Thinking about the big move (can to jpn.) Where to start, how much to save, what job?

5 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Thinking about the big move (can to jpn.) Where to start, how much to save, what job?**

   Hey everyone, wife and I are thinking of the big move to Japan. I’m Canadian, she’s Japanese. I’m old, 40 years now. Shit education because I’ve got a learning disability, but was able to get an associate’s degree in English. (Still paying off the loan…) Sadly I’ve not been able to earn any savings, well she has been able to. So much for being the man… Lol.

   Anyway, where should I start in all this. I’d like to move next year if possible. My wage now is 23 p/hr, and rent is 2k, going up 3% in January (or whatever the hike is)… How much should I realistically save?

   What job should I go for. Besides gaijin pot, is there a resource for jobs. Basically I’m asking if I should try to learn some IT or something in my free time.

   What site should I use for renting an apartment or looking for a house, etc?

   Thanks for the info!

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2. Being honest, your only option right now is doing something like JET.

3. Your visa is pretty much sorted since spouse of Japanese national is really easy to get the initial 1 year visa that can be renewed forever.

   Suumo for renting. Let your wife interact with the real estate agent as having a Japanese spouse can open a lot of doors for rentals.

   How much you should save is really up to you. Presumably you sell whatever cars/big stuff you have in Canada and then move with minimal stuff. Our family of 3 used Yamato to ship 20 boxes of stuff and it ran about $1000 USD. Everything else we sold/gave away or trashed. It cost us about 20K USD to move to Japan, but this included buying EVERYTHING including a car, all appliances and furniture, general household goods and the fees to start our rental. It broke down something like 6000 for car, 1000 for shipping, 3000 for rental stuff, 10,000 for house stuff. You can definitely do it for less, but that is going to be up to what you and your wife want and your needs, where in Japan you are living and what kind of rental you can find.

4. When you say your wife is Japanese, does that mean she has a Japanese passport? Can she legally move to Japan? Because from your information here it doesn’t sound like you would qualify for any kind of working visa.

5. Does your wife have a career In Canada or Japan? With the Yen in its current state, student loan payments might be pretty tough on an ALT salary. So maybe take care of that before moving.

   Getting into IT at 40 without prior experience and Japanese skills is as tough as it gets. Definitely not happening within a year when you are still working, prepping a move to Japan, and a learning disability.

   Depending on where you are moving to, some factory jobs pay quite decently without any requirements.

   Renting gets much easier and better if your wife does it + in person. There’s plenty of companies for that. But they all have their territories, so which company depends on your location. A good starting point would however be the website SUUMO. You would also likely need a guarantor and/or workplace to vouch for you. So might be best to reach out to your wife’s family.