Considering moving to Japan from US. Have job offer for 13m yen lined up, but it’s still a paycut from US salary (work in tech). Have been debating if it’s sensible financially – still fine salary, but less saving long term.
Reading a lot of possible recession coming later in the year. How are you thinking about it? Will it hit Japan even worse than US? Is now the worst time financially to move? Or will it be about the same as US more or less and not matter where you weather the storm?
Additionally:
(1) Do bonus that is part of salary get cut during recession in Japan? In US it would be common but Japanese bonus system seems more stable?
(2) Can I negotiate for higher salary in yen given that yen has been tanking relative to usd lately (and is predicted to fall further in near future)?
17 comments
Aren’t we always on the edge of a financial nightmare? If it’s not crypto it’ll be something else?
That’s a choice for YOU to make.
13M yen? Props man🔥
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Japan has been in a recession for more than 20 years and it’s not looking to improve any time soon. If you’re thinking about money why would you want to move to Japan? As a Japanese person I always wonder the reasons why foreigners choose to live in Japan if they have 0 connection. Moving to Japan will be a high risk financially now and in the future as well because you will always earn less than you would in the USA.
1. Yes
2. No
Up to you to decide.
But I will write this:
Japan population is declining. By the year 2040, 35% of the population in Japan will be over 60+. They already struggling to pay pension and support the elderly now. I wonder how Japan will manage by them? Raising tax to 15%, 20% or more maybe?
Japan is like a ticking bomb and they don’t have a solution to this problem.
One of the ways would be easily allowing more foreign workers in, but nobody wants Japan full of low skilled gaijin. Another way would be making more babies, but it’s already 2022 and It will take another 20 years for them to grow up and start paying taxes so… There you go.
Eh. Doesn’t matter in the long run. You’re still getting experience, you’ll learn another language and economies eventually bounce back up. At that point you’ll be in a better place.
If it really gets bad it wouldn’t matter where you’re at.
Sometimes I think that americans are obsessed with “making a lot of money”. You should realize two things:
1- cost of living is not the same everywhere
2- of course you could make more money in the US. But you should think if that outweighs your desires of going to Japan.
It is no mistery how much tech workers make and how much american companies pay (I’m a developer myself), but you should just look at the bigger picture. 13mill is way more than enough to get you by and a normal person doesn’t get payed half of that. You should figure out your privileges and know that your payrange is not “average” anywhere. And if not, just stay home and keep doing what your are doing.
tl;dr money is not everything my man
Hey OP, I live here in Tokyo, work in tech with a similar salary. I know I could make a lot more in the US, but ultimately there are just priceless benefits to living here IMO (safety, convenience, etc.). It’s all about the life you want to live and the level of importance you place on money.
Personally not really worried about the upcoming slowdown.
To your q’s:
1) Bonuses can get cut anywhere I’d say
2) I’ve thought of this too, but generally your salary is determined by the local market, which hasn’t increased with the falling jpy so you don’t have much of a leg to stand on unfortunately
The longest recession has been 16 months. Is it worth the move? or wait it out
Don’t do it for the money, do it for the experience. I considered EXACTLY what you are right now. But, then Covid hit, we had Triplets, and now I could never dream of it.
My perspective on this is that Japan offers a different posture when it comes to risks versus returns than the USA does. The returns are almost certainly going to be lower in Japan — salaries are lower, taxes are more progressive and hit high-earners harder, investment opportunities are fewer and more modest, and so on. On the other hand, necessary expenses tend to be much lower — housing is much less expensive at equivalent levels of desirability, healthcare is much, much less likely to bankrupt you, quality public transportation means you are sharing and stabilizing the costs with other people, and if you have kids, education is more affordable.
If you have a moderate income, Japan offers a less risky life than the USA. Whether that is better or worse depends on how much you value the reduction in risk.
i have a job in Japan for 11mil. and i will be moving to Japan by the end if this month.
The main reason to do it for me is the novelty of living in a new country and i think the economical situation is better in Japan because of the lower cost of living and no car maintenance overhead.
This is a very strange question. Do you want to live and work in Japan? If so, then your job offer is good and you’ll be very comfortable. If you do not want, then don’t.
I have no idea what recession is coming, what it will be like, or any of that stuff. But, I guess Japan does have more of a fortune telling culture, so perhaps that’ll help.
Actually, in Japan you might be spared the worst of the inflation and cost of living crisis that is happening everywhere else, because Japan has been in a recession and low inflation environment since the bubble economy popped. The falling population is also keeping housing prices low, which is the largest expense squeezing the middle class in the US. In my experience, the only places keeping pace with US housing prices are THE most desirable areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, and you are comparing luxury high rise condos in walkable cities with the average 2 bedroom house in California. Outside of the city centers, housing prices drop markedly. 13 million yen also approaches salaries of executives in Japan and your standard of living will be high to match. Plus, you will be spending in yen so exchange rates don’t matter too much. In that regard, it will be hard to negotiate your salary further because they are gauged against japanese financial conditions, not American. Just be sure to keep your savings and investments in USD and only send money over as needed.
Just do what you feel like doing. Trying to predict a recession is quite difficult.
Japan has always been financially more stable than the west. Not saying that there is any growth, so overall compared it’s financially off worse, but it’s safer in times of bad markets/economies.
Also consider that even though your salary in the US is higher, the cost of living in Japan might be considerably cheaper. Not that you’d have much to worry about with that salary anyways.