Job Discussion Forums

stretch · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 59

Anyone have any advice on the married with kids front?
Both of my little ones aren't old enough for school. (will be about 1 and 2 when I get back) Looking for info on how available day care is, costs, what you think I need to survive financially etc. I'm not coming back to make money this time, just love the place and the job. I'll be selling everything back home, ie cars, house etc, so I'm not worried so much about the cash thing, but just an idead about what to expect.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot everyone.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

I came here with my wife and 6 month old. She is now 3 years old and we have another due in 3 months. This is a great time to come, daycares are everywhere, as are preschools (which start at 3 years old). Costs vary depending where you live. I live in a small city and can easily live on 100,000 yen less/month than someone with similar accomodation and lifestyle in Tokyo. Will your wife work p/t, otherwise no need for daycare. My wife is at home and does the odd private teaching, as do I which really can boost your earnings.
Feel free to ask any specific questions. Sounds like you lived in Japan before kids, so it is quite a bit different..... a lot more fun.

stretch · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 59

We are both up for the privates. We'd like to keep the kids at home until the start kindergarden anyways. Last time I was here my wife and I were he by ourselves with just me working making about 350,000 a month with a free apt and car. I know we won't get that set up again. Probably the 250,000 norm with apt costs. If I'm rural, do you think we can survive off that and at least not lose money if we do the odd privates? As I'm selling the house car etc, I will have money to have as back up, but I'd like to use as little as possible. My wife plans to go back to FT once the kids are in school FT. As we are both giving up our careers here we are hoping to come this time and stay indefinetly.
Is the kindergarden for 3 year olds half or full days? Wow, that's pretty awesome that they start that young.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

taikibansei · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan

Fees for daycare in Japan are calculated on a sliding scale based solely on total income for the household. This means that Paul and Gordon, thanks to their much higher salary, are paying more for daycare than most.

To give you an idea, keeping my four kids a full day (8-5) in daycare cost a very painful 35,000 yen per month when I was teaching at a national university. However, the first year after I returned to the States, my wife and kids continued to live in Japan with her parents to keep (especially childcare & preschool) costs down. The difference in salary (admittedly a bit creatively rendered to City Hall) resulted in us paying just 7,000 yen/month total for all four! (Now in the States, we're paying $200/month just to keep the two youngest kids in preschool part-time....)

I think Paul is right about the minimum monthly gross income--350,000 yen combined salary. Food (cheaper if you go with straight Japanese food), housing, and especially kids clothing (brutally expensive in Japan...) will set you back the most, though remember you'll probably want to buy a car, furniture, etc. in the beginning as well. F/t daycare at that level of combined salary (assuming you both receive no yearly bonuses) should cost you about 10,000 yen per month--maybe even less, depending on where you live.

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

Taikibansei,
I don't think private yochiens base their fees on salary. Daycares or public yochiens might though.

taikibansei · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

My daughter starts yochien next year, so I'll see then. I was under the impression salary did not play a part as they did not ask us what I made. Too bad.

stretch · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 59

Currently i'm living in Canada. Daycare costs where I live are out of control. 800-1100 per child!!!! So basicly, if you want to work you better earn a lot more than that to make it worth your while.
Thanks so much for the info so far. Looks like I'll be dipping into savings I guess for the first little bit. No biggie. As long as the prospect of privates are around sounds like we should be ok.
How long has everyone been there, and how long do you intend to stay?

Gordon · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Japan

I came for what I thought would be 2 and it has now been 2.5 years. I don't know how long I'll be here though. I'm a newbie compared to most of these family guys.
BTW I'm also a Cdn, from Vancouver.

Nagoyaguy · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 425 Location: Aichi, Japan

Another refugee from Canuckistan here!

I am married and have an 8 year old son. We have lived in Japan for nearly 5 years now. The education system has been great! He went to public hoikuens, then to a public elementary school. He's in grade 3 now and is having a fantastic time. Schools here expect a little more out of parents, I have noticed, in terms of effort to keep the kids studying, providing assorted materials, and so on.

For language purposes, I strongly recommend an "inside/outside" approach. Within your family (you, wife, kids) use English exclusively. It doesnt matter if you are at home, a supermarket, on the train, wherever. English is the "family language". When you are "outside" ie. at school, visiting friends, visiting the grandparents, then Japanese is used. I am not sure if your wife is Japanese or not (mine is), so the above advice may be irrelevant.

Keeping bicultural kids up to speed on their second language is a big chore. I have been honestly shocked at the number of kids like that who have very limited skills in the "foreign" language. Your spouse (if Japanese) is the key. IF they are willing participants, and are willing to go with a few basic communication rules, you will be fine.

PAULH · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Posts: 4672 Location: Western Japan

In April it will be 18 years in Japan and I am thinking of a move to England to study the year after next. Various reasons. Iron job ceiling and all that.

My daughter is 10 in 5th grade at a public elementary school and enjoys school. Son is 5 and in a public kindergarten. Speaks only Japanese at the moment but we hope England will fix that.

(where we are public hoikuens take kids up until the enter elementary school at age 6). We have an international research center near here so there were a lot of foreign kids enrollled as well which was a bit unusual.

taikibansei · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Posts: 811 Location: Japan

Stretch:

I lived in Japan four years without kids, four years with kids, and a little over a year and a half of commuting back and forth. I'm actually not in Japan anymore--Paul mentions the employment "ceiling" that exists for most foreigners in Japan, one that frustrated me as well.

Gordon:

Things may just be different where you are--they always asked for my salary information in Fukui, though usually in a separate request in the spring....

Paul:

Same situation with my now almost 4-year old twins (i.e., no real English ability initially). Took them all of six months to catch up verbally with their peers--young kids are amazing with languages. The two oldest both had English ability going into school here, and are now pretty much bilingual.