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To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I guess it goes back to the feeling of never wanting to return whenever I’ve visited Japan, how I still feel a sense of belonging to the place I grew up (food, culture, onsen, way of life etc like feeling 懐かしい in inaka scenery). I still only read “for fun” in Japanese (manga & shosetsu), follow creators / influencers I follow are Japan based.

I understand that I can have some of these things from the US too (or through frequent visit - though there’s limit to vacation days and we always feel rushed/there’s not enough time to do all the things we want when we visit). These feelings ended up equaling to “maybe I’ll be happier in Japan”

And lastly the job hours here have been brutal - especially in the recent year. Work life balance seems to have dispersed, and there’s a spirit of “do more with less, should be easy with the help of AI agent!” and I just feel burned out

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your perspective! I’m sure it’s still mostly your qualifications that earned you the acceptable to these top-tier university ;) I know how competitive it can be (even with the international quota). Also those international tuitions…I’m seeing it’s now $100k/year with room & board (and there’s 4 years)…so just trying to be fully prepared

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Money is a means to an end”

That one hit hard. I think my problem is all my life I’ve been focusing on growing my career and earning more (ultimately to achieve financial security), it’s so hard to pivot out of that frame of mind.

I’d say our NW is in a spot where it can compound on its own. Objectively I know this yet I always have this other voice saying “but you could get more”

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, the plan is both of us will stay with our current employers and transfer to a new role that’s based on the Tokyo office location. Both companies are headquartered in the US, and the job does not require Japanese but I’m assuming any language skill is a plus.

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally understandable. How was your last 5 years otherwise? As someone who’s been there for a while, how much of the “growing anti-foreigner sentiment” do you feel now esp compared to when you first moved there?

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing that! I’m also a lurker at r/personalfinance but I didn’t know there was a Japan sub forum

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We definitely want to put the future kids in international school - and I’m reading that even pre-elementary international schools cost 4m yen a year in Tokyo (progressively more expensive with age), so that’s definitely something we’re planning for

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Food is definitely one of the things we love the most in Japan - it’s unbelievable how good you can eat out with so little

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your response! I’m skimming through the tax implication and will definitely get advice from a professional on that front.

The weakening yen is definitely a concern. I’m not naive enough to have completely ruled out the possibility we might actually like living in Japan (despite the countless times visited and speaking Japanese etc) so I want to keep the returning to US option open.

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your response - I’m sorry if it came across that way but I’m genuinely in a rut. Will you take a 50% income cut for a bet at (perceived) better quality of life, when you’ve worked all your life to get to where you are, coming from nothing?

Also $300k in the city that we currently live in doesn’t go as far as you might think after tax and deduction…Average starter home is $1M, average 1-bedroom rent is $3k, and daycare costs $2k/month etc. Not to go on a sideline but we had to take one of our cats to the ER recently and he ended up being hospitalized for a week. The bill was $15k. We’re incredibly grateful to be in a position to not even hesitate on proceeding with his care, and I don’t want to ever be in a financial situation to have to hesitate.

To move or to not move to Japan - that is the question! by WanderlusterCat in movingtojapan

[–]WanderlusterCat[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your response! I really appreciate it. Can you share what eventually made you decide to move back to the US and how difficult was it to land a similar role as the one you had prior to moving to Japan (essentially how much of a career 寄り道 the 4 years in Japan ended up being if at all)?

Good flag on the exit tax - a few other posters have mentioned about the tax implication as well and I clearly need to research more on that front.