"Paulrus" <6oo2dy802@sneakemail.com> wrote in message
news:733c8a12.0310151355.2573fbac@posting.google.com...
> I was wondering if those of you living in or around Tokyo would care
> to settle a discussion my wife and I are having.
>
> My wife is from Japan and she and I have been talking about the cost
> of living here in Indiana.  She is worried we simply aren't earning
> enough to make ends meet and exclaimed - if we lived in Japan, things
> would be much easier because she could get a job and contribute to our
> income.

In general, cost of living and local wages are tied, so there is probably
not a lot of difference from area to area, for comparable jobs. If your wife
could work in Japan and not in the US, it might well make you more
prosperous.

But the fact that your wife can't work in the states suggests that she
doesn't have the English skills to do so. In that case she is probably very
isolated (I don't think there is a large Japanese community in Indiana), and
going back to familiar Japan probably has an allure that is not entirely
monetary. Especially if she is from Tokyo and trying to live in Indiana -- 
that's two shocks: Japan to US, and metropolis to hicksville (no offense of
course).

AFAIK, the standard pay for an English teacher in Japan is 3 million
yen/year, which is the minimum they can pay you and still give you a visa.
Lucky for you, you can get a spouse visa, so you can work even cheaper than
that.

-- 
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom