Are you thinking about changing jobs sometime soon?
Are you thinking about leaving your current teaching job in a rural area and trying your hand at working at a larger commercial school in central Tokyo, Kawasaki, or Yokohama?
Where will you live and move all of your belongings to if you get the job you hoped for, but have to start working in just a month or even less?
Have you saved up enough funds to pay for all of the initial fees often required for a nice abode in the heart of the city?
Unless you have been very frugal, chances are you will fall short of what you will need for a nice "mansion" apartment within a 10-minute walk of a major station where the express train stops.
However, once you start working in Yokohama, Tokyo, etc., you may find that you will have less time at home and will be enjoying all that the Kanto Region has to offer. If you won't be spending that much time at home in the first place, maybe you might want to reconsider your ideal abode, and maybe lower your expectations just a little bit so that you can stay within your budget and not have to live paycheck to paycheck.
Here are some details on an apartment that is lower on the scale in terms of cost, and some reasons why this unit is cheaper than others.
Modern Park Ishikawacho 103 (http://real.rent-yokohama.com/ja/rent/view/589943)
- Studio apartment newly built in 2018
- Total Monthly Cost: ¥65,000
- Total Move-In Cost: ¥355,480 (or less depending on the guarantor company)
- 1K unit with 20.49 m²
- Separate toilet and bath
- Toilet comes with a heated seat and heated bidet
- Kitchen has two gas burners with enough counter space to actually prepare dishes
- Bedroom has nice wallpaper, doors, and flooring.
- The windows to the balcony have a shutter that rolls down from the top of the outer window frame for security and privacy. In winter, this shutter helps keep the apartment warm.
- The bedroom actually has a closet! This is not the norm for older, cheaper studio apartments.
So what are some drawbacks about this apartment that you may have not thought of or even considered?
- There is no vanity with a mirror and water basin. Guys can shave in the bathroom using that mirror after taking a shower. But for ladies, you will need to use a table mirror to put on your makeup. In addition, you will most likely be brushing your teeth using the kitchen sink since there is no vanity.
- The primary reason that this apartment is so cheap is its location. The property manager states it is only a 9-minute walk to Ishikawacho Station. This might be true on a cold winter morning as you briskly walk TO the station DOWN the hill. Coming home at night will be a different story.
- Here is where this newly built apartment is actually located:
- The apartment is more realistically located about 12 or 13 minutes to Ishikawacho Station, and maybe about 15 minutes when walking home up the slightly steep hill. During the summer, you will be slightly drenched with sweat which will be due to the exercise you are getting while "enjoying" the heat and humidity.
If you were to rent the same size and quality of new "mansion" apartment with a flat approach to the station, you can expect to pay anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 yen for the same amount of space depending on how close you are to the station.
If you want to enjoy the big city life, but not use up a large portion of your budget paying for a place where you will mostly just be sleeping and bathing, why not look past some of the inconveniences of this apartment and others like it and use your savings to pay for bullet train tickets to the the famous sites of Japan.
Regardless of your budget, your space needs, and so on, please make an appointment to visit our office in Shin-Yokohama for a free consultation. We can discuss all of your needs, desires, budget limitations, and help you to find an apartment where you will be satisfied.
Call 045-470-3214 between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to book your reservation. Of course, we are perfectly find communicating via
email as well if Yokohama is too far away for you.
