utility cost may be $60~$70, food will cost $200~$400 again depending on what you want to eat and whether you choose good shop to go. I don't think you need your own car because various means of transportation are available. Additonal tip of information: an average income of Japanese is somewhere around $40,000~$50,000. Any question,don't hesitate. See you.lane:


Y40K to rent a house - please keep it real, Y40k to rent a room in a Guest / Shared House maybe... your figures re J salaries are way off too. 
To live comfortably in Tokyo you need to be on circa Y10m + a year. 
Avg J salaries are in the range Y6m - Y20m + pa depending on job/experience - increased net income due generous travel allowance - subsidised rent & summer/winter bonus... There may be a global recession but these benefits are still paid.

Im pricing up 3LDK - 80m2 + for imminent move to Tokyo - you will struggle to find anything for less than Y250K a month. 
Your figures are perhaps more relevant towards fresh TEFL grads.


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## knockker

*Sorry interrupting*



pasturesnew said:


> Y40K to rent a house - please keep it real, Y40k to rent a room in a Guest / Shared House maybe... your figures re J salaries are way off too.
> To live comfortably in Tokyo you need to be on circa Y10m + a year.
> Avg J salaries are in the range Y6m - Y20m + pa depending on job/experience - increased net income due generous travel allowance - subsidised rent & summer/winter bonus... There may be a global recession but these benefits are still paid.
> 
> Im pricing up 3LDK - 80m2 + for imminent move to Tokyo - you will struggle to find anything for less than Y250K a month.
> Your figures are perhaps more relevant towards fresh TEFL grads.


I did't notice you're giving good information because of my size of display. I did'nt mean to oppose what you said. What I said may not be accurate but not false. Besides most Japanese friends of mine don't think Y20M is average income. Bye.


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## larabell

pasturesnew said:


> Im pricing up 3LDK - 80m2 + for imminent move to Tokyo - you will struggle to find anything for less than Y250K a month.


Of course, the OP mentioned being retired and was looking to live outside of Tokyo and, as far as I can tell, never mentioned bringing anyone along. So he'd hardly need a 3LDK, would he? (For those who might not know, that's a 3-bedroom apartment with separate Living, Dining, and Kitchen areas.)

I agree that Y40K/month might be difficult in Tokyo but you can get a studio-sized place in most any area for around Y60~80K (that's about what they were going for in the Shinjuku area last I knew) -- probably somewhat less than that once you get outside the greater Tokyo area.

BTW, Nagoya always struck me as a relatively inexpensive place to live. I know a couple of ex-pat friends who spent some time living in Nagoya and liked it. And it's probably closer to the kinds of places you might want to visit on your driving trips.



> To live comfortably in Tokyo you need to be on circa Y10m + a year...


I don't agree, but... I guess it depends on what you consider "comfortable". According to the 2007 Japan Statistical Yearbook, the average Japanese salary was just under Y4m per year (remember: Google is your friend...). I doubt very many single people living in Tokyo are making Y10m per year (which amounts to just over $100,000 US). These days few employees get subsidized rent. And the twice-annual bonuses are contractual and figured into the yearly salary (when I worked for a Japanese company they divided the annual salary by 14 and paid me the extra two chunks as my summer/winter bonus -- although they asked if I'd rather just get 12 equal monthly payments and no bonus).

The OP's income amounts to about Y5M per year, which I imagine should allow for at least an average lifestyle for a single person. Of course if there's family involved and you need that 3-bedroom place, things will be pretty tight on that level of income.


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