What is the buying power equivalent of however many yen $70k USD is? Is that enough to have an acceptable lifestyle? I understand that the Japanese housing market is drastically different from the US, such that rent is a much lower proportion of one's total income in Japan than is typical in the US. Does that translate into $70k being a good salary, relatively speaking, in Japan?
I wish I had actual statistics, but I can say from experience working and living in Tokyo, $70k USD will get you quite far. Average full-time salary in Tokyo is about $45k USD. Rent and food are generally cheaper than cities in the United States, and companies will often pay for employees to commute by train / bus. Owning a car is not a prerequisite to working, unlike most places in the United States.
Can you live on $70k? Yes. You will likely live in a small-ish apartment and not save that much. At least to me, at $70k I felt like a failure in Tokyo. A lot of things go into that feeling.
1. Not being able to afford what I considered a "nice" apartment. Like say as nice as the one I was living in before I cam in So Cal with 2 bedrooms, a nice living room, 2 bathrooms, etc. Those apartments exist. They're probably $2500 a month a few stops out of downtown. If you move way out they can get way cheaper but then you aren't downtown.
2. Having "finance" jobs and corresponding lifestyle in front of my face. Before I moved to Japan I thought I was doing well (never compared). Once I got here, at least at the time, the English free magazines around town are all targeting expats in finance. Those people, at the time, made $300k to $1000k a year and live in $4k to $20k a month apartments provided by their comapany so their salary is even higher. At $70k I don't I can justify spending more than about $1400 a month on an apartment.
That said, if I was just out of college, even at $40k-$50k I think I'd have thought things were pretty good. In other words, "it depends" on what you find acceptable. I took a big step down in lifestyle to live here at the time.
I feel your pain. A lot of people make sacrifices for the novelty and mystique of Japan. For a short period it’s an acceptable trade for the experience but I don’t think it’s a great long term decision.
Decent apartments can be had for as low as ~ $ 700-800 (companies housing is often subsidized even further), however they are typically quite small. A decent house in the less swanky areas of Tokyo's 23 districts runs about $ 0.5 M IIRC.
Food costs about the same - a ramen is about ~400-500 円 (~ a Chipotle burrito ?), and food at restaurants would cost about the same as the US. Groceries, and Electronics cost slightly higher. Finding Vegan/Vegetarian food is like coming across an Oasis in a desert.
Nevertheless, Japan is a far more interesting place.
Like many things, it depends. The housing is different in the senses that if you want to live in a “walkable” area close to public transportation etc. then almost all areas for this description. In the US I think there’s a small pocket of areas like this where the costs are high then drop off dramatically when you move to the suburbs. So in Tokyo you have more choice where to live.
Something that hasn’t been mentioned is the role of women. While many more women work there are still barriers, discrimination and the cultural tendency for women to be full time mothers/housewives. So $70k is household income.
Lastly, one needs to take time into consideration. A couple hours on the train commuting and a couple hours of overtime can add up to long days. So on a $ per hour basis it might not be that good.
I’m always baffled by this kind of comments. The world isn’t made of SV engineers making 300K$/year, living in appartment with 5K appartment and buying 40$ sandwiches. Sure, most places and jobs are paying less, but cost of living is also lower. In Japan for instance eating out is cheap compared to Europe. Healthcare is accessible too. Cooking can help saving money too. Heck, I’m living (alone) fine with $16K/year (yes, per year) in one of the biggest Japanese city and I still can go to parties, buy video games, travel abroad while saving some money.
He asked that in the "aren’t you all living in the streets of Japan with so few money?" in a humble-bragging tone that is quite common here when speaking of wages in an international context. And my reply is clear: yes it’s more than doable if living alone. I won’t speak for people who have families, it may be harder, but none of my foreign friends working here ever complained about their salaries.
Nah. He just asked how far it goes because it's not obvious how much you'd have to spend if you aren't willing to live in a shoebox. Seeing as most of the housing stock in big Japanese cities are the shoebox size apartments.
Another thing which a foreigner would have a hard time finding out is how much you have to spend on decent domestic staff or private tutors.
They could look up English speaking companies serving the Anglo expat market, but the local middle class is likely able to get those services for dramatically different prices.
Did I say "acceptable" means "equivalent to $300k in the Bay Area?" No. Far from it. There's a big gap between $300k per year and "acceptable," even in SF.
