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05-20-2009, 09:40 AM
Just thinking and moving on a little from the OP, Japan, many many years ago was very expensive and did have the reputation and facts to back it up.
I'm 41, I left Japan in 2004, and those expensive days were over. Just thinking and not 100% sure here, I would say if you go back to eight years and before, things were suepr expensive. In 2004, Australia was definitely a lot more expensive, talking shopping, food, and major city rental prices, and salary levels in Australia could have been evenly matched, which could of course make Japan cheaper. In the good old days, my wife being a full time nurse was earning very good money, and the guranteed twice yearly bonus totalled to around 1,000,000 YEN. This was different in 2004 and salaries and bonusses decreased. If their are any Japanese users on this forum in their 40's, I'm sure they know what I'm talking about and it would be good to hear them chip in with opinions with more accuracy. Hope I'm making sense here as replying in the middle of the boiling pasta  Cheers - Oz 
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05-20-2009, 10:44 AM
Let me state it this way, I was raised in a really sheltered family. Spoiled I guess. Everything was handled by my Dad or my Grandmother. I was not taught how to deal with things, therefore I'm caught up in nothing, because I understand nothing. I have no experiance in anything. >.<
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05-20-2009, 10:49 AM
It's all relative. I find the cost of living here in Japan to be lower than that of Miami (where I lived for several years).
As MMM said, there is no point considering a Japan unless you have, number one, a college degree (4 years or better), number two, an employer willing to hire and sponsor you. To get a visa to work and live in Japan you'll need both of these things. I'll break down the cost of living where I am. I rent a 60 square meter, 2 bedroom home for 70,000 yen per month. I get a 20,000 yen per month housing allowance from my employer, meaning my net rent is 50,000 yen ($500 USD) per month. Electricity runs about $50 a month, gas is about the same. Internet is another $40 per month, and I pay 7,500 yen per year for insurance. My cell phone bill is a further 4,500 yen per month. Food runs me about 1000 yen per day. That's enough to feed me pretty well, provided I do my own cooking. I like to eat out on the weekends, so that's another 5,000 yen or so. I travel to Tokyo every weekend (where I like to eat out), train and bus fare usually run 2,500-3,000 yen, depending on where I go. A set meal at McDonald's runs about 600 yen on average, soft drinks from vending machines are 150 yen each. Supermarket sushi (not as good as the restaurants, but better than what you can get in America) is about 700 yen for 10 pieces. A movie costs 1800 yen, needless to say, I rarely go. Admission to the Ueno zoo is 600 yen (if I remember right), admission to the Disney parks is 4500 yen (cheaper than what they charge in America). Clothes are outrageous if you like name brands. You can get cheap clothes at Uniqlo and other places, but I find these clothes to be poorly made, and short-lived. The brands I liked to buy in America can cost twice as much in Japan. Electronics are more expensive (than in America), even those electronics which are made in Japan (go figure). An 32gb ipod touch sells for $369 at Walmart, it sells for 49,000 yen ($500) in Japan. A Sharp 42" tv sells for $798 at Walmart, the same model in Japan cost nearly 200,000 yen ($2000). I'm amazed that Akihabara is as busy as it is, most people don't seem to understand that nothing in Akihabara costs less than it does in America. For those of you who live in Europe, that's another matter, your prices are usually even higher than Japan's. Other things which are cheap, used cars. A friend of mine is selling his '94 Mazda RX7 for $4,500, which is about 1/3 what the same car would sell for in America. A neighbor of mine is selling a 2000 Range Rover 4.6 SE. He is asking $8,000 for it (it is like new, with only 22,000 miles). If you get a new car, inspections run about 35,000 yen per year, and gasoline is 100-odd yen per liter ($4+ per gallon). The cost of living in Japan is not that bad, unless you want to live in Metro Tokyo, then the sky is the limit. But most of the country is very reasonable, and I find that it's not hard to live here comfortably.
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05-20-2009, 12:03 PM
"As MMM said, there is no point considering a Japan unless you have, number one, a college degree (4 years or better)"
The alternative to a super-duper college degree is to be able to nihongo at a good level. It will not matter a fig how good your degree is if you can't speak japanese, unless you get a spot with a mother company. (read this as asian branch of what you would apply for in your own country). Japanese is required big time if you want to do real work here, the alternative is if you are a web lord and can work from any location or have some other talent that does not have a language barrier.
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05-20-2009, 12:10 PM
"As MMM said, there is no point considering a Japan unless you have, number one, a college degree (4 years or better)"
The alternative to a super-duper college degree is to be able to nihongo at a good level. It will not matter a fig how good your degree is if you can't speak japanese, unless you get a spot with a mother company. (read this as asian branch of what you would apply for in your own country). Japanese is required big time if you want to do real work here, the alternative is if you are a web lord and can work from any location or have some other talent that does not have a language barrier.
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05-20-2009, 12:40 PM
Quote:
No, but you can certainly click on my user name in this forum and message/email me.. When I lived their five years ago, English teahcers were in short supply and they would take anyone. I think, and I'm not sure here but under the impression going by people's replies that it may now be compulsory to land a teaching job in Japan with a degree.. Check this out for a rough guide.. Jobs in Japan Cheers - Oz
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05-20-2009, 12:48 PM
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