Job Discussion Forums

[pbatz]

I am going with my boyfriend to teach through NOVA. any advice, comments, anything would be helpful. As a couple, do they give you your own apartment?

[Quibby84]

One thing you need to look out for is the rent cost. We were going to go through Nova to get to Japan and when we saw how much we make and how many bills would be taken out we were like "wow! we will have alot of money" (we are from the south of america it is decent amount of money to us). BUT what we realized later is that we would be paying double rent. So rent comes out of both of our checks. That means that if the rent is 50,000 rent then we are actually paying 100,000 for a room. That is a lot, housing in Japan is expensive but for a tiny apartment that is way to much. They charge by person not by the space they take up, so if the apartment has 3 rooms and their are three people then each person pays, if the apartment has 3 rooms and 4 people, all four still pay. Now, when you look at the money getting paid and the money taken out it doesnt look so bad.
We came with a different school and we only pay 50,000 a month (it comes out of one of our checks). That doesnt seem like much, but you will be shocked at how much money goes by here. We have rent and we also have to pay utilities and cell phone and car and things like that. We have two people so we are ok but if we were paying double the rent we wouldnt be taking home much money.
So just look into that. And dont feel like Nova is your only option, there are a TON of schools looking for teachers, you just have to surf the web. You may end up with a good school you may not, but at least you will be in Japan!

[Glenski]

NOVA may give a couple their own apartment, and yes, they'll charge each person about 70,000 yen/month. That includes utilities, though, up to about 8000 yen/month, I hear.

Get a place on your own, and you'll pay 2-5 times a month's rent equivalent just to move in (if you have an employer to serve as guarantor, in most cases, that is), and you'll find yourself in a place with nothing. No appliances of any kind, no light fixtures, no curtains, nothing else. Some things can be had at secondhand or recycle shops for low prices, and the 100-yen shops help a lot, but you'll still have to shell out quite a bit to furnish it.

[ironopolis]

[Quibby84]

But still 45,000 yen each is alot for apartments....
Look and see if there is a Leo Palace in your area, it is a straight up 50,000 a month and it is mostly furnished, all you need is a futon. It also comes with internet. They are quite small, but somehow me and my husband manage....oh, they also dont make you pay a deposit at the beginning.

[Glenski]

LeoPalace may not require a guarantor, but you still have to pay for ALL of your stay up front. Try that for a year's stay! (Don't forget the service charge added on for cleaning...)

[jademonkey]

I have had mixed experiences with Nova accommodation, though it tends towards the expensive side. I paid 72,000 yen a month to share a horribly worn, tiny old piece of crapola apartment with 2 others- which means we paid 216,000 yen a month for an apartment that was actually condemned a few months after I moved out.
Then, I moved to an amazingly spacious (it had a dining room & living room & laundry etc) apartment across the road for...the same cost.

[Topo Gigo]

Nova will give you couples accommodation, but I've heard of instances where the couple have had to live in seperate apartments for a few weeks before theirs is ready.
Nova accommodation isn't all bad; it's hastle free - they sort everything out for you, you move into a fully furnished place, and you can leave whenever you want with a months' notice.

The down side is that you pay for the convenience and you don't get to choose where you live. It's not uncommon to be an hours commute from where you work, and if you're in Tokyo on crowded trains, that's not fun. Saying that, some people get lucky and are only a 10 min walk away, although being in a couples apartment means this is probably less likely as there are fewer of them.

If you're not planning on staying too long, then Nova flats are probably the easiest (and maybe even the cheapest, unless you want to go to a guest house) option. If you're planning on staying upwards of 10 months it is a good idea, from what I've seen, to get your own place. It may depend where you are, but where I am (an hr or so north of tokyo proper) you can pick up a nice 2 bed apartment for 60-80K a month (most nova places in the area are around the 70K mark per person), but as you may have to pay 2-5months rent upfront, and also buy furniture, it's not worth doing unless you're here for a while.
Obviously the price and availability of apartments will vary from place to place, and as you wont know where you'll be working til you get there, you wont be able to plan. Also, I have no idea how difficult it would be to search for a place from another country.

In short, nova acomodation is a bit like nova itself. There are better options out there but it's an easy way to get set up in Japan, and great if you're not planning on staying long. If, once you're here, you want to find those better options, there's nothing but a months' notice to stop you going for them.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you do.

[dilleight]

Hey
I lived in a couples apartment in Osaka. It was fine but overpriced but as has been said you can give Nova 30 days notice and move. It isn't too hard to find a new place and with a gaijin realtor you only have to pay a deposit of 1 month's rent. Just make sure you have some spare money because Nova charge rent a month in arrears and you will have to pay rent in advance when you move. Basically 2 months with double rent (1 month deposit+ Nova rent and 1 month Nova rent and new place rent)