Been searching through old posts on here to try to learn about this. I previously lived in China for 6 years teaching English, and been living back in the US for a while now, but thinking of getting an ALT English teaching job in Japan. (I would only do ALT and not eikaiwa).
So, why are people having to arrange their own housing? Do English teaching jobs in Japan not set you up with free or subsidized housing and make all arrangements before your arrival (and avoid all the ridiculous move-in fees)?
This is feeling like a deal-breaker to me and I might as well just go back to China, which is very welcoming and will set you up with everything, and no crazy costs or hidden fees (except registering at your local police station, but not exorbitant).
by videsque0
2 comments
The JET program has some subsidized housing but it’s totally random what you get. If you end up in one of the bigger cities you’ll likely be on your own and have to pay quite a bit. As for other dispatch companies I think they might help you find housing but it’s very unlikely they’ll pay for any of it. I’ve often heard that China is by far the best for pay and luxuries/benefits, while Japan is the worst.
china pretty much eliminated unqualified english teaching jobs, and japan hasn’t. so if you’re qualified china is probably better and pays more. it’s still very much a “white monkey” job in japan.