Hey people, I moved to Tokyo from the UK about a while ago. I'm at a senior high school (I am 18 years old) and I am here until at least June, and possibly going on to an international university in Tokyo afterwards.
To everyone who asks, you wannabe asians etc, i'm sorry to disappoint you but the grass is always greener on the other side! I do like it here but remember that Tokyo is still just a big dirty city. Like anywhere else in the world there are d*ckheads, criminals, tramps and pollution. etc etc, so be realistic before you come. Although many young people are interested in learning English, they are almost certainly going to be less enthusiastic about Japanese stuff than you are! (though i am generalising here). In my school holidays from here I am a tour guide back in scotland and I have to deal with many Americans coming to Scotland expecting everyone to walk around looking like Groundskeeper Willy from the Simpsons, in clans pitched in battle against each other and wielding broadswords with half blue faces and astounded to find out we actually had internet etc. I am really not exaggerating. The number of times i was asked things like when did Scotland get telephones (err, Alexander Graham Bell came from Scotland). I am not saying this to bitch about americans, I am saying that the extent to which people can have misconceptions about foreign countries can be astonishing, when everything is seen through the filter of TV or internet etc. I myself had plenty of false expectations about Japan.
But be realistic and you won't be disappointed, Tokyo is a great city in many respects, and there are more people here than in any other city in the world so there has to be some good stuff/people! (dubious claim by mexico city excepted).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mangafreak
(Post 587032)
hi, this is mangafreak. i was just curious, how much approximately does it cost per year to live in tokyo? Because i really want to move there and get out of Canada!:pinkart:
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I don't know Canadian prices too well, but food in particular is much cheaper here in Jap than back home in Britain. In fact, just about everything is cheaper. There are many expensive things too, if you like that, but if you walk off the main roads or leave the tourist areas, the prices here are much better than Western Europe for sure. VAT here is only 5%, not the 17.5% i am used to. In roppongi, by the tourist filled "mori tower" expect to pay around 1000yen for a crepe or an ice cream (around $10 USD i think!) but go into a supermarket in the suburbs and an ice cream is more like 100yen.
I'm here for one year on a scholarship basis, with free board and lodging (I am only paying for extras, some travel costs, and my lunch. Dinner breakfast and accommodation are included) I took £2000 GBP about $1050 USD i think) for the year.
Food can be had very cheaply, and accomm, if you are willing to live somewhere tiny and a little far from the exciting areas (in the endlessssss suburbs) can also be very affordable. If you want accomms in the CBD or any of the popular areas, the property (that's "Real Estate" for those across the pond) in tokyo is some of the most expensive in the world whether for rental or to buy outright. Mortgages here can be incredibly generous, but possibly not for us foreigners, but I don't know from personal experience.
BTW Canada is a cool place, much of my family emigrated there in the late 19th/ early 20th century and we are still in contact with them now, but I can understand wanting to leave. I was desperate to leave my home etc, and it feels great to be away. As for moving there, there are now quite a few westerners living in Japan (esp tokyo) but do take it into account that you will never be accepted in the way that non-caucasians are in north america or the UK/brazil/Hong kong etc etc for the simple reason that you are not japanese, and you will almost never be treated by Japanese as one of them, even if you speak the language well.
Hope you come here and have a great time though, everyone.
