Job Discussion Forums

[annanaeko]

What should I be expecting my bills to be monthly? I am accepting a job with Nova- so I have to pay the Apt, health insurance, and Japan taxes. After that what is other stuff running? What other bills do you inquire over there? I'm thinking cell phones, food, train money- I'm not sure how much these costs and things I must be forgetting?

Also does anyone have T-Mobile, my laptop has wireless- can I subcribe to it here in the states and will it work in the cafe's hotspots over there?

[PAULH]

[Glenski]

I'd double the monthly transportation fees that Paul wrote and plan on 20,000 easily. NOVA should reimburse you for that.

And, for utilities, I usually quote 15,000-20,000 yen/month depending on the season and your use of electricity and water, but I believe this is included in the 70,000 yen rent for NOVA apartments.

Don't know the arrangement with your roomies, but cable/satellite TV would run 3500-5000 yen/month.

One more incidental to Paul's miscellaneous list would be dry cleaning.

The "beer money" expenses could run 30,000-50,000 yen/month very easily if you go out a couple of times per week and drink conservatively. A lot depends on what you want to drink/eat/do, and if you stay out past the last (midnight) train and have to hop a taxi home (at higher rates at that time of night), and if you go to clubs/bars that charge a "charm fee" to enter (something like 4000-10,000 yen).

[moot point]

I once picked up a pamphlet that was in the lobby of some inexpensive tiny business hotel near Narita airport. I wish I could remember the name of it. Anyway, it showed the average monthly salaries and expenses for a family of four for Japanese families. The median age was somewhere in the late-forties.

If I recall, and don't quote me on this, the average salary for a family of four was 554,000yen and expenses ran about 450,000yen. I believe the average salary in such instance was 6.5 million yen.

My household situation is similar (1 kid with another due this month and stay-at-home wife) although we have a lower salary but to offset these costs is subsidized housing, meaning we usually clear about 100,000yen a month with our yearly goal of saving 1.5 million a year.

[moot point]

I hate to follow up on my own post but I've sinced realised that your situation is quite different.

I initially came to Japan on a Nova contract. At that time I had a heck of a good time and easily spent 70,000yen in restaurants and bars a month. However, I don't regret it as it was these places where I picked up a lot of Japanese and made good friends, both Japanese and expats alike. I tended to frequent bars that didn't get rockin' till after midnight so enjoyed a private Japanese tutorial with the Mama-san for a couple of hours while spending between 1000 or 2000 on a few beers.

I also chose to live alone in a 2DK apartment at that time paying a monthly rent of 70,000yen (plus 12000 for parking after I got wheels), and wound up meeting a whole lot of long-term expats who generally had more expensive tastes (i.e. dropping 20,000yen a night watching a baseball game and the "Bud" bar afterwards) so my expenses may be higher than yours depending on the type of lifestyle you're planning on.

Regardless, all other costs were very low. As I was working until 9:00 on most nights there weren't many hours to turn on the lights, meals consisted on a quick pan-fry, and I tended to survive on showers instead of more water/gas-instensive baths. In those days I'd say I was saving about 50,000yen a month but usually blew it all on extended holidays in other Asian countries.

Good luck!