Possible relocation to Osaka

Hi All,

I am currently living in Saudi Arabia but may have an opportunity to work in Osaka. I am hoping I can have some of my questions answered?

1. I am struggling to find an web site with apartments for rent around the airport region. Can someone advise some good sites?

2. What is a good salary that will ensure comfortable life in Osaka, rent, food, some entertainment and to save some money?

3. How difficult is it to live with only knowing English?

4. I have read parking is expensive but is actually owning a car expensive. How long do you have to live there before you can get car finance?

5.Is it easy enough to get a dependant visa to go with my work visa?

6. Are there any Western easterlies or food shopping markets?

7. Are there mosquitos in Osaka?

1 how about this website ?
https://suumo.jp/chintai/
But it is always written in Japanese. And if information of real estate is written in English, most of information is relating to luxury real estate.
So, you can contact me to find suitable one. I may be able to act as interpreter for you.
2 It will be 300,000 yen per a month.
3  There are many such persons. So, it is possible.
5 It defers depending on amount of your salary.
7 Yes.

The best and easiest way to find an apartment is to visit property agents directly. You can only see so much from a website but getting out to see the places and what is in their vicinity and public transport is more important.

Salary really depends on your skills and arrangement but 400,00 Yen and above is a good starting point . If housing is included then all the better. You can get around fine with speaking only English since these days more and more younger people can speak some degree of English. As you settle in you will begin to learn words and phrases that will make things easier. At most train stations there is staff who speak some basic English.

Used cars are surprising cheap, I have foreign friends who have ordinary jobs in Japan but drive a Toyota Alphard. So for small cars which are secondhand it really is not expensive. Yes parking can be expensive. It might be better to get a motorbike or just use public transportation.

There are lots of western eateries. The Japanese enjoy western food and you can always find Italian restaurants, Chinese, Korean, French and Indian restaurants nearby. To note is that in general the quality of food in these restaurants is superior to those in other Asian countries. I think that any foreign restaurant that does not deliver will soon go out of business.

Osaka has lots of wet markets, food markets, supermarkets, department stores, electronic stores and department stores. There are also convenience stores around every corner throughout the city as well as allover Japan. That is why choosing a good location is important.

There are mosquitoes in Osaka but they never really bother me. By the way, Osaka is an excellent place to live being so close to other great cities like Kyoto, Kobe, Nara and Himeji. Public transport is very good and especially easy when you have a prepaid card such as Icoca, Suica or Pasmo.

"Salary really depends on your skills and arrangement but 400,00 Yen"

Just in case.
It will be "Salary really depends on your skills and arrangement but 400,000 Yen" per a month.

Thanks for the great reply.

Of course I will visit the places before deciding, I will be working just over the bridge from the Airport, so would be looking for a nice location on the train line or close by.

For me I have always been a fan of the old 90's sports cars and would probably want to own one again. Are there still many of them out there or is it rare to find now? I know there is lots of auctions (which I cant wait to give a try)

Are the older cars expensive to get through the tests etc?

Really cannot answer you as most of my friends have newer model cars. Of course everyone would love to own an old Mazda or Toyota sports car but not sure. Hopefully you can find some websites with used cars to get an idea of prices.