Teach English--What company to select?

I worked a year at GEOS and two years at AEON, I don't think that I would recommend them as good employers. Your main job at both of them isn't really to teach english, its to sell overpriced lessons and textbooks to students. The amount of things you sell is the only measure that the management uses to judge your ability as a teacher, so it can be a stressful job.

On the other hand, the 250000 yen per month they pay is more than adequate to get by on in Japan. Plus they'll get you a visa, no problem. After working for them, I was able to find much better, more relaxing work and am enjoying life in Japan much more. Contrary to what Ninja rock star says, I"ve heard nothing but bad things about NOVA from the teachers I've met, and I spent four years in the army so I know a little about hard (or in this case, plain lousy) jobs. I would recommend them even less than GEOS or AEON.

I live in a fairly spacious 4 room apartment in a nice quiet neighborhood and only pay 70,000 yen per month for it. I'm a 15 minute bike ride from the downtown train station in a mid sized city. Of course if you live right in downtown Tokyo you are going to pay ludicrous prices for crappy little apartments, so the obvious answer is to avoid Tokyo at all costs.

Glensky, Thanks for the info, I still have no clue how much I need per month.

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That's Glenski, with an i, please.

I have a breakdown of monthly expenses on Excel if you want it. Just send me an email. ghill18299@aol.com

Basically, it goes like this.

Average rent = 50,000 - 70,000 yen/month
Average utilities = 15,000 yen/month
Average groceries = 30,000 - 40,000 yen/month
Average phone bill = 5000 - 8000 yen/month
National Health Insurance (1st year only) = 2,500 yen/month

Practically everything else is extra.
Reading material
Haircuts
Emergency medical treatment
Flights home
Movies
Video rentals
Snacks
Nighttime entertainment
Sightseeing
Film costs
Replacement stuff (batteries, clothing, note paper, etc.)
Cable or satellite TV
Long distance and local calls (neither are free)
Local transportation (often paid by employer)
Souvenirs
Shipping and postage (for letters, postcards, and gifts)

Figure on burning about half of your 250,000 yen paycheck on basics. Going out a couple times a week for moderate drinking will run 30,000 - 50,000 yen/month. Snacks could run an additional 10,000 yen/month (that's just a Coke and munchie per day on average).

For more details, just ask.