Hong Kong vs Seoul vs Tokyo

[TheBrit]

There are plenty of houses in Tokyo, it's not all apartment living. Plenty of affordable houses if you prefer. Tokyo is much lower rise than HK. Housing quality is very high in general.

Have a look at suumo.jp using Chrome if you want a flavour. Unlike HK, these are real listings not bait and switch.

[Windmill65]

@TheBrit I understood that Japan implemented a new tax system for people who leave the country after having lived there for five years or more ("exit tax"). But I don't know the details about it as I left Japan before this got decided on. How horrific is this exit tax?

[TheBrit]

@TheBrit I understood that Japan implemented a new tax system for people who leave the country after having lived there for five years or more ("exit tax"). But I don't know the details about it as I left Japan before this got decided on. How horrific is this exit tax?

I have not looked at the details much. I think it is designed to prevent wealthy Japanese moving to Singapore for a few years, getting outside of the Japanese tax system and then redistributing assets without gift tax and helping shield from future IHT etc. It has been revised a few times and I am not sure of the current status. Most of the big four have stuff on their websites about it, but I am not really up to date.

[Elegiaque]

There are plenty of houses in Tokyo, it's not all apartment living. Plenty of affordable houses if you prefer. Tokyo is much lower rise than HK. Housing quality is very high in general.

Have a look at suumo.jp using Chrome if you want a flavour. Unlike HK, these are real listings not bait and switch.

Really, would a house be within the $20000-25000HKD range?

I'll check out the website sometime.

[TheBrit]

Here is a list of houses in the central five wards of Tokyo for under 300,000 yen a month rent. If you live in one of the surrounding suburban areas your choices increase exponentially

https://suumo.jp/jj/chintai/ichiran/...&shkr4=03&fw2=

This one is just around the corner from me, really nice area - very close to Yoyogi Park

https://t6n5jom5csplwgjhiv3zun3qfq-a...c=100235526816

[PerMagnus]

Lived 1.5y in Seoul, now 1.5y in HK (before those I was 9y in Singapore). Seoul is huge - I spent nearly all my time in Gwanak/ Gangnam, close to nature, trails are great and very accessible (comparable to HK New Territories). Traffic culture is bad, I’d never bike. Food and night life very good in Seoul. I’d say coming to Korea is doable if a) you’re an adventurous 20-something b) you have a Korean partner c) you’re offered a ‘retirement gig’. Reading Hangul is easy, speaking is difficult. English level generally low, you should expect zero English outside airport, intl. office or Uni. Bureaucracy is opaque. Salaries much lower than HK, people share what they have within their families and groups of close friends. More ‘gray’ economy perhaps?

[MABinPengChau]

If you are not looking for a long-term career in Japan I think you can have a lot of fun for two-four years. I made the mistake of thinking I was in it for the long-haul and the second-class citizen bit can get to you. Even bought a flat (and a fixer old house, long story there) both in the cat-friendly 'burbs. Was going to use the house as a cat rescue place and re-home from there (another long story). Would not consider long-term Japan without some other ties such as a Japanese spouse. Easy to get away on weekends, housing VERY VERY clean. Hallways and such always immaculate and much better overall maintenance, even in older buildings. If headed into education, salaries are all over the place from "Eikaiwa" conversation schools (low end) to international schools (higher end) and not really sure about university salaries. I made a good salary by Japanese standards, but lower than I could have earned in the US (but was looking for a very different experience). Taxes higher than HK, same level of complexity as HK (that is, very easy, when compared to doing US taxes). When I was there I had an expat policy (some loophole where I didn't join the public system) and that was cheap but if joining the health system I think would have been about 500 USD per month (it is based, in part, on your salary). So not exactly cheap but value for money if you have any medical issues or children. Mostly not worth it for me, especially since I was paying international school fees that my employer did not reimburse.

Travel anywhere within Japan or international travel (pre-pandemic) is a breeze, I didn't even mind the relatively long train out to Narita as I am a train lover. Now Haneda has more international flights so even more convenient.

Learning Japanese (took lessons my entire 6.5 stint there, intensive for the last two years) was time-consuming and pretty necessary. Need to at least get to a basic level of proficiency. Also not exactly cheap but guessing there are way more online options than when I landed in 2003. Grammar is unnatural compared to English with the verb at the end of the sentence. Particles can drive you nuts as well. In general, grammar is more complex than Chinese. Many immersion-style classes that are geared to Koreans or Chinese who plan to attend Japanese universities, run from say 8AM to 11:15 AM (I did this for the last couple of years). The other students will have the advantage, Korean grammar is quite similar and Chinese characters are the same for some words. So a bit of a struggle to keep up with classmates, lessons were fast-paced. Some evening classes for Westerners but eventually needed more than those...

[Mart1983]

I would look at the amount of people emigrating from those 3 cities over the past couple of years before the Pandemic hit and flights were cancelled. That would help me make a decision.

[Paxbritannia]

If you are not looking for a long-term career in Japan I think you can have a lot of fun for two-four years. I made the mistake of thinking I was in it for the long-haul and the second-class citizen bit can get to you. Even bought a flat (and a fixer old house, long story there) both in the cat-friendly 'burbs. Was going to use the house as a cat rescue place and re-home from there (another long story). Would not consider long-term Japan without some other ties such as a Japanese spouse. Easy to get away on weekends, housing VERY VERY clean. Hallways and such always immaculate and much better overall maintenance, even in older buildings. If headed into education, salaries are all over the place from "Eikaiwa" conversation schools (low end) to international schools (higher end) and not really sure about university salaries. I made a good salary by Japanese standards, but lower than I could have earned in the US (but was looking for a very different experience). Taxes higher than HK, same level of complexity as HK (that is, very easy, when compared to doing US taxes). When I was there I had an expat policy (some loophole where I didn't join the public system) and that was cheap but if joining the health system I think would have been about 500 USD per month (it is based, in part, on your salary). So not exactly cheap but value for money if you have any medical issues or children. Mostly not worth it for me, especially since I was paying international school fees that my employer did not reimburse.

Travel anywhere within Japan or international travel (pre-pandemic) is a breeze, I didn't even mind the relatively long train out to Narita as I am a train lover. Now Haneda has more international flights so even more convenient.

Learning Japanese (took lessons my entire 6.5 stint there, intensive for the last two years) was time-consuming and pretty necessary. Need to at least get to a basic level of proficiency. Also not exactly cheap but guessing there are way more online options than when I landed in 2003. Grammar is unnatural compared to English with the verb at the end of the sentence. Particles can drive you nuts as well. In general, grammar is more complex than Chinese. Many immersion-style classes that are geared to Koreans or Chinese who plan to attend Japanese universities, run from say 8AM to 11:15 AM (I did this for the last couple of years). The other students will have the advantage, Korean grammar is quite similar and Chinese characters are the same for some words. So a bit of a struggle to keep up with classmates, lessons were fast-paced. Some evening classes for Westerners but eventually needed more than those...

How did your Japanese property purchase turn out?

[MABinPengChau]

How did your Japanese property purchase turn out?

So I sold the flat for about what I purchased it for (around 90k USD 3BR 1BA, about 700 square feet with a 300 square foot garden that was private with a beautiful camelia hedge). The house was built in 1968, about 800 square feet, large walled garden but on an alley-type of street that ended in a stairs so not eligible for traditional mortgage. Paid about 50k US, put some money into mostly cosmetic remodelling, sold it for about the same, maybe a little less so lost the cost of the remodel and left it furnished, also a small cost. Since property depreciates relatively rapidly in Japan, it was fine. I did it for the lifestyle (cats) not so much to save rental costs.