True or false: The majority of Nagoya JETs live alone in mansions.
Answer: TRUE!!!
How many other jobs allow you to live in a mansion within the first month? Well, before you get too caught up with visions of Grecian columns and swimming pools, remember that in Japan apartments are often referred to by the Japanized-English word mansion (which we, incidentally, took from the French, so let's not claim any copyright laws here). We're talking about a couple of rooms here, not palatial estates? Sorry!
However, it is at least a mansion of your choice. Unlike JETs in other locales, we are not provided with a ready-made apartment in Nagoya. In the long run, this works out better for us because we get a higher salary, and we get to decide where and how we want to live. Our situation comes with a few inconveniences in the beginning, but it offers us much more freedom for the rest of our time here.
Soon after your arrival in Nagoya, renewing JETs will walk you through the process of finding an apartment, or of taking over the apartment
of a departing JET, if that is what you prefer. We have real estate agents to show you the apartments, Japanese supervisors to help you
with the formalities of leasing, and a network of resources to help you furnish your new digs. Finding your own apartment may sound
intimidating, but it's really not very hard. We've all gotten through it, and you will too.
We'll also show you some of our places so you can get an idea of what's available in Nagoya, and begin deciding how you want to live. There is really no hurry to move in right away, so take your time and find a place that makes you happy. Until you do, enjoy your host family's home-cooked meals. Some JETs in the past have stayed with their family for months...
Rent in Nagoya is not cheap, but it is much cheaper than rent in Tokyo (or New York or London for that matter). For a decent place,
you can expect to pay anywhere from ¥60,000-¥80,000/month. Steep? Yes, but considering the size of our paychecks, it's well within
our range. You can have your own crib, go out and have fun, and still send a lot of your paycheck home.
Yet you should be aware that Japanese move-in costs are extreme. If you find your apartment through a professional realtor, they will usually charge you a "finder's fee" anywhere between a half to one-month's rent. Your Japanese landlords (like landlords back home) will want a security deposit on your apartment, usually equal to two or three months rent. ON TOP OF THAT, some Japanese landlords also want "key money" (a non-refundable move-in fee) from new tenants, usually equal to one-month's rent.
Was that thud the sound of your jaw dropping on the floor? The equivalent of 3-6 months rent just for move-in fees?!?! Possibly, but NOT
necessarily — IF you make wise decisions at the beginning of your time here. So, DON'T PANIC! You don't HAVE to use a real estate agent,
and you don't HAVE to pay key money (you can try to negotiate, or go elsewhere). You will have to pay a security deposit, but not all at once.
Most landlords will let you spread your security deposit payments out over 2 or 3 months.
Finally, some landlords will try to treat security deposits as a kind of second key money, refunding little or none of it back to the tenant. The best insurance against this practice is to go with a landlord that other JETs know and trust, and there are plenty of those.