Salary for family of 3 in Tokyo

[pleasehelp]

Hi all,

Would 350,000 yen per month (before tax) be comfortably enough for a family of 3 (couple plus a toddler) to live on in Tokyo?

Could anyone let us know a realistic cost per month of a middle of the road 2 or 3 bed flat in Tokyo? How about food and other bills for a family of 3 per month?

Are there any other costs that we would need to consider (e.g. apartment key money - I have only a vague idea of what "key money" is, nevermind how much it would be or if we'd get it back...)

We would need to live within reasonable commute to Tokyo University if that helps at all.

Thank you.

[larabell]

There are a lot of factors involved in housing prices, including how far you're willing to travel to and from home and how large a space you think you're going to need. There are plenty of small (ie: one room with a kitchenette) places for 80,000 yen, plus-or-minus 20,000 yen or so, but that's probably going to be too cramped for the three of you. If you're willing to live outside the city proper (not necessarily in the boonies but at least outside the Yamanote loop) you can probably find reasonably nice 2BR apartments for about 200,000 yen per month. That doesn't leave much left for other things so you may find you have to settle for a much smaller place possibly further away from the center of town.

Move-in costs vary. Traditional landlords ask for one or two months rent up-front as "key money" that you don't get back. It's just a "thank you" for renting you the apartment. In addition, one or two months deposit (which, depending on the landlord, you might get back) and at least the first month's rent -- in all, up to five or six months rent before you can even move in. However, that's changing slowly. There are no-key-money places around, some with higher rents, some not. I think the sluggish economy is putting pressure on landlords. But if your up-front money is tight, you may have to shop around some.

As for other expenses, I can't begin to guess. Utilities shouldn't run more than 10~20,000 per month, depending on the size of your place and your lifestyle. Food is more expensive here than in the States but, from what I've heard, maybe not much more than in the UK. Again, that depends on lifestyle. I think 350,000 yen per month is a bit tight for a family of three but if you're really careful, you can probably make it stretch. Maybe you should see about low-cost housing through the University, since that's going to be your largest monthly cost.

You should also skim through the archives on this forum. There have been rough estimates of food and other bills posted in the past that might give you some idea of what to expect.

[EverydayWanderer]

As this is a highly conditional question, I will answer what I know and hypothesize on other things I have read about, but have no concrete experience to back. An "average" commute time of an hour is considered "normal"; some of my commute times for my job as an English conversation teacher touch the 90 minute mark one-way. If you -HAVE TO- live in Tokyo, expect quite a jump in price. If you can stand living, say, north of Tokyo in Saitama near the Keihin Touhoku train line, then you may have a slightly longer transit time, but your average cost of living will be lower.

If you have a car in Tokyo, you can expect to pay about 40,000 yen/month for a parking space; outside Tokyo, maybe 20,000 yen. I highly suggest walking/bicycling/motorbiking instead of a car. Residential costs vary, but I'd say outside Tokyo could be 100,000yen/mo. without utilities (I live in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo). Inside Tokyo I'm guessing around 180,000-220,000yen/mo. as a realistic figure. It honestly depends on a variety of factors, including even how much light you get and what floor that you are located on.

In regards to "key money", it usually is a month's rent, non-refundable way that used to "grease the wheels" behind Japan's limited space problem as an incentive to the landowner. It -does not- pay for a month's rent; it is an addition to the first month's rent.

Tokyo University is about an hour away from where I live, assuming you catch the relevant trains on time. As I can't link to other sites, take a look at Danny Choo's "Tokyo Apartments" blog entry and take it with a grain of salt as it was written in 2007.

Good luck.