24-year-old American pays $238 a month for her apartment in Japan
In 2024, Lexi Smith24, Georgia worked as a teacher when he decided that he was ready for a landscape change in Atlanta.
Smith began to investigate the possibility of teaching English abroad and worked with Xplore Asia, which helps individuals get a TEFL certificate to work and work abroad.
Smith, CNBC Make It. “I didn’t like to have a compelling management that didn’t appreciate my difficulty in living in my salary.” “When I found out that I could teach for a much easier life and more culture ability abroad, I had to jump on it.”
Smith pays $ 238 a month for a single bedroom with a single bedroom apartment.
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Smith received the TEFL certificate and Xplore Asia taught her English as a foreign language in the United States while trying to find an employer abroad.
Finally, Smith received a teaching position to Eikaiwa, a private language school that focuses on speaking English in Japan’s Chiba Province, and moved in March of this year.
Chiba province is located on the Eastern Pacific Coast in the east of Tokyo of Japan. It is a four -hour driving distance from the country’s capital.
“Living in the countryside of the Chiba province is quite different than Tokyo. Things are much cheaper here. Culture is more respectful and the rice fields you see when you look around,” he says.
Instead of a oven, there is a mini grill of Smith’s kitchen.
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One of the advantages of Smith’s job was that his employer was able to secure an apartment before he went to Japan. A single bedroom with balcony, a single bathroom apartment and a cabinet that renters $ 35,000 or $ 238 per month. The apartment is also within walking distance of Smith’s school.
Smith admits to move to the rural area because he grew up in a city like Atlanta, but it was a much easier transition than he expected.
“Without knowing the language or any of here, I really act here. My family knows that I am a little wild child and I want to see the world. “They were a little nervous for me, but after I almost met my boss and seeing how ready I was, they were no longer worried.”
One of the favorite design features of Smith’s apartment is his burial cabinet.
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Smith’s employment contract includes an indispensable payment given to the landlord when renting a circle or a house, which meets the costs of some expenses such as lock money. Smith also didn’t have to make a security deposit, which in the US pays such an employer for fire insurance.
The apartment also came with a portable washer in the bathroom and uses a balcony to dry his clothes. One of the unique aspects of the apartment is that it comes with an emergency bag, such as a safety helmet required in case of events such as tsunami, fire or earthquake.
Some of Smith’s other monthly expenses include water, gas, electricity, health insurance and foods of approximately $ 376 per month.
There is a balcony in Smith’s apartment.
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Although Smith enjoyed his time in Japan, he already knows that he will return to Atlanta at the end of his one -year contract.
“I have a big piece in Japan who wants to stay more than a year in Japan, but there is a lot to see. As much as I love Japan, I can’t wait to expand myself to see the rest of the world.”
“I miss my family. You’re really rewarded, so it’s hard to be 7,000 miles away from them, but as a southern girl, I miss my soul food very much. Japan’s food is great, but at the end of the day there is no good Collard green.”
Smith is still not sure what to do when he returns to the United States, but he is thinking of returning to his master’s degree or teaching.
Orum I’m not sure what the future holds for me, but I’m excited to take every way he has, or he says.
Smith’s apartment came with an emergency kit in case of tsunamis, earthquakes and fires.
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One way to ensure that Smith benefited from the experience of living in Japan in the best way is to document his journey on social media, so he started to do three months after being replaced.
“I decided to share my experiences because people do not know how normal life is. I feel that Tokyo gets too many viewers, but not all Japan Tokyo. Many of us live in rural areas and I wanted to live regular lives. Many people think of leaving the states and I wanted to share my situation.”
Since he started to share his life in Tiktok in Japan, Smith says the reception is positive.
“A lot of people living in Japan see themselves in me. They feel like I’m sharing the authentic Japanese experience, and for me I can create this visibility where I may not exist otherwise,” he says.
“And for other people who look like me [they can] You can also feel strengthened about what they can do. I feel that learning more about the place you go and other people who do it can take some of the fear of making this movement. “
From the Japanese Yen to USD, on August 30, 2025, 147 Japanese Yen Oanda transformation rate was made up to 1 USD. All amounts rolled to the nearest dollars.
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