Because getting permission to live there is arguibly harder than becoming rich.
I followed PewDiePie and even for him it took massive effort and many years.
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Because getting permission to live there is arguibly harder than becoming rich.
I followed PewDiePie and even for him it took massive effort and many years.
Don't buy these old japanese houses, they're literally made of mud and sticks and have absolutely fuck all for insulation.
Living in nature is all fun and games until you're expected to sleep in 50 degree weather while your split unit struggles to keep your paper box of a bedroom cool.
Most of the time the closest hospital is like 2-3 hours away on a bus that only comes twice a day, so you better hope you never get in an accident cause the ambulance won't come for hours and your only other hope is the only other person in neighborhood: your 90 year old neighbor who you're not sure is even still alive.
Source: lived in one for multiple years.
Edit: also when I say old I mean as soon as 1995 Before they majorly overhauled the earthquake and insulation codes nationally
for $3k i'd buy it just for the land it sits on. who cares about the house
Right? That'd be a solid investment for someone with enough money to replace/remodel the house
Land in Japan only appreciates in large cities. If you buy it now at 3k it'll be worth 2k in 30 years.
Sounds like Totoro. Here's you 3k I'm in.
Sounds perfect honestly.
The catch is that rural Japan is a a shithole rife with xenophobia, privacy violations, bullying, and problematic neighbors. And that's for ethnically Japanese people, so it's be way worse if you were actually a foreigner.
There's a reason why people in Japan try so hard to move away from rural areas into cities.
Universal truth I think
Can't tell if the way small minded bigots stay away from the best parts of every country is a fun coincidence or causal.
I read a while back, a testimony from someone who grew up in small town America and then moved into the city when they were older. They explained that there is a lot of indoctrination against "cityfolk" because it's largely used as a scapegoat. As city dwellers tend to be more progressive due to their heightened social stimulation, this leads a lot of small-towners to hate the idea of progress
What kind of privacy violations? Do the neighbors peek into your windows?
As others in this thread have said, buying a property in Japan doesn't extend your Visa or grant you residence in the country. This would be a waste of time if you didn't already have that lined up. However, there are countries that do. Some have what's called the Golden Visa program, or Investor/Real Estate Visa program (there are other names, but if you're doing a search, this should turn up decent results). Here's a list of some countries that do this, and the minimum amount you need to spend.
Portugal - Golden Visa Investment - €500,000 ($540k USD) or €350,000 ($380k USD) for lower population areas, or properties that need to be renovated Residency benefits - Residency permit for 5 years, with the opportunity to apply for permanent residency after that
Spain - Golden Visa Investment - €500,000 ($540k USD) Residency benefits - Residency permit for 1 year, renewable as long as you own the property, and you can apply for permanent residency after 5 years
Greece - Golden Visa Investment - €250,000 ($270k USD) Residency benefits - Residency permit for 5 years, renewable as long as you own the property, and you can apply for permanent residency after 7 years
Thailand - Thailand Elite Visa Investment - THB 1,000,000 (about $30k USD) for a 5 year Visa Residency benefits - Renewable every 5 years with no residency requirement
Ecuador - Investor Visa Investment - $42,500 in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you permanent residency
Malaysia - Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Investment - RM 1 million (about $240k USD) in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you a 10 year renewable Visa
Philippines - Special Resident Retiree Visa Investment - $50k in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you permanent residency
When I was looking into bailing on the US, I made a Libre Office spreadsheet with like 70 countries and all this info plus a bunch of other personal requirements for what I was looking for, so some of it may be outdated. Hell, some of it may be straight up incorrect, so feel free to double check it.
Portugal doesn't have a property based golden ticket visa as of October 2023 due to concerns that it was affecting real estate prices in cities like Lisbon and Porto. But you can still donate 250K euro in cash or invest 500K euro in a local business that leads to job creation (among a couple other investment options). Another option for Portugal is the D7 visa, which requires you to live in the country 6 months the year for 5 years, but requires foreign income of 10K euro per year. Either way, after 5 years, you're eligible to apply for citizenship.
Thanks for the info! I was unaware of the Spain and Portugal options, so looked it up.
Spain ended their program in January, with application deadline April 3.
Potugal ended their real estate version, but still has investment options.
That's... shockingly affordable if you already have equity in some real estate
The Japanese government and culture hates foreigner. Unless you or your parents have Japanese citizenship, you're going to have a hard time.
My experience as a tourist with Japanese friends...
Foreigners (like me) have a chip on our shoulders. That whole attitude of "Well guess they don't want my money" isn't really big there. Outside of Tokyo, foreigners get kicked out of places all the time. Often it's done politely to avoid embarrassment.
And a foreigner swinging around cash going, "Why can't I buy this" will quickly get a polite "It is not our way as Japanese", which really means "fuck off".
Yeah, it's probably the sense of entitlement. Be respectful and you won't have issues.
You’d die when the next big earthquake or landslide hits that home. Or when Sadako crawls out of your TV
With house prices that good, I can't afford not to die!
That place is either haunted or home to some nature spirits. Either way thwy'll fuck you up.
So I can live a real-life Studio Ghibli movie!?
Sounds like a deal then
Honestly seems like a more dignified way to go out than in American Civil War 2: Brain Rot Edition
Because Japanese visa will never allow for you to live there
You can get 180 days total per year in two sets of 90 so to live in this house you'd have to:
This is no way sustainable not to mention as a tourist you wouldn't have access to anything that requires full residency which is very complicated.
You can get long term visa like education or business investment or work permit etc but those are really expensive and can be very hard to get.
If you think it's a good deal, You could've bought one in Detroit for $1
Well spank my monkey.
There's a 4bd, 2bath with 2500sqft for nearing the price of the shed in Ops picture. https://www.zillow.com/detroit-mi/under-10000
Because you have to pay taxes including the very incredibly expensive purchase tax and annual property tax. And you lack a visa.
That's a 3.5k shed with no utilities is probably why. Running power, gas and plumbing to that place would cost more than a town of houses.
I'm an atheist, ghosts scare me about as much as gods do. I would use the money I spend on rent now to build a geodesic dome house. They are easy to build. Put some solar panels on it and get grid electricity for backup. If there's a house, there is probably a well on the property already. I have permanent residency in Japan. I don't care if the neighbors are racist assholes. I don't interact with my neighbors in Tokyo; I wouldn't interact with the neighbors there either. Where can I find more houses like this? I want one.
I'd have to be near retirement age while still nimble enough to renovate it and hope my pension and savings would be enough to cover the costs.
Even then, it would be difficult to navigate renovations in that environment where you don't speak the language, have no idea how their houses are supposed to be built, waste disposal and the myriad of other issues that will surely arise.
Getting a job is going to be a bitch - thus the retirement age requirement.
Getting citizenship is going to be an even bigger a bitch.
I'd be an outcast cause of my skin color and inability to communicate.