I'm not entirely sure what I advice I'm seeking here, I just sort of want to tell my side and see what sticks. I'm 42M white American, my wife is 38f white American, we both have Master's degrees from English speaking universities. We have a son who is under one year old, as well as two cats. We've decided the political climate in the US isn't safe for us anymore, and are looking at moving to Japan.
I lived in Japan for five years from 2015 to 2020 and came back to the US due to COVID. I met my wife, married and had a son during this time. I was an English teacher in Kansai, and living on ¥250,000 yen was "fine" for me at the time. It would obviously be a burden to live on with a wife and a kid. If we both got shitty English teaching jobs at were pulling ¥500,000 I think we could manage until we got better jobs, but this feels a little risky, especially because we'd have to put our kid into daycare.
I guess I am just sort of wondering if anyone has done this. My Japanese is probably between N3-N4. My wife basically speaks none. I have a master's degree in TESOL, so I could move toward university or international school teaching, but I'm not sure how a spouse visa would work in that case. Most of these jobs also require you to already be a resident in the area when you apply, so that puts a pin in some things.
Currently, neither of us are teaching. We live in a small midwest tourist town. I am the manager of a gourmet oil and vinegar store, she is the owner of a small vintage boutique. We'd really love to continue having our own business in Osaka, but it looks like a business license for two foreigners is something like $50,000 USD, and is generally geared more toward different kinds of businesses.
I've lived in Japan and I know some of the hurdles I need to face. Apartments that rent to foreigners with pets seems to be a tall order. Any tips there? I have friends in the country who might act as guarantors. I haven't asked because we're still in the early stages.
I understand all the vaccines and quarantine stuff we need to do for the cats, and while it's tedious I think we're capable of that. Finding a place to live on the other hand, is concerning. I am open to starting small and then moving once we're in the country. I'm just curious if anyone has done this already?
Also, throwing it out there for anyone with ideas on jobs she or I could do. English teaching is the obvious one, or starting our own school, but it'd be nice to not have to rely on that. I've been job hunting, but I don't have the qualifications or language skills for much else at present. (And of course the school year starts in April so a lot of jobs won't post until December-ish.)
We're really teetering on the edge of the knife, here. Moving to Japan sounds like a scary struggle, but staying in the US also sounds like a scary struggle. I'm really trying to determine which course of action will be best for me and my family in the long term. Japan has an aging population and is getting hit hard by climate change, but has a generally lower cost of living, is much more convenient (assuming we live within 20-40 mins of a train station), and is definitely safer. But we'll always be seen as foreigners, my son might be bullied because he's white… etc. etc. etc.
I loved living in Japan and I miss it. I think it could work out really well for us, after the initial struggle. But I'm also scared, too. The weak yen is especially concerning in the event we ever decide to return…
Sorry for this long post about nothing, but I'd appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, recommendations, whatever.
by JustVan