Livingcost in Tokyo 4 a family

A company in Tokyo offers my husband a job. the salary is 600.000Y a month after tax but they will not provide accomodation. We have 2 children age 2 years and 3 months. Is it enough for us to live in nice living standard in Tokyo ?

Please advise
He needs to make approval on Monday

Other benifits? Moving expense, bonuses, insurance, profit sharing, car, education, retirement? It's hard to answer your question without knowing more about the offer.

You will definitely have to look for an apartment outside downtown Tokyo as many apartments there cost from 200 000 yen to 2 500 000 yen a month. You also need about 4 months worth of rent plus money for furniture right at the start unless the company help you. 400 000 yen net is good for a single person but not so for 4, unless you also work.

I think that reasonable family apartment itself will cost 200-300k yen/month (within good commute distance, big enough for family not to be cramped, and in reasonable shape).

With 400k left after taxes, 100-200k is not enough for a family; unless both of you work, I would not definitely consider it at all.

(Certainly, if he likes long commutes, that is, 1 hour or more, it is possible to get 100k-ish per month family housing in reasonable shape, but commuting in Japan sucks horribly and even then 300k/month for family is not really much here.)

I'm single and have managed to spend 250-300k per month here just on living (single-room mansion), food, and minimal amusements.. and much more if I have actually bought something expensive or travelled somewhere.

You said it was 600,000 yen after tax?
It's just possible, but it will also depend on how long you will be here. If you are here for quite a long time, then you will need to consider school for at least one of your kids.

Anyway, so far as living goes, it will depend on where you live and how big you want your apartment to be. I live in Yokohama, in a 98 square metre apartment (around 1050sqft I think), 3 bedroom, and I pay around 300,000 yen/month.

So if you get a smaller one out of central Tokyo, you could be looking at 200,000yen/month for a reasonably large apartment for 4 people.

Someone else also mentioned moving in expenses, which can be 4-6 months rent (equivalent)

Commuting from Yokohama - Tokyo would be around 14,000yen/month.

Dear All,

Thank you very much for the answer.