Me and my husband have the opportunity to relocate to Japan through his work.
For both of us, this is almost "a dream come true", being life-long Japan lovers. However, we're also trying to be realistic about it. In our home country, both of us are working, and despite my salary being very low (almost minimum), my husband's is very much above the average locally, which translates to around 6500 usd not including bonuses. We also get pretty good pension payments, as well as as another tax-free savings account. Our country is considered highly expensive but we can live somewhat comfortably here, despite probably never being able to own a house without parents' help.
If we accept his company offer, they will cover only our visa for us, everything else (accomodations, flights, etc) will be on us. However, they said they'll match husband's pay to the Japanese equivalent within the company, to around 814000 ¥ a month. He has basic Japanese skills, and I'm actively studying but far from the level needed for working myself too.
We don't plan on living in Tokyo, but the surrounding areas to mayhaps find a larger apartment for a better price. We also plan on bringing our cat with us (we're aware of the process and have already started it, to be on the safe side). Currently we live in an "ok" city, not considered a the central hub but around an hour by public transport from it. We live in a 3 room apartment and overall dont need to think "too much" if we want to go to a live concert or go out.
Can we even live comfortably with just that much in Japan, considering I will probably wont be able to work for at least 2 years, even then only if my Japanese will improve magically?
With various taxes and how expensive it is to even sign on a lease for an apartment, how much are we going to end up with monthly for savings realistically? We will probably have to save extra for pensions etc, considering the Japanese equivalent is already pretty low.
by aBrokenSky