Job Discussion Forums

[Hsinchuguy]

As you may be able to see from my posts here, I'm considering moving to Japan. One thing that will greatly influence whether I do or not is the amount of money it costs to get set up.
I'm probably moving back to Canada to go back to school in September. In between now and then I'm just hoping to use up the time teaching and save some money for school.
If a school doesn't provide housing, how much do you have to pay to get started? How much rent do you need to put down? And "key money"?
For a short time, 6 months or so in my case, is it financially worth it to move to Japan or would one need more time to save enough money to get back what you've put down for housing?

[canuck]

[Glenski]

Can't remember if this is in the FAQs or not. It should be.

Set yourself up here, and expect to pay the following.
gaijin house/guest house rent = 50,000-80,000 yen/month (plus a 25,000 deposit in some cases)
food = 30,000 yen/month
phone = 10,000 installation, plus 5000-8000 yen/month charge (may include Internet)
local transportation = 20,000-25,000 yen/month minimum (does not include traveling outside of the city for interviews)

If you rent an apartment instead, you will need a guarantor in most cases (your employer), but before you get an employer, you can find some rare housing that doesn't require it. Key money will 2-5 times a month's rent (rare places like LeoPalace21 don't require it, but you have to pay for your entire stay up front). Most apartments won't have furniture or appliances of any kind, so you will have to get them (if you can tolerate living on the floor, you will still need to get a stove, fridge, and washing machine, and perhaps even a space heater) as well as everything else like bedding, utensils, curtains, and even light fixtures!

Apartments will usually mean 20,000 yen/month in utilities, too.

Let's not forget airfare just to get here, plus extra money to travel around on (for interviews outside of your base city), photocopying costs, Internet cafe (before you get home Internet set up), insurance, hair care, dry cleaning, etc. Budget for emergencies, too. Who knows when you will get sick or injured?

Plan on not getting your first paycheck for 2-3 months after you land. Depends on the time of year and how your resume looks and how you interview.

[sethness]

6 months would not refill your pockets, and would more than likely p*ss off your employer who's expecting you to stay for a year at least. (This last is particularly important because it's well known that students are loyal to the teacher, not to the school-- if you're fly-by-night, then it doesn't help the school's customer retention.)

As an alternative, I'd suggest Vietnam, where you can make $14~20 an hour, english schools expect (only) a 3-month committment, and the cost of living (especially housing) is far, far less.

[seastarr]

After about 6 months I started to make a profit. This was the time I started teaching private students and had paid off my credit card from a winter holiday trip to Malaysia. If you are looking to make some serious cash in 6 months, Japan is probably not for you. I have some friends that are currently teaching in Korea, where airfare and accomadations are covered, which would make it much easier to save money. If you are going to Japan because you are interested in exploring the culture, you will not make any money in 6 months, as travel and sightseeing are quite pricey.

[shuize]