Hello Everyone! I am considering moving to Japan with my wife to start the next chapter of our lives. We met in China (wife is Chinese born) at an English training school and got married there. I worked 4 years in China, two years in an English training academy and two years in an International Baccalaureate Canadian elementary school before we decided to move back to where I was from in the USA. Since then, my wife has naturalized and became an American citizen. I completed a Masters of Education in Secondary Education (6-12) in addition to a Graduate Certificate is ESOL Literacy. I hold a Delaware Teaching Licence to teach ESL (K-12) and could further take a Praxis in French, Middle or High School English, or Elementary Education to be certified to teach those as well. Since we have moved back to the USA I have taught ESL for 5 years in a Delaware public elementary school and helped our school become a National Blue Ribbon School. Before that I was also a para-educator in a Delaware public school for one year as well.
However, after five years I took a break from teaching to help my wife grow a business we started together. Since coming to the USA, we have invested as much of our income as possible by living frugally with the idea of becoming financially independent ASAP so we could start a family and give our child the best possible upbringing we can. After coming back to the USA with only a couple thousand, in five years we have grown our investment portfolio to $1.8 Million invested in a traditional three fund portfolio (Domestic stock, international stock, bonds). We have never bought a house but have continued renting with the idea of moving abroad one day and raising a child. We do not particularly like where we are living now and do not have anything keeping us here apart from my parents. After high school I spent all of my life abroad…pursued my Bachelors of English Literature and Translation in France and taught in China before coming back to the USA with my wife so I feel I can adapt to life abroad again easily. I am Fluent in both French and Spanish, have an intermediate level of Mandarin Chinese, and am currently learning Japanese.
During the past 3 years we have taken numerous trips together throughout Europe and Asia searching for a potential place to move but Japan keeps calling us back… While it wouldn't be a terrible decision to settle down in the USA considering the potential future tax implications of our investment portfolio if we moved to Japan, I think it is a positive trade off considering the high level of safety, respect, and the lifestyle we have come to admire in Japan….(from what we have witnessed only as tourist of course…) With the current situation with gun violence and drugs even hitting schools in our little state of Delaware and the high cost of health insurance being self employed…my wife and I don't really have the desire to stay in the USA and start a family. Our business is slowing down and it's honestly just too boring here. We have no debt but I don't want to be tied down buying a house….not yet lol.
During the past year we have made multiple trips to Japan and have traveled to almost all the major cities to get a feel for what life could possibly be like. We are both on board for this potential move but as I am a planner….I like to really consider all the pros and cons before taking the ultimate step and trying out life in Japan. I know one of the major concerns is getting a visa. I am prepared to go back to teaching in order to get a work visa and sponsor my wife to get a dependent visa even though we could just live off our investment portfolio. I am 36 and my wife is 34 so we do feel like if we are going to have a child, time is starting to become tight….We would plan to live in Japan a couple years to really see if we would want to settle down there and raise a kid. I am confident we could eventually both become fluent in Japanese and although we will always remain foreigners, we would try our best to respect Japanese culture and assimilate as best we can.
Where it becomes interesting is the potential for me to gain Permanent Residency in Japan in 3 years with the Highly Skilled Immigrant Point System. From what I have researched I would be able to receive the following points:
- 35-39 years old (5 points)
- Master's or professional degree (Senmon Gakko) (20 points)
- 10 years or more (20 points) (After working 1 year in Japan)
- Annual Salary (including bonus) ¥7M to ¥8M (25 Points) ( Possible if working for International School like ASIJ, YIS, or BST)
=70 Points. Eligible for PR in 3 years.
Getting to an N2 level of Japanese asap would give 10 more points but I know that is a bit ambitious…
After getting PR, I would of course sponsor my wife to get PR also and then consider whether I continue teaching or transition into living off our US investment portfolio and take the Japanese tax hit on worldwide income.. I would rather be free to raise my future child with my wife and give them the best possible childhood.
Thank you for reading my long post…I would really appreciate any feedback on our potential plan.
by CodeAccomplished4626