Can you live on $70k? Yes. You will likely live in a small-ish apartment and not save that much. At least to me, at $70k I felt like a failure in Tokyo. A lot of things go into that feeling.
1. Not being able to afford what I considered a "nice" apartment. Like say as nice as the one I was living in before I cam in So Cal with 2 bedrooms, a nice living room, 2 bathrooms, etc. Those apartments exist. They're probably $2500 a month a few stops out of downtown. If you move way out they can get way cheaper but then you aren't downtown.
2. Having "finance" jobs and corresponding lifestyle in front of my face. Before I moved to Japan I thought I was doing well (never compared). Once I got here, at least at the time, the English free magazines around town are all targeting expats in finance. Those people, at the time, made $300k to $1000k a year and live in $4k to $20k a month apartments provided by their comapany so their salary is even higher. At $70k I don't I can justify spending more than about $1400 a month on an apartment.
That said, if I was just out of college, even at $40k-$50k I think I'd have thought things were pretty good. In other words, "it depends" on what you find acceptable. I took a big step down in lifestyle to live here at the time.
I feel your pain. A lot of people make sacrifices for the novelty and mystique of Japan. For a short period it’s an acceptable trade for the experience but I don’t think it’s a great long term decision.
Can you live on $70k? Yes. You will likely live in a small-ish apartment and not save that much. At least to me, at $70k I felt like a failure in Tokyo. A lot of things go into that feeling.
1. Not being able to afford what I considered a "nice" apartment. Like say as nice as the one I was living in before I cam in So Cal with 2 bedrooms, a nice living room, 2 bathrooms, etc. Those apartments exist. They're probably $2500 a month a few stops out of downtown. If you move way out they can get way cheaper but then you aren't downtown.
2. Having "finance" jobs and corresponding lifestyle in front of my face. Before I moved to Japan I thought I was doing well (never compared). Once I got here, at least at the time, the English free magazines around town are all targeting expats in finance. Those people, at the time, made $300k to $1000k a year and live in $4k to $20k a month apartments provided by their comapany so their salary is even higher. At $70k I don't I can justify spending more than about $1400 a month on an apartment.
That said, if I was just out of college, even at $40k-$50k I think I'd have thought things were pretty good. In other words, "it depends" on what you find acceptable. I took a big step down in lifestyle to live here at the time.