Apartments: Furnished or Non Furnished

[phlizmo]

So I think I have decided on Ebisu to be a place to start looking.

Im planning on being there for 3 years and was wondering about what type of apartment to get.
On my previous stays I have enjoyed the business apartments that are fully furnished, but of course there was no room for adding your own"style"
I have also seen photos of furnished apartments with bookcases filled with books. Am I to understand that these books are furnished? I'm assuming these rental companies
are probably not into folks hanging their own photos, pictures, paintings, putting holes in the walls etc...

Im not bringing any furniture of my own. What are your experiences with the different types of furnished and non furnished apartments? Are there unfurnished apartments come with Washer and Dryer and fridge, or would I have to buy that stuff?

[Samurai_Jerk]

Are there unfurnished apartments come with Washer and Dryer and fridge, or would I have to buy that stuff?

You'd generally have to buy that stuff. You could get it second hand for pretty cheap but since you have a housing allowance, if you can find something furnished that meets your needs and is within budget, you're better off going with that. However, if you're looking for something spacious, furnished with decent stuff, and located somewhere centrally like Ebisu, 300,000 a month might not be enough. From what I've seen (I'll admit my experience is limited to places my friends have lived), furnished housing seems to come in two categories: shoes boxes or very expensive housing for expats with large allowances. Are you getting any relocation money?

[Wage Slave]

300,000 a month might not be enough.

For a young single guy. Vive le un pour cent.

[Samurai_Jerk]

300,000 a month might not be enough.

For a young single guy. Vive le un pour cent.

A fully furnished apartment close to Ebisu Station with enough space for both uncluttered living and a "considerable amount" of musical equipment could easily go over that budget. Maybe I'm over estimating how much gear he (she?) actually has, but I'm assuming he'd need at least 60 m2 which for a normal unfurnished apartment in that area would start in the low two hundreds. Yes, you can find bait-and-switch ads online that are cheaper but it's best to be realistic.

[Wage Slave]

300,000 a month might not be enough.

For a young single guy. Vive le un pour cent.

A fully furnished apartment close to Ebisu Station with enough space for both uncluttered living and a "considerable amount" of musical equipment could easily go over that budget. Maybe I'm over estimating how much gear he (she?) actually has, but I'm assuming he'd need at least 60 m2 which for a normal unfurnished apartment in that area would start in the low two hundreds. Yes, you can find bait-and-switch ads online that are cheaper but it's best to be realistic.

Yes. I don't doubt it. Another world.

[wagyl]

I am reminded of the story told by someone I used to work with, a kikokushijo with a college degree from America, back when she was working as an executive's assistant at a gaishikei. Part of her job was lining up the rentals for the constant revolving door of her bosses sent from HQ. The damage to her morale in having to organise leases for more than her salary never did take precedence over the damage to the executive's morale if they were to live in an appropriate way for Tokyo, as opposed to reproducing a bit of European lifestyle in Japan.

The life of the local hire is and I suppose always will be different from the life of those on an expat package. They get to see and experience things differently too. Each has positive and negative sides.

One thing that hasn't been said and should be in this multitude of threads, is that no matter how much you might want to specify an area yourself, a lot of the decision comes down to what places are available at the time. If you get what you want where you want, you should consider yourself very lucky. Usually, compromise is necessary somewhere. Also I hope that the OP is putting similar questions to his relocation consultants: his employer is paying a pretty large fee for the service so he should use it fully. And I am pretty certain that they will not particularly appreciate random input from the internet interfering with their process, no matter how well intentioned it is.

[phlizmo]

I consider having a workstation desk with audio gear on and around the immediate area of the desk plus space for a large bookshelf and a few guitars on stands. I have about 6. Oh I'm a guy btw..

Im on a 3 year expat contract with the option to negotiate a local hire at the end. Im getting a housing allowance each month of 300,000 plus us to japan cost of living increase as well as relocation and flight covered. I was looking at a few website and saw some good 1 bd for just around 300,00 or more. Of course I can always pay a bit more should I desire it. but the places I saw looked really nice. They did give me a sheet to fill out asking what i was looking for. I didn't know what I should be looking for so I appreciate the advice.

[kurogane]

I would suggest going unfurnished. Japanese furniture is crap, ugly, built for their bodies not ours and even the expat furniture I have seen looked like a myopic immigrant grandmother picked it out for her granddaughter's dowry. Plus, unfurnished means you get more room for less rent. Expat rentals are nearly a scam they are so overpriced and ghettofied; they're for fat and 50 corporate rubes with a fat naggy wife and 2 mildly retarded fat kids in pastel coloured polo shirts. You sound like your brain works rather well and aren't a tool, which is rather rare for an expat, btw ( ), so why not do what you can to enjoy the adventure? You've got a very nice cushion to work with, so I say: Work with it, Grasshopper. All meant in a caustically friendly way, btw...

If you were to drop 500,000 yen at Ikea in Chiba you could get nice enough stuff in the style and size you want and avoid the flowery tack motif. Also, and since you've been here before but maybe on shorter terms, as a reference I could easily furnish an apartment rather nicely for less than 80,000 yen, and double that would make it a friggin' palace. All you need is a good home centre, a saw, some basic tools and an imagination. That is said with the knowledge that we move on different levels of housing and perhaps even levels of Busyness with work and life.

[Samurai_Jerk]

If you were to drop 500,000 yen at Ikea in Chiba you could get nice enough stuff

That's the same number I had in mind for furnishing a place. Of course you could spend a lot more or a lot less. For reference check prices at Ikea Japan's English website: http://www.ikea.com/jp/en/. For appliance have a look at http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/kaden/index.jsp (Japanese).

Phlizmo, since you're also getting relocation assistance and might stay on beyond the three years, I definitely recommend an unfurnished place. If you have to spend a few extra thousand dollars out of pocket, best to do it on an expat package than later if you do decided to stay as a local hire.

By the way, just in case you haven't heard, the upfront costs of moving into a place can be pretty high here. You of course have to pay the first month's rest and a one or two month rent deposit. However, you also often have to pay a month's rent as a fee to the real estate agent who finds you the apartment and one or two month's rent to the landlord as key money. The reason I'm telling you this is that if becoming a local hire after three years means you'll have to move to a cheaper place, you might want to ask for relocation assistance at the end of your contract even if you decide to stay (I'm assuming they'll provide it if you return to wherever home is).

[kurogane]

If you were to drop 500,000 yen at Ikea in Chiba you could get nice enough stuff

That's the same number I had in mind for furnishing a place. 　　　　.

Yeah. Like you mentioned I think, I have seen a few expat apartments in central Tokyo over the years: actually quite nice buildings and layouts furnished with the most godawful Guidofied furniture this side of a bad 50s TV show. I am rather minimalist but I do like some dark brown leather stuff to flop on, a really good desk setup and a proper bed. And a fridge big enough to hold those 24 packs of ice cold bottles of Bud.........

Great advice about planning for the future there, btw. With a package like that to start, the OP could get setup quite nicely should he decide he likes it and stays on. At least get the stuff accumulated whilst on the teat in readiness for the move downhill after 3 years.


BTW, OP, you could easily make a nice guitar rack for about 3000 yen. They're called Sunoko (closet palettes); you buy enough of them and screw them together and put hooks in 'em. Unless you have some special requisites for your axes.

[Dreamy_Peach]

I was in a furnished expat place at a similar price point. Actually the furnishings were alright. Bit of a hotel feel, but liveable. The only problem was the pillows, which stunk. I bought some new one's myself. Other than that it was a good deal really.

For 3 years, I would probably go furnished. Paying good money on fridges, beds, tvs, sofas, irons, washing machines etc etc. is just silly for a 3 year stint. You always end up spending more anyway as you upgrade things and laziness kicks in. I could never be bothered fishing around second hand stores etc, and would just buy brand new for convenience. It's just stupid frankly.

[Grumpy Gramps]

Many local renting agencies/landlords can arrange things like washing machines, fridges, TVs or microwaves, which you probably don't want to buy and possibly cannot sell at the end of your lease. Won't be top of the line, but you wouldn't need to lug them about and the fees should be reasonable.