Job Discussion Forums

[weigookin74]

I visited Tokyo a year ago. I found many prices not as bad as people think. I was able to eat at noodle and rice shops on any corner for 400 to 600 yen. Convenience stores didn't seem too bad for water, etc. Japan did seem to have more Western brands in their stores. I think rent, travel, taxes, and some of these things would expensive however.

The exchange rate is good. I sometimes see advertisements on here for Japan but not many. Occassionally country hogwans too. (Ekiwas?) What is the living cost in a smaller city like? Can you find a similiar amount of Western things there too?

The standard wage I see is 250,000 yen and you pay 50,000 yen towards your accomodation. What do you pay in taxes, what do you spend typically, and what do you actually send home (with current exchange rates)? That's the question I'm curius about.

Also, what are these accomodations like? Are they good, sleazy, etc?

What is the breakdown of average monthly salary and average monthly expenses? In other words, what can you send home to pay bills?

[Glenski]

"Average" is just that -- not an exact figure, and you absolutely must keep this in mind, as figures will vary considerably in some cases.

Forget exchange rate. That is country-specific, and it changes by the hour.

Living cost averages (something I have posted constantly for the past 14 years or so):

rent 50,000-80,000 yen/month
utilities 10,000 - 15,000 yen/month (seasonal and individual-specific)
phone (landline or cell? with or without Internet?) 3500-8000 yen/month (after installation cost, of course)
food (depends on you) 30,000-60,000 yen/month

Now, please, I don't want to see people say, "Hey, but I live on far less!" These are averages I've compiled over many years here.

Western items are generally available. Again, the word "generally" is pretty vague. The Foreign Buyers Club can ship you a lot of western foods from cereal to peanut butter to spices to frozen turkey. Costco may be available in your area (or not). If you want specific items, list them and just maybe someone can tell you if they know where to find them.

Taxes. Figure 7-10% income tax.

What people spend and save "typically" is going to vary incredibly. I won't even bother trying to cite anything here. What I will tell you is with basic necessities (including health insurance, which I didn't list above), figure that half of a 250,000 yen / month salary is gone. So, how you spend or save the remaining 125,000 is entirely up to your lifestyle, previous debts, need for medical care, location, need for luxury, no. of trips home and sightseeing, and frugality.

Accommodations vary considerably. Imagine someone asking what it's like where you live now. Look in the FAQ stickies for some info on what type of accommodation is available.

[flyer]

I agree with Glenski

[micronian]

A basic formula would be something like this:

Gross Pay
- 10% tax
- 30,000 health insurance
- 100,000 monthly living (rent + utilities + monthly spending)
-------------------
savings


In the end, an average ESL job in Japan should not be too different from a $22-$25/hr job in USA or Canada.

[Glenski]

Just remember that in the first year, insurance is about 1/10 of that figure.