Japan

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curiousme
Posts: 100
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:43 pm

Japan

Post by curiousme »

Where might be a good not-for-profit to aim for with a family? We don't want to be squashed into a tiny apartment so does that rule Tokyo out completely? Any tips and advice much appreciated.
fine dude
Posts: 651
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:12 pm
Location: SE Asia

Re: Japan

Post by fine dude »

Yokohama International School and St. Mary's IS
It's completely possible to afford a 2-bed house with a small garden in Yokohama. Have seen teachers doing that and still saved 30-40K US a year. If you tutor and/or coach, you could save more.
Kilg0re
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 5:01 pm

Re: Japan

Post by Kilg0re »

Agree with Yokohama being a good place to target schools. If you're willing to commute to work/school, the Kamakura area is amazing with older homes available for very reasonable rents.

I lived in Tokyo for 3 years and while my experience barely scratched the surface of such a HUGE city, I think you'll find that rent will be higher than you're willing to pay or can afford if you're worried about having enough space. You could of course change your mindset and take on a smaller apartment, after all you can spend tons of time out of the house as many Japanese do. Tokyo is an amazing city that can't be fully explored in one lifetime.

Alternatively, the other larger cities of Japan have plenty to offer. There's an area called Nishinomiya that is nestled right between Kobe and Osaka. Space is affordable and many expats opt to live there from what I've read. That would open up possibilities in those two cities (though Kobe has more options than Osaka when it comes to reputable international schools). Sendai is a cool city as is Sapporo, but winters are understandably more and more brutal the farther north you go.

Most teachers don't want a long commute but millions upon millions of people do it every day in Japan. If you can handle the claustrophobia/ocholophobia that packed rush hour trains can induce then your options are significantly greater. You could work in Tokyo proper and live in southern Saitama, western Chiba, western Tokyo, etc... That said, I imagine it would be nearly impossible to know what your options are without having already spent a good deal of time in country already. You'll undoubtedly end up relying on advice from your school.
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: Japan

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

The best school/package is probably ASIJ. If you were good enough/lucky enough to get a position there then you could live in the neighborhood of the school on their housing allowance. That would translate to a very nice little house or townhouse (3 to 4 bedrooms) with a small yard, possibly a garage etc.

The area is a Japanese version of a suburb around 30 minutes west of Tokyo with many restaurants, grocery stores, temples etc a very short train ride away.
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