RetireJapan

Gulliver wrote: ↑Wed Aug 02, 2023 12:08 pm...Owning an automobile and paying for its related expenses is not necessary. ...

I understand and would generally agree with this point.

I'd also point out that outside the cities/areas where that is the case (where a car could be more expensive), owning/running a car is not very expensive.

Wife and I are both retired, and we still have our own cars--both older (the cars, that is...). One cost that has always seemed cheap is insurance. We each pay a bit over ¥40k/yr, I think my current contract, good for three years, is ¥42k and change. No, that doesn't include "collision" (so repair cost for our own cars is out-of-pocket in case of an accident), but at least comparing to the US costs I've heard (my sibs), that's a deal--well over $1000/yr is 'normal' there. ((And I get 'hit' with a higher price, since I'm now over 70. Previously, it was about ¥5000/yr cheaper.))

Another aspect is the cost of gas. Tho expensive, and perhaps shockingly so on comparative charts and graphs, even when working/commuting I never got close the the average mileage driven by someone in the US. It costs more on paper, but it still costs less in practice. And even in our situation of having two cars, any trip to the big cities will be on a train. No big holiday weekend driving trips, and there isn't what the US calls "the summer driving season", where summer plans might be affected by varying pump prices.

captainspoke wrote: ↑Wed Aug 02, 2023 8:47 pm Another aspect is the cost of gas.

Not to mention the amazing variety of “Kei cars/vans/trucks,” if you absolutely must have an automobile. Along with an incredibly inexpensive purchase price, you’ll get approximately 50-80 mpg fuel efficiency. Also, they are very cute .

captainspoke wrote: ↑Wed Aug 02, 2023 8:47 pm

Another aspect is the cost of gas. Tho expensive, and perhaps shockingly so on comparative charts and graphs ...

If you are from the UK the gas here is reasonably cheap! Which, I guess is another point Ben could make when pointing out that you can live for less here than in the UK. I completely agree with him - I find the cost of living here now to be much lower than in the UK. When I first arrived in Japan over two decades ago I thought it was quite expensive here, but until very, very recently things here have barely changed in price!

I'm just back from three weeks in the UK. It was really really really cheap. It is insane how much more expensive food and grocery shopping here is in comparison. Oh for a Lidl in Japan, or even an Asda or Tesco. Food is so much cheaper in the UK - veggies, bread, meats, cheese, fruit, drinks, .... even rice is cheaper. We ate like kings.

I didn't see the FB post, anyone got a link?

edit - found it - bit of a train wreck argument!

Deep Blue wrote: ↑Thu Aug 03, 2023 3:06 pm I'm just back from three weeks in the UK. It was really really really cheap. It is insane how much more expensive food and grocery shopping here is in comparison. Oh for a Lidl in Japan, or even an Asda or Tesco. Food is so much cheaper in the UK - veggies, bread, meats, cheese, fruit, drinks, .... even rice is cheaper. We ate like kings.

I didn't see the FB post, anyone got a link?

edit - found it - bit of a train wreck argument!

In fairness I haven't been back to the UK in 3 and a half years and when I do go I tend to be in holiday mode so eating out and socialising more which might make it seem more expensive. But unless we are talking very high-end places in Japan, restaurants always seem to cost much more in the UK. Exchange rate also plays a huge part as in all my time in Japan the pound has been everything from ¥117 to ¥259! Interestingly my UK friends who have visited the US and Canada recently have been commenting on how expensive those places are.

Those of us with cost of living allowances beg you all to stop talking….shhh….nothing to see here…..move along….everything is so expensive in Japan….

goodandbadjapan wrote: ↑Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:29 pm
In fairness I haven't been back to the UK in 3 and a half years and when I do go I tend to be in holiday mode so eating out and socialising more which might make it seem more expensive. But unless we are talking very high-end places in Japan, restaurants always seem to cost much more in the UK. Exchange rate also plays a huge part as in all my time in Japan the pound has been everything from ¥117 to ¥259! Interestingly my UK friends who have visited the US and Canada recently have been commenting on how expensive those places are.

I agree, restaurants are quite a bit more expensive in the UK. I was talking more about grocery shopping than dining out.

SLW wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2023 12:55 am Those of us with cost of living allowances beg you all to stop talking….shhh….nothing to see here…..move along….everything is so expensive in Japan….

Haha. Are they calculating based on 1998?
Or do they choose the expat-in-Azabu style of living to give you the COLA? Parking for the Range Rover, imported cheese and wine (not Chilean, of course), international schools etc etc

Deep Blue wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2023 1:14 am
I agree, restaurants are quite a bit more expensive in the UK. I was talking more about grocery shopping than dining out.

Some things are definitely cheaper in the UK. Fruit and veg would be high on that list. Cheese too. (Gyomu super is decently-priced, but not Lidl-level).
Domestic travel in Japan has always been a bit pricey, so by comparison traveling within the UK seems reasonable.

But cost of living includes other things, like housing, utilities, eating out, transportation.
Housing costs in many places in the UK are just insane.
I also think that company-subsidized train passes here are a huge bonus. 5,000 pounds a year to get into London from some commuter towns in the south-east.

It's been a while (10yrs or more, so when the yen was stronger), and I never went, but the teachers who were 引率者 for student groups that went to london complained that the per diem didn't cover the basics of being there as an escort.