Gaijin Retirement in Japan

[ArmandV]

No worries, that was just my opinion. I don't think that I would live here beyond say 68.

Well, your opinion is as valid as anyone's. But didn't you hear that 60 is the "new 45?"

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

The place where I want to try to live in in old age, Japan.
Candidate 1
Ito of Izu
It is warm in winter
A lot of ONSEN.
I can enjoy the sea, a mountain.
Appetite materials of the sea and a mountain are cheap and are delicious.
It is 50 minutes by the Sinkansen from Atami to Tokyo.

Candidate 2
Yatsugatake area of Yamanashi .
The place where nature is quiet beautifully
There are many an art museum, ONSEN.
To Tokyo and Nagoya, Nagano,There is a highway to access.
By a train,It is two hours to Tokyo,It is 2 hours 30 minutes to Nagoya.

A weekday lives in a city and
Many people live on the weekend here.

 

[ArmandV]

The place where I want to try to live in in old age, Japan.
Candidate 1
Ito of Izu
It is warm in winter
A lot of ONSEN.
I can enjoy the sea, a mountain.
Appetite materials of the sea and a mountain are cheap and are delicious.
It is 50 minutes by the Sinkansen from Atami to Tokyo.
Candidate 2
Yatsugatake area of Yamanashi.
The place where nature is quiet beautifully
There are many an art museum, ONSEN.
To Tokyo and Nagoya, Nagano,There is a highway to access.
By a train,It is two hours to Tokyo,It is 2 hours 30 minutes to Nagoya.
A weekday lives in a city and
Many people live on the weekend here.

Hiroyuki-san, thank you for the tips! Maybe the next time I go to Japan, I'll scout those locations out. Atami is also on my list. I've been there twice and l like the town.

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Other than it
Ranking of the place where a Japanese wants to live in in an old age
1.Okinawa
2.Hokkaido
3.Tokyo
An area warm in winter

Boso Peninsula of Chiba
Here,
Land is near to Tokyo widely,
Narita Airport is near.

Wakayama, Ki Peninsula
There is a deep forest, and water is delicious
An ancient Japanese holy place

Shikoku , Kochi
As for the sea, the Kuroshio Current, abundant fish are produced.

Kyushu
HYUGA of Miyazaki OR Kirishima
Camping place of winter of professional baseball
There is much ONSEN, too.

Other than it
In the area of a SETO inland sea, there is much fine weather
It is Mediterranean climate.
In Shodo-shima, an olive is cultivated.

At an ancient city,
Kamakura, Kanazawa are good.

My favorite area
It is a Tanba area of Kyoto .
There are many old private houses,
It is a quiet place.

 

[ArmandV]

I am beginning to lean towards possibly going to Japan on a work visa (probably doing the English conversation gig) after my daughter graduates from college. She is in her sophomore year. I figure that would help me get my foot in the door and make a transition to retirement status (then again, who knows, I may want to continue working after I reach retirement age and my U.S. pension/annuities/social security kick in) easier.

 

[Pachipro]

To me, Japan is not the best place to retire though. Very expensive, and as mentioned before, the elderly care is lacking. Maybe ok for the first few years of retirement, but you may want to reconsider staying for the rest of your life.

May not be the best per se, but it still home to me. If my wife out lives me, then I will be there for the rest of my life. If she departs first, I'll definitely reconsider it unless I find a younger woman (50-60ish say) interested in an older man! Hopefully elderly care will much improve by the time I need it!

I am beginning to lean towards possibly going to Japan on a work visa (probably doing the English conversation gig) after my daughter graduates from college. She is in her sophomore year. I figure that would help me get my foot in the door and make a transition to retirement status (then again, who knows, I may want to continue working after I reach retirement age and my U.S. pension/annuities/social security kick in) easier.

The work visa would be the best "in" you could get I think and would definitely recommend it. Hopefully some places will still hire people our age for a work visa to teach as I know they still have age limits in a majority of their ads. Thankfully I won't need one. So far.

 

[ArmandV]

The work visa would be the best "in" you could get I think and would definitely recommend it. Hopefully some places will still hire people our age for a work visa to teach as I know they still have age limits in a majority of their ads. Thankfully I won't need one. So far.

Since Asians revere elders a lot more than other western societies, we should be okay. We've got plenty of time to plan and think it out.

If I get too fed-up in my current job as an insurance claims examiner, I can always do a career change a lot sooner. But I won't make any kind of change or move until my daughter is out of college.

 

[Iron Chef]

Quality-teachers are always in demand regardless of their age. Besides, if all else fails and you still need an "in", I can do the visa cert for you through my business. Just some paperwork on my part-no biggie, although you would have to arrange to come here in person at least once to hammer out the details. You can then do with it as you wish. At least it's an option should all else fail. Looks like i've cast my lot here in Fukuoka after purchasing my first home so i'll be around for awhile to watch my investment grow...

 

[Pachipro]

Since Asians revere elders a lot more than other western societies, we should be okay. We've got plenty of time to plan and think it out.

Good point there. Let's hope it stays that way.

If I get too fed-up in my current job as an insurance claims examiner, I can always do a career change a lot sooner. But I won't make any kind of change or move until my daughter is out of college.

Good move. Make sure the off-spring are ok first.
Thankfully I still enjoy very much what I am doing for the moment and the pay is fantastic or I would already be in Japan. My salary goes directly into savings and we are living off my wife's salary so money will not be a problem for many years. The house and cars are paid for and, coupled with 401k and SS, we should live quite comfortably regardless of the cost of living.

 

[Pachipro]

Quality-teachers are always in demand regardless of their age. Besides, if all else fails and you still need an "in", I can do the visa cert for you through my business. Just some paperwork on my part-no biggie, although you would have to arrange to come here in person at least once to hammer out the details. You can then do with it as you wish. At least it's an option should all else fail. Looks like i've cast my lot here in Fukuoka after purchasing my first home so i'll be around for awhile to watch my investment grow...

Thanks for that info Iron Chef. It's good to know that quality teachers are still in demand regardless of age.

Also, it's very kind of you and very much appreciated for offering a visa! Also it's something I will definitely keep in mind! How about that Armand V!

The only problem I forsee having in Japan is boredom if I am not working. I would have to do something and I always did enjoy teaching. Even if it is only 8-10 hours a week that would be fine with me. Besides, I do have over 15 years experience in doing it there.

Congratulations on the purchase of your home Iron Chef! If you don't mind me asking, was it much of a problem for you to purchase a house? Are you married or did you do it alone as a foreigner? Was it a hassle? Did you get a mortgage and, if so, was that much of a problem?

We could pay cash for a "mansion" or a house, but we are undecided yet if we want to purchase or rent. A Japanese magazine article my wife showed me recently said that, for people over 50, it would be cheaper in the long run to rent. Still, I like the security of ownership.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[ArmandV]

Quality-teachers are always in demand regardless of their age. Besides, if all else fails and you still need an "in", I can do the visa cert for you through my business. Just some paperwork on my part-no biggie, although you would have to arrange to come here in person at least once to hammer out the details. You can then do with it as you wish. At least it's an option should all else fail. Looks like i've cast my lot here in Fukuoka after purchasing my first home so i'll be around for awhile to watch my investment grow...

Domo arigato gozaimasu! That's real nice of you!

 

[ArmandV]

Thankfully I still enjoy very much what I am doing for the moment and the pay is fantastic or I would already be in Japan. My salary goes directly into savings and we are living off my wife's salary so money will not be a problem for many years. The house and cars are paid for and, coupled with 401k and SS, we should live quite comfortably regardless of the cost of living.

I basically enjoy what I am doing. My main beef is that office politics tends to get under my skin. The actual work (investigating, negotiating, etc.) is fun. It's the other stuff that's a drag.

If we need to, we can start our own gaijin retirement community like Leisure World. We can call it Seizure World.

 

[Iron Chef]

"Congratulations on the purchase of your home Iron Chef! If you don't mind me asking, was it much of a problem for you to purchase a house? Are you married or did you do it alone as a foreigner? Was it a hassle? Did you get a mortgage and, if so, was that much of a problem?
We could pay cash for a "mansion" or a house, but we are undecided yet if we want to purchase or rent. A Japanese magazine article my wife showed me recently said that, for people over 50, it would be cheaper in the long run to rent. Still, I like the security of ownership."

Thanks, i'm very happy with my new investment. Originally, when I was first entertaining the idea of buying a home here I had a LOT of questions and concerns. I wasn't even sure if I was legally eligible to purchase one or qualify for a loan because I was a) not Japanese, single, and lacking permanent resident status (turns out it is not necessary), b) my visa was only valid for three years at the time, and c) would it be cost-prohibitive for me as a foreigner/would I be penalized as a result? Well, everything worked out even better than I had expected and the whole process went quite smoothly (although I did have to rely on the help of others with most of the paperwork).

Low-interest rates certainly help and after searching dilligently in my area for three months (and pooling all my contacts and their resources) I was able to find an amazing property that had just been offered up. A thirteen year-old house with no prior tenants, used only for storage and built as a second-home by the original owner... good as new! Located less than five minutes by foot to the local Nishitetsu train station it's conveniently located for my work on my way to Fukuoka (i'm about 30 minutes outside the city proper).

At any rate, I suppose i'm pretty lucky to be in the position i'm in right now and my only advice is that if you do decide to eventually buy or build a new property then the options available to you are quite varied. I'm ceratinly no realty expert but from what I can tell, the markets pretty much bottomed out and a lot of the newer mansions and whatnot tend to lose their value after the first couple of years (not to mention having to pay additional maintenance fees which can be pretty steep sometimes).

It all comes down to finding the right kind of property you're looking for, selecting a realtor and proper lending institution, then jumping through all the necessary hoops to make it happen. In essence, a lot of research and footwork canvassing what's available. You should be able to qualify for a loan, so no worries there as long as your credit holds up. Also, you might consider finding an older house (10 years or more) with good documentation and then rennovate or build on as you see fit to increase the property value if you're planning on staying for the long-term. Aside from being a worthy investment, it will make your living in Japan all the much more satisfying. Hope that helps in some way.

 

[ArmandV]

This should be an easy one (I hope!). Suppose you are an American (or other nationality) planning to work in Japan. NOVA or ECC hires you as an English instructor. You are at retirement in your home country. You wish to have a bank account in which you have direct deposit set up for your Social Security or pension money. Are there banks that will allow you to have direct deposit (they all do, in your home country) and branches in Japan where you have access to that account?


[Can we "sticky" this thread so we don't have to go searching for it?]

 

[Pachipro]

I don't know if they have direct deposit, but I know you can have your checks from Social Security and investment firms mailed directly to you. Then you take the check(s) to your bank in Japan, deposit it and wait about a week for it to clear. The funds will then be deposited in yen into your account.

 

[ArmandV]

I don't know if they have direct deposit, but I know you can have your checks from Social Security and investment firms mailed directly to you. Then you take the check(s) to your bank in Japan, deposit it and wait about a week for it to clear. The funds will then be deposited in yen into your account.

I am fairly certain that Social Security does have direct deposit. I always wondered if S.S. checks could be mailed to a foreign country.

 

[Pachipro]

Yes, SS has direct depost and they will also mail you your check anywhere in the world as will the firm you have your 401k with. I was referring to Japanese banks accepting direct deposit of US checks. Maybe someone with better knowledge will be able to answer that. My wife says she doesn't know.

 

[ArmandV]

I am fairly certain that Social Security does have direct deposit. I always wondered if S.S. checks could be mailed to a foreign country.

That's why I asked if there were banks in the U.S. with branches in Japan for your S.S. to be direct deposited to and you can get at your money at a branch in Japan.

 

[ArmandV]

I found this page from the AARP with pertinent information:
Home | aarpinternational.org

I found this page from the Social Security Administration:

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10137.html#countries

 

[senseiman]

I'm only 30, so retirement is decades away for me.

Nonetheless, in my more relaxed moments I've often thought about retiring out in Japan too. Really its just daydreaming about being independently wealthy and living in a quaint little country house without any worries in the world (which is what retirement looks like when you are 30). Anyway, these sites have some neat country houses that might make a decent place to retire to someday:

http://www.furusato-net.co.jp/index.html

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ut7h-Kwgc/asahi/index.htm

 

[ArmandV]

I'm only 30, so retirement is decades away for me.

Nonetheless, in my more relaxed moments I've often thought about retiring out in Japan too.

Don't kid yourself. It is never too early to plan for your "golden years." I was your age in 1984 and it seems like yesterday. The time goes mighty quick as you get older (you'll soon find out, if you haven't already).

 

[Iron Chef]

To give you and example of what to look for, found this available online and in my area recently. Nice home and a good investment in an ideal location. Owners seem flexible and one could probably negotiate a slightly lower price.

サービス終了のお知らせ

 

[ArmandV]

To give you and example of what to look for, found this available online and in my area recently. Nice home and a good investment in an ideal location. Owners seem flexible and one could probably negotiate a slightly lower price.
サービス終了のお知らせ

With interior materials from Home Depot in Las Vegas to boot!

 

[alchow]

People were talking about retiring in other parts of Asia. May I suggest Malaysia? You can join the Malaysia My Second Home program if you are a retiree.

 

[ArmandV]

People were talking about retiring in other parts of Asia. May I suggest Malaysia? You can join the Malaysia My Second Home program if you are a retiree.

Okay, I'll bite. Why do you suggest Malaysia? What's the standard of living compared to Japan? How does its medical care compare? Is the government stable?

I've only been to Japan, so I know pretty much what to expect. And, most importantly (to me), I like it enough to want to retire there.