Hey guys, so my wife and I are trying to come up with a plan to move back to Japan. We are looking to move to the surrounding areas of Tokyo and are not sure about the prices to expect.
So, for some context, I met my wife in the military. I could keep SOFA status once I got out of the military because I was a contractor and continued to live in Okinawa, then Iwakuni, and then back to Okinawa for a total of eight years. So we know that returning to Japan is what we want to do. I love the country and my wife wants to return. I returned to the States to make a career change into software development, and it’s gone well so far. I have a year and a half of experience in the field and want to move back once I’m at three years of experience so I can call myself a mid-level/senior dev on paper.
So we want to use the time between now and then to save up, but neither of us has an idea of how much to save. Any insight on any hidden fees that most people don’t think about when immigrating to Japan would be really helpful. (Also, we have a two-year-old).
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**Cost considerations when planning move back to Japan**
Hey guys, so my wife and I are trying to come up with a plan to move back to Japan. We are looking to move to the surrounding areas of Tokyo and are not sure about the prices to expect.
So, for some context, I met my wife in the military. I could keep SOFA status once I got out of the military because I was a contractor and continued to live in Okinawa, then Iwakuni, and then back to Okinawa for a total of eight years. So we know that returning to Japan is what we want to do. I love the country and my wife wants to return. I returned to the States to make a career change into software development, and it’s gone well so far. I have a year and a half of experience in the field and want to move back once I’m at three years of experience so I can call myself a mid-level/senior dev on paper.
So we want to use the time between now and then to save up, but neither of us has an idea of how much to save. Any insight on any hidden fees that most people don’t think about when immigrating to Japan would be really helpful. (Also, we have a two-year-old).
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Have you looked at places like realestate.co.jp to gauge prices for property?
It’s not clear if your wife is Japanese and therefore might be aware of some of the costs that might be mentioned here. For example, if you are renting, apts are typically a shell with no appliances, not even lights.
$15k USD for each person unless you have family support. Any less and it won’t be easy.