If you can live without melons!
Much has been written about life abroad. TV shows abound on international living. In fact, there is an organization called International Living that scours the earth for affordable and pleasant relocation areas for those so inclined.
As foreign-born Americans, both my husband and I have regularly talked about relocating abroad. We both love the United States, but we also both have family abroad, mine in Israel, his in Japan. And to be sure, we sometimes miss our respective country's food, culture, family and old friends.
The magazine, International Living, frequently touts the benefits of living in various South American countries, such as Belize, Ecuador, Uruguay, to name a few. Yes, they also discuss Thailand, Ireland and France. But for as long as I have read their magazine, I have never seen anything written about Japan. And for good reason: Japan is universally thought of as “expensive,” certainly not a “retiree's dream.” Visitors often return with bulging eyes at the “$25 hamburgers.”
And yet …
Consider Akashi, a town about 15 minutes by train from Kobe, about 50 minutes by train from Osaka. Akashi has a population of about 300,000, Kobe 1.5 million. Akashi has the “feel” of a large, bustling city. New elegant condominiums are sprouting everywhere; new highways; the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge connecting Kobe to Awaji Island over the Akashi Straits (the bridge is open to the public as a museum and tourist attraction, being able to ride the elevator to the top, then walk through a selected area and view the engineering marvel that it is). Most importantly for me, is that Akashi is located on the coast, and has several miles of gorgeous beach.
As it is not everyone's dream to retire to a bucolic countryside, and vibrant and energetic city life is more to one's liking.
Medical care: Our medical care system in the United States has been in the forefront of our social consciousness for years, and is being hotly debated during this election season. Our health care system is in trouble; it is extremely expensive and bureaucratic, and any changes proposed by the government are met with vocal opposition as well as approval. In Japan, health care is what one would call socialist. There is medical insurance which is very reasonable, compared to the States, costing approximately $50 per month for a family of two; but much more important is that excellent care is available to all at a reasonable price. For example, a few years ago, my husband came down with what we thought was pneumonia. He was coughing blood, and we thus rushed to the hospital. He was given almost immediate medical attention, x-rays, blood tests, a consultation by the physician, then an intravenous medication and a stay in the hospital for about a half day, after which he was dispensed antibiotics, all for the price of $350. In the States, the same services would be much more expensive. On another occasion, my husband got a crown for one of his teeth that cost him $80, and was quoted as $650 in the United States by his dentist.
In fact, Japan is not the only country with reasonable medical care. Consider how popular medical tourism has become to countries like India, Thailand and Indonesia. It is definitely high on my list of considerations when I retire.
Cost of living: While it is true that many things are expensive in Japan (as everywhere else), the cost of living as a whole is certainly not (http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Japan). However, this does not apply to melons, which are exorbitantly expensive, with a single cantaloupe costing upwards of $50.00 – not a typo!
Transportation: Akashi has the same bustling transportation system as all of Japan, which is arguably the envy of every other modern city. Trains and subways run everywhere; connections are fairly easy; many traffic (and train) signs are now written in English as well as Japanese; and Akashi also has a central station for the shinkansen. Taxis are everywhere, as are buses, and the ubiquitous bicycle. As noted earlier, Akashi is a comfortable 50-minute train ride to Osaka's Kansai International Airport.
Food: Japanese food is renowned the world over as being delicious and healthful. Very few Japanese are obese. Japanese restaurants have sprouted all over the world precisely because of its freshness and healthfulness; the vegetables and seafood that are served elegantly prepared, simply cooked and full of flavor. And unlike the tourist fare of the $25 hamburger, Japanese food is quite reasonable. Many cafes serve a breakfast consisting of coffee, a soft-boiled egg, toast and an orange for about $3.80. Lunch typically runs about $8.00 for noodles, some fish, a bowl of rice and some pickles. Dinner might be a bit more expensive, but again, but for about $15.00, one can eat quite well, including fish or meat, vegetables, rice, soup, and tea. Beer and liquor cost more, of course. There are also fabulous food markets in the underground train stations where hundreds of vendors prepare and display freshly prepared food every day.
Housing: We went to Akashi to visit my husband's high school teacher. While waiting for the 86-year-old gentleman, we happened upon a real estate office, and as I am wont to do, I looked at the window advertisements. I did this just for fun, never expecting to see anything we could afford. After all, we all know that Japan is “expensive,” and memories of million-dollar cubbyholes were still dancing in my brain. I absent-mindedly perused the ads, all written in Japanese, with the tiny pictures that can't possibly do justice to the interiors, and found the expected apartments listed in the hundreds of thousands, when I saw a few ads for condos at under $100,000 US. Wait – that has got to be a typo. No, my husband assured me, as he reminded me how to read prices posted in yen and translate them into our familiar US currency. I found a “3 LDK” for about $89,000 (LDK stands for living, dining and kitchen – Japan does not list the number of bedrooms as we do states-side; however, real estate listings typically show a diagram of the apartment, and thus one can easily note the number of bedrooms. It is interesting to note that one such “bedroom” is reserved as a “tatami” room, which is used for entertainment in the traditional Japanese home. Of course, depending on one's needs, this room can also be used as a bedroom). Looking a bit further, now with increasing interest, I found an ad for a 3 LDK condo with a beach view for $79,000. Are you kidding me? With a view on the beach? This has got to be a mistake! In Japan? Where things are supposed to be “expensive”? The ad even had thumbnail images of that view on the beach. To say that I could not believe my eyes is an understatement.
We did not have time to walk in and discuss the ad with the real estate salesman, nor to ask relevant questions, such as the age and condition of the condo, property taxes, condo fees, insurance, etc. But you can be sure that on our next trip, we will perform due diligence on all these issues.
Courtesy: It is almost axiomatic that Japanese people are courteous. Everywhere you go in Japan, from the gas station attendant to the bus boy, everyone bows and says “Hai!” the English equivalent of “Yes, Sir.” While in the United States, we have become ever more casual in our interactions with each other, not so in Japan, which maintains a level of courtesy rival to none. In fact, even the aircraft marshaller, after going through the necessary maneuvers to guide a plane to its appropriate dock, bows deeply when he is finished. I suppose many would deride such courtesy as phony, but it cannot be denied that these simple acts are extremely pleasant, and are the social grease of society's wheels. I, for one, revel in such luxuries, and find such an environment one of the highlights of living.
To be sure, Japan has a few disadvantages. The weather is not always sunny; there is smog in the cities; traffic can be horrendous at times, and highway tolls are quite high. Japan is far from the States, which makes visiting States-side family and friends difficult. There is the language barrier: not everyone speaks English in Japan. Television programming is mostly Japanese. There is the so-called culture shock. But for each such disadvantage, the adventurous would find solutions: a retiree might enjoy teaching English, a quite lucrative enterprise; one might decide not to battle traffic during rush hours, or use the back roads instead of the highways. One might either enjoy the four seasons, or simply move to a warmer part of Japan. But for each disadvantage, one might say that no country is perfect.
Japan may be a place affording a safe lifestyle, replete with activities, friends, good food and an economical retirement.
Japan – up for consideration as a retirement destination.
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