This does not make me happy but American numbers are wildly skewed by the ultra wealthy.
Look up the median net worth, and then compare it to the median cost of living. That should probably make you feel a bit better.
I’m seeing memes all over the place about Americans working 3 jobs and barely keeping up with rent, rent increases for not much reasons, healthcare bankrupting well established families due to illness and other things.
Is it truly better there ?
(I’m not American)
Percentages. Where money goes, is far more important than how much money, excluding a select group of the wealthy.
I may be tentatively concerned, but I have a BMW, a Harley, I take vacations fairly often, and I make a surplus income as an ALT. I cannot have this kind of easy balanced life and include toys, hobbies in quite a few other countries.
I just don’t think it’s a constructive form of media discourse to be like “I’m gonna reduce all this to a stat where this skewed median is higher than that skewed median.” There’s so much nuance to what sort of quality of life you’ll have per country.
You can’t compare income/input without also comparing cost of living/output.
How much will one major illness cost? What about education? How much for a similar quality of life? How much of it goes to funding mandatory lifestyle expenses (eg, car, private insurance)?
If you’re depressed by this, it’s _probably_ not the raw numbers but something else you’re not getting out of your living here.
The median net worth is a better metric as it’s not biased upwards by the mega-wealthy. Comparing those numbers shows JP and US to be similar.
[deleted]
Thankfully I dont base my happiness on the average net worth of people where I live. Live within your means, save/invest what you can and enjoy yourself from time to time.
No. Having dealt with my own hospital bills and dying family, anyone is a bad day away from that whole amount going *poof*
#### Median Net Worth Adjusted for Cost of Living: Japan vs. USA
To compare the median net worth of individuals in Japan and the USA adjusted for the cost of living, we need to consider both the median net worth and the cost of living indices for each country.
1. **Japan:** – Annual cost of living: $1097 * 12 = $13,164. – Median net worth adjusted for cost of living: $103,700 / $13,164 ≈ 7.88.
2. **USA:** – Annual cost of living: $2433 * 12 = $29,196. – Median net worth adjusted for cost of living: $192,900 / $29,196 ≈ 6.61.
#### Summary When adjusted for the cost of living, the median net worth in Japan is approximately 7.88 times the annual cost of living, whereas in the USA, it is about 6.61 times the annual cost of living. This indicates that, relative to the cost of living, the median net worth in Japan is higher than in the USA.
Besides the median being much different – I suspect most of the net worth comes from property values as well, which are not liquid, and require not selling them to be able to live in them. It’s not as different as you think.
The average American cannot afford a house.
The average Japanese can afford a house.
The average American cannot afford to eat outside, cheap options are unhealthy fast food.
The average Japanese can afford to eat outside cheap and healthy food.
It’s not just about bigger numbers, it’s about what you can actually do with your capital in the country you live in.
Now do the healthcare numbers.
As many have pointed out these numbers are skewed.
I’m American and very satisfied with my decision to retire here.
Cost of living is much lower overall. Compensation is relative to costs.
Healthcare Transportation Housing Etc …
I bought my condo in residential Tokyo for a fraction of the price a similar property would cost in a major US city’s suburb. Let’s not even talk about the APR.
I don’t need a car. I don’t need to worry about healthcare costs. And frankly existing inflation hasn’t dented my life at all despite being semi retired, especially when I look at the US.
No. I don’t even know how much that is in JPY, and I’m not interested in converting that because averages are not medians, I am probably not either of those, and quality of life can be wildly different from income.
I’m happy here so far. And the USA is not a country I would probably even consider if I decide to move abroad.
What is the price you are willing to pay for not getting mugged / stabbed / shot on your way home from the bar?
Or your car broken into so regularly, you need to take out anything valuable looking, your radio etc or else you have a broken window?
Or having “no-go” zones in your own country, where people advise you it is not safe to even walk around?
Therein lies part of the answer as well.
It kind of makes me feel good and I did something right. Since I’ve lived in Japan for ages and my net worth is many multiples of the average American.
I am so proud of everyone bringing up the median income rather than the mean income. It really needs to be called out.
And do a comparison of debt and savings.
No, that doesn’t depress me (still think it’s an interesting fact). Once you’ve got enough to live on, why keep piling it up? What’s the point?
Interestingly this makes Japan quite appealing for someone older / with significant savings. The varieties of fire people, especially r/expatfire, quite like Japan as their retirement destination.
You also need to look at the distribution of that money. If it’s all accumulated at the top, the average is high, but the rest of us won’t see it. How are the US and Japanese GINI indexes looking now.
22 comments
This does not make me happy but American numbers are wildly skewed by the ultra wealthy.
Look up the median net worth, and then compare it to the median cost of living. That should probably make you feel a bit better.
I’m seeing memes all over the place about Americans working 3 jobs and barely keeping up with rent, rent increases for not much reasons, healthcare bankrupting well established families due to illness and other things.
Is it truly better there ?
(I’m not American)
Percentages. Where money goes, is far more important than how much money, excluding a select group of the wealthy.
I may be tentatively concerned, but I have a BMW, a Harley, I take vacations fairly often, and I make a surplus income as an ALT. I cannot have this kind of easy balanced life and include toys, hobbies in quite a few other countries.
I just don’t think it’s a constructive form of media discourse to be like “I’m gonna reduce all this to a stat where this skewed median is higher than that skewed median.” There’s so much nuance to what sort of quality of life you’ll have per country.
You can’t compare income/input without also comparing cost of living/output.
How much will one major illness cost? What about education? How much for a similar quality of life? How much of it goes to funding mandatory lifestyle expenses (eg, car, private insurance)?
If you’re depressed by this, it’s _probably_ not the raw numbers but something else you’re not getting out of your living here.
The median net worth is a better metric as it’s not biased upwards by the mega-wealthy. Comparing those numbers shows JP and US to be similar.
[deleted]
Thankfully I dont base my happiness on the average net worth of people where I live. Live within your means, save/invest what you can and enjoy yourself from time to time.
No. Having dealt with my own hospital bills and dying family, anyone is a bad day away from that whole amount going *poof*
#### Median Net Worth Adjusted for Cost of Living: Japan vs. USA
To compare the median net worth of individuals in Japan and the USA adjusted for the cost of living, we need to consider both the median net worth and the cost of living indices for each country.
**Median Net Worth:**
– **Japan:** $103,700 USD.
– **USA:** $192,900 USD [[1]](https://www.freedomthirtyfiveblog.com/resources/median-and-average-net-worth).
**Cost of Living:**
– **Japan:** The average cost of living index is $1097 per month [[2]](https://livingcost.org/cost/japan/united-states).
– **USA:** The average cost of living index is $2433 per month [[2]](https://livingcost.org/cost/japan/united-states).
#### Calculation
1. **Japan:**
– Annual cost of living: $1097 * 12 = $13,164.
– Median net worth adjusted for cost of living: $103,700 / $13,164 ≈ 7.88.
2. **USA:**
– Annual cost of living: $2433 * 12 = $29,196.
– Median net worth adjusted for cost of living: $192,900 / $29,196 ≈ 6.61.
#### Summary
When adjusted for the cost of living, the median net worth in Japan is approximately 7.88 times the annual cost of living, whereas in the USA, it is about 6.61 times the annual cost of living. This indicates that, relative to the cost of living, the median net worth in Japan is higher than in the USA.
Besides the median being much different – I suspect most of the net worth comes from property values as well, which are not liquid, and require not selling them to be able to live in them. It’s not as different as you think.
The average American cannot afford a house.
The average Japanese can afford a house.
The average American cannot afford to eat outside, cheap options are unhealthy fast food.
The average Japanese can afford to eat outside cheap and healthy food.
It’s not just about bigger numbers, it’s about what you can actually do with your capital in the country you live in.
Now do the healthcare numbers.
As many have pointed out these numbers are skewed.
I’m American and very satisfied with my decision to retire here.
Cost of living is much lower overall. Compensation is relative to costs.
Healthcare
Transportation
Housing
Etc …
I bought my condo in residential Tokyo for a fraction of the price a similar property would cost in a major US city’s suburb. Let’s not even talk about the APR.
I don’t need a car.
I don’t need to worry about healthcare costs.
And frankly existing inflation hasn’t dented my life at all despite being semi retired, especially when I look at the US.
No. I don’t even know how much that is in JPY, and I’m not interested in converting that because averages are not medians, I am probably not either of those, and quality of life can be wildly different from income.
I’m happy here so far. And the USA is not a country I would probably even consider if I decide to move abroad.
What is the price you are willing to pay for not getting mugged / stabbed / shot on your way home from the bar?
Or your car broken into so regularly, you need to take out anything valuable looking, your radio etc or else you have a broken window?
Or having “no-go” zones in your own country, where people advise you it is not safe to even walk around?
Therein lies part of the answer as well.
It kind of makes me feel good and I did something right. Since I’ve lived in Japan for ages and my net worth is many multiples of the average American.
I am so proud of everyone bringing up the median income rather than the mean income. It really needs to be called out.
And do a comparison of debt and savings.
No, that doesn’t depress me (still think it’s an interesting fact). Once you’ve got enough to live on, why keep piling it up? What’s the point?
Interestingly this makes Japan quite appealing for someone older / with significant savings. The varieties of fire people, especially r/expatfire, quite like Japan as their retirement destination.
You also need to look at the distribution of that money. If it’s all accumulated at the top, the average is high, but the rest of us won’t see it. How are the US and Japanese GINI indexes looking now.