Search found 1 match

by ommatea
Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:53 pm
Forum: Forum 1. From Questions About ISS & Search to Anything and Everything About International Teaching
Topic: Package
Replies: 9
Views: 9611

Re: Package

I don't know all the details of your situation, so I don't know if my perspective will apply.

While the chance to live in Tokyo is a difficult one to pass up, I do know that most schools in Japan listed on SEARCH do not advise a family of four to expect to be able to live on one income--which is essentially what you are being offered considering that there is no housing allowance and housing will cost around 200,000 yen or more per month.

I also do not think that US citizens have two years in which they are not required to pay taxes.

The teachers that I work with who do not have a housing allowance and whose spouses only work part-time offset the expense of living in Tokyo with the following:

--additional income streams (i.e. summer school, tutoring, coaching, wedding officiating, online businesses)
--sending their children to Japanese schools so that they can avoid the taxes on the "free tuition". These taxes are a significant expense even for one child. Japanese schools are high quality and work well for children who have a long-term relationship with Japan and the need to acquire Japanese fluency. I would not romanticize the experience for children who do not fit this category. It is not an easy adjustment, and I have only seen it work well for highly gifted non-Japanese children (the younger, the better).

You do have some potential workarounds if you have enough of your own resources to give you the time you need to set them up:
--If your workload at the school is manageable, you can find additional employment fairly easily if you are resourceful.
--If your spouse is a qualified teacher, there are many, many international schools in Tokyo. Some families arrive for one job and the spouse is able to find a full-time job within a year or two. You may have to be careful about visa sponsorship. If the school is offering her a visa based on your visa, she may only be legally allowed to work 20 hours/week. Thus, if she finds a position in a different school, she will need to ask them to sponsor her visa. Some schools (the top tiers) are quite generous about this; others are not.

My other question would be: What's your exit strategy? If you just want two years of an unforgettable adventure in an amazing city, how and where will you transition next and will you have the resources you need at that time to make that transition? Also, will this move build your credentials and career?

I wish you and your family all the best as you make this decision. I have been in a similar situation, and I know these kinds of decisions are really difficult to make. How do you turn down an amazing opportunity that you are not sure you can afford?