[LONG POST]
hey y’all. long time lurker, first time poster. i (female/26 y/o) been living in japan for almost one full year, first 2 months in shinagawa and the rest in yokohama.
i was enrolled in an advanced language school in yokohama (study abroad) the first 10 months which provided me a modest living stipend to sustain myself here and also brought savings as well. i am on a cultural activities visa fyi. anyways, w/o said stipend (also received full ride tuition), i would have never been able to attend. for reference i lived in a sharehouse for the majority of the school year.
fast forward to end of june/early july, i find a full-time job in yokohama and move in to my first ever apartment. i have since applied for a work visa (6 weeks ago) and am still on standby. i used basically the rest of my savings to pay the 契約金 (down payment) for said apartment (which included rent for july and august; no key money, no deposit) and have borrowed some money from a friend so i can eat this summer and get set up a bit in said apartment (new place came with appliances and washer thankfully). the work visa is taking a little longer than expected and i’m not really sure how i’m gonna make september’s rent (no issues paying utilities, however). luckily rent is only 5.5万円.
i do not have anyone i can contact back home (🇺🇸) to financially support as i only have one parent who has since retired from her full-time job as of last fall. i’m sort of screwed right now bc of all of this but returning home after my study abroad would’ve also screwed me over because i would be returning to no car, no money (would’ve spent savings on flight ticket vs. japan apartment) and having to return to a verbally abusive parent’s home. so it made the most sense for me to remain here.
i have been doing some research and it seems like foreigners who have a work visa are not eligible for government assistance (can someone confirm this?). i am looking into applying however for 給付金 that just came out which would help a little bit.
if anyone has any additional resources or is able to help a young woman in need who is trying to start a new life abroad, that would be greatly appreciated. (and please refrain from rude comments, thanks)
TLDR: young american woman living in yokohama is looking for financial assistance until first job paycheck in order to pay rent and keep food on the table at a minimum.
1 comment
Seeing previous post, foreigners with a work visa are eligible for government assistance. You are in-between visas from student to work visa that would be a different question since you never paid taxes unless you were working part time. I would talk to the city hall and see if they provide assistance, the worst they can say is no.
I would contact your landlord and explain the situation.