My plan is simple. I want to "retire" from the FBI for a couple of years and go live in Tokyo by attending a language school that grants a student VISA. It's not that I really care all that much about the language school part (though I will take it seriously), but that mainly I just don't want to have to worry about getting a job. I want to relax, have fun, and enjoy getting good at Japanese while exploring an amazing city and making as many connections as possible.

The school I'm looking at is the ISI school in Shinjuku that Tobberoth recommended. The school and dorms, which are located in the same building so there is no commute, are about a 3 minute walk from the JR Yamanote line and just a few minutes away from Shinjuku station so basically it's right in the heart of things. I'm not that excited about living in a dorm but I figured I'd give it a shot for a few months as it appears you can spend a little extra money for a private bedroom which was my main concern. The dorm runs about $600 per month but includes all utilities with washer/dryer units. IMO that's a darn good deal to be just 3 minutes from the Yamanote.

So anyway my budget is as follows:

Rent/Utilities - $600
Monthly train expenses - $150
Food - $650
Cell phone - $100

That comes out to $1,500 per month but I know I have to be missing something. My goal is to cover all major expenses and then give myself $1,000 per month of pure "fun money" which would come out to around $2,500 per month.

So is this realistic budget to be able to have a blast with my little "early retirement" experiment?

Will I go insane in a dorm?

$100 is much too high of a number for cellphone.
I pay 4000-7000Y per month, which includes 1000Y to pay for the phone (iphone 3gs 32gb), unlimited data, unlimited 24/7 calls to gf, unlimited calls from 1am to 9pm to all other softbank subscribers, etc. Off-provider & peak-time calls do run 20Y per 30 seconds, but Japanese people tend to use email more than voice anyways.

On my previous 1yr contract on a dumb-phone with AU I only paid on average 3000Y/mo.

And yes, you will go insane in a dorm, even if you get a private room - it will just take a bit longer.

http://yoshidahouse.net/en/index_en.html was a good cheap place to stay at that i stayed at several times... not sure how far away it is from the school though...

Food is also really high for one person unless you eat out all the time. I never spent more than $250 a month on groceries.

Are you going to have satelite, internet?

Are you talking about this dorm? http://www.isi-education.com/english/ent...hort1.html

It says the rent (including utilities) is 75,000 yen per month, which used to be about $600 several years ago, but the currency of your country is very weak now and according to google, it's about $800+ at the moment.

Here's the other option the school provides students who want to live in Shinjuku: http://www.isi-education.com/english/ent...hort3.html

It says, "Single 180,000yen/month- (water and electricity included)" and google says, "180 000 Japanese yen = 1935 U.S. dollars."

It seems the school's guest house in adjacent prefectures ranges from about $470 to $600, but they're not in Tokyo:
http://www.isi-education.com/english/ent...hort2.html

magamo Wrote:Are you talking about this dorm? http://www.isi-education.com/english/ent...hort1.html

It says the rent (including utilities) is 75,000 yen per month, which used to be about $600 several years ago, but the currency of your country is very weak now and according to google, it's about $800+ at the moment.

That is the cost for short term students. The rate for long term students is 380,700yen every 6 months which at current exchange rate is $688 per month. Of course the exchange rate right now is extremely low what it will be in the future is a complete toss up.

As for my food budget I know it is extremely high but for good reason. Tokyo is the food capital of the world and I wanted to budget in the ability to experience it on a regular occasion. I'm sure most months I won't come close to spending that but it never hurts to over estimate things.

And thanks for the cell phone input. I'm a very light cell user in the U.S. so it's nice to know cheaper plans are available.

activeaero Wrote:That is the cost for short term students. The rate for long term students is 380,700yen every 6 months which at current exchange rate is $688 per month. Of course the exchange rate right now is extremely low what it will be in the future is a complete toss up.

Oh, that's a real bargain then. Other things you don't seem to include are internet access and cable TV (if available and you want). When I lived in Chiba, I payed about $100 for 100Mbps high-speed internet and internet TV (Cable TV in the area was already replaced by the optical fiber that comes with 100Mbps broadband service.). And probably you need a good amount of money for the first month because you'll buy a lot of things from small things you use everyday to larger things like a TV set.

activeaero Wrote:My plan is simple. I want to "retire" from the FBI for a couple of years and go live in Tokyo by attending a language school that grants a student VISA. It's not that I really care all that much about the language school part (though I will take it seriously), but that mainly I just don't want to have to worry about getting a job. I want to relax, have fun, and enjoy getting good at Japanese while exploring an amazing city and making as many connections as possible.

Just out of interest, how old are you?

I really envy your plan..good luck with it.

aphasiac Wrote:Just out of interest, how old are you?

I really envy your plan..good luck with it.

I'm 26.

I think you'll be fine on that. By the time I get done with rent/utilities, taxes, student loan, a car payment, and stashing a bit for savings, I typically have about 8 man left to spend on groceries/going out. The only time I run into trouble is if I go crazy on the drinking or am saving up for a big trip or something.

Yeah, your food figure is high. I'd say I'd generally spend around 3000 yen/week on groceries.... closer to 5000 if I need a lot of stuff.

And I'll second magamo on leaving a little bit more for the first month. I spent quite a bit when I first got here getting cooking/cleaning stuff and things to make my place feel more "homey".

And already planning out a mini retirement? Good job!

thistime Wrote:Food is also really high for one person unless you eat out all the time. I never spent more than $250 a month on groceries.

The food number really depends on if he drinks and how much he plans to eat out. I've dropped more then $200 in one night just on drinks before. If he's staying in a dorm it's not usually optimal conditions for cooking 3 squares/day due to limited storage, food theft, busy kitchen, no one washing their dishes, and other issues.

Even if he cooks every meal and doesn't drink, it depends on what kind of quality of food you're after. If you buy your groceries at a depachika you're looking at a minimum of $10 per meal. If you goto a supermarket hidden in an alleyway somewhere (like I do) then you'll spend a lot less.

blackmacros Wrote:And already planning out a mini retirement? Good job!

Well we'll see how it goes. It all pretty much depends on the expected sale of a house I currently rent out so in case anybody is wondering no I'm not rich lol.

Over the past couple of years my whole view of life changed pretty dramatically. I got lucky with landing an entry level job with the FBI at only 20 years old and was able to work my way up the ladder fairly fast. Along the way I noticed I became more concerned with money than with enjoying my life and after looking around me I noticed a whole lot of the same. Most people just seems to be churning away the best years of their life so that in 40 years they can retire and "do the stuff they've always wanted to do".

I also realize that working one job is the very thing that keeps one from being able to fully pursue other avenues and ideas.

So my idea now is to simply take mini-retirements throughout my entire life. Instead of throwing away cash on things like new cars or nicer houses that money will go into a "mini-retirement" fund. Every 5-6 years you can then quit whatever you are doing and just go live carefree wherever you want for a year or so. This will give you time to:

1. Enjoy life.

2. Have time to expand on new ideas and make new connections for even better opportunities in the future. I fully believe that for motivated hard working people there is always interesting work to be found and what better way to look for those interesting jobs than while on an extended vacation?

That is the idea at least. Sorry about the unrelated rant.

nice plan but try not to get married if you want to keep it up

Uh oh. For the record, I have never pirated anything in my entire life. I reported my grandmother for removing the tag from a mattress, also.

Hi,

I`m in Japan now. Your food budget is, as many have mentioned, very high. I would go easy on eating out and cook at home during the week - food in supermarkets is cheap; especially if you go in the evening when there are half-price stickers on everything fresh! Cook a big pot of curry or stew and keep it in the freezer in meal-size containers.

What you save on the food budget, I would put that toward getting your own place. Rent is cheap here, and most places don`t charge much deposit or the stupid old "Key Money" rip-off anymore. If you work, your company will pay for transport to work, in the form of a travel card. If you live in a convenient location, this travel card will cover all your travel, whether for work or not since it`s a monthly straight-fee pass.

Mobile with AU is pretty good - I have a nice phone with around 200 mins of talk-time for 3000Y per month. Don`t get a land-line - no point, just expense. Call home on Skype which is next to nothing for regular calls, and nothing to other Skype users.

Gas, Electric and water all come to around 3000 yen/month for me. So all together less than 10,000 yen.

One thing you should definately know about is the `100Yen Shops`. They will save you a fortune when you`re setting up and need all those household bits and pieces. Don`t worry, they`re everywhere.

So, you can totally do it within your budget. But I would definately get your own place.

Good luck! I hope you`ll enjoy Japan as much as I do

Abbass.

100 yen shop is a good suggestion. Also check out Don Quixote - great shop that seems to carry pretty much everything for super cheap. One is in Shinjuku, also in Shibuya.

If you can get an apartment (you may need a guarantor, etc), that's a good route. Rent is cheap in Japan right now since the economy sucks - easy to find places for well under $1000 in easy biking distance to Shinjuku. Key money and all varies, but you'll definitely have an easier time with a Japanese guarantor.

Cool plan overall - never understood the "work forever until I get old and if my health maintains maybe travel a bit" mentality. However, I would also suggest trying to combine work and what you like to do. If you want to explore cuisine in Tokyo, go to language school and then look at getting a job somewhere food related. Basically, foreigner who genuinely read and write and speak decent Japanese are in short supply - and like you say, motivation and hard work tends to win in the end.

一生懸命 or something like that (too lazy to check if my Kanji is correct).

Also, I would suggest looking at other parts of Japan. I used to only visit Tokyo, but maybe explore a bit before you commit to one language school. The quality of life, for instance, is much better per dollar in Fukuoka than in Tokyo - but of course Tokyo has things that Fukuoka doesn't. Same with Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, etc.

Thanks for the input so far. I just went browsing around for private apartments and it seems like prices have really come down since the last time I looked. A lot of them seem to be waiving most of the key money fees, even for extremely new buildings. Hmmmmm....

Yes active, I woudn`t worry too much about the cost of rent, but read ahead and be organised when you get here..."The wise man reads a hundred books before taking the first step."

Good point about location above. It doesn`t have to be Tokyo. I`m in Niigata and really enjoying the space having lived in Tokyo before - bike paths, beach 10 mins away, awesome skiing coming up. Still, it`s a city with over 2 million people, so bars, clubs, restaurants galore. Life doesn`t end in Tokyo, and it might be easier to get your feet on the ground somewhere else. Once you leave Tokyo, you really are treated like an honoured guest and you`ll find that people in general are really eager to talk with you.

As someone else pointed out, language is key. In fact it`s a no-brainer. Do people who
turn up in the states and don`t bother to learn to read, write or speak English function well and get good jobs??? It`s just the same in Japan, except they`re still polite, God bless them.

A.

Thanks Abbass. I've actually done a ton of research, and will do a ton more, but I just wanted to get a feel from people that are actually there.

In regards to living in Tokyo it is just something I have to do. I grew up on a small farm in rural Alabama and spent most of my life there. We raised cows, goats, grew corn, etc. I also lived in Anchorage, Alaska for a few years which was quite the wilderness experience. So in short I've spent my whole life in laid back environments and now I want to experience the challenge of something that is completely opposite to what I'm used to. If I get tired of Tokyo after a while I'll simply move, no big deal, but I've got to give it a shot at least once.

Perhaps this is a hijack, and I'd be glad to move it to another thread, but: holy shit, the FBI?

What was that like? Were you actually out in the field? This is something I've thought about from time to time but I don't know how I would handle the constant possibility of sudden death.

dawhite Wrote:Perhaps this is a hijack, and I'd be glad to move it to another thread, but: holy shit, the FBI?

What was that like? Were you actually out in the field? This is something I've thought about from time to time but I don't know how I would handle the constant possibility of sudden death.

Haha, you have a greater chance of "sudden death" working at an ice cream shop than you do with the FBI. What you see on TV accounts for maybe one half of one percent of what any agent will do during his career. 99% of the work for most agents involves sitting in a cubicle and doing mounds of paper work.

And BTW I'm not an agent. I'm a "Technical Information Specialist" which basically means I play around on the computer all day.

Awwwwwwwwww =(

You spend at least 20 minutes a day in deadly peril though, right?