I'm a senior graphic designer (9.5 years experience at a major US company) planning to move to Japan with my wife (Japanese citizen) and two kids (ages 9 and 6). We would be moving to the countryside of Gunma. 4LDK renovated house is ~¥120,000/mo ($800).
I'm planning to freelance doing marketing and presentation design for US companies remotely, but I haven't freelanced full-time before. Life in California is break-even on a high salary, and I'm hoping we can have a better standard of living in Japan.
Looking for reality checks on:
1) National health insurance costs for family of 4?
- What did you actually pay in Year 1 with low/no freelance income?
- How much does it increase as income grows?
2) Real monthly living costs for family of 4 in Gunma?
- Rent, food, utilities, transportation, school costs – everything
- What do you actually spend?
3) Freelancing timeline – how long until viable income?
- How long did it take you to build sustainable monthly income?
- What's realistic to expect in Year 1?
- For comparison: How hard is it to find a full-time remote position with a US company?
4) Kids adjusting to Japanese schools?
- The kids speak conversational Japanese and have been studying kanji. They'll have to catch up to peers but have a strong foundation.
- How long did adaptation take for your kids? Any unexpected challenges?
I have good runway saved up, but trying to set realistic expectations before making this jump. Honest feedback appreciated – positive or negative.
Thanks in advance!
by TheHandsomeSasquatch