My partner (29M) and I (26F) are thinking of moving to Japan with working visas in 5-6 years. I'm currently working as a traffic engineer with 5 years of work experience and make 125k USD, while my partner is getting a degree in Civil Engineering. I'm expecting half (~60k USD) or less than my current salary while working in Japan. As a side note: I also feel a bit pessimistic about how much I'll make in Japan due to the gender gap.
We have plenty of time to save before moving. We're thinking of buying a home before leaving the US and renting it out so the mortgage is covered. In case we move back, we'd have property in the US and wouldn't feel like we're starting where we left off financially. If we don't move back, we can eventually sell it at a greater value.
Most of it is from fear that we might move back and not have any assets and losing money while converting Yen to USD.
Pros:
– Having an asset in USD (in case we move back or move somewhere where the yen is weaker).
– More appealing option than letting our money stay in our savings, it would be an investment.
– My partner served in the military, so we would get low interest rates.
– If we ever move back, we'll have property in the US and won't feel like we're starting back in our late-20s.
– It would be located in a popular city, and its historical trends have been stable and upwards.
– We both have family nearby that can help with touring, signing in a tenant/tenants, and checking up on the property.
Cons:
– I'm not sure well-versed in economy (e.g., if the USD value will drop with the current political climate and how that affects housing).
– We could buy stocks instead, since it's more liquidable.
– We haven't bought property before, so it would be our first time managing property.
– While the property is empty and/or tenants are transitioning, we would have to cover the mortage, which would be diffcult on a Japanese salary.
– It would take 20-25 years to fully pay off.
I'm wondering if I'm overcomplicating it. Has anyone done something similar and was it worth it? Any advice/insights would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!
by Former-Flamingo3606