In this report, Mark shares his cost of living in Okinawa Japan. If only he knew he could retire on $1040 month in Okinawa he would have moved earlier.
Mark’s Youtube Channel: Pursuing Impact
Here is the cost of living numbers Mark shared with me:
Okinawa Average Monthly Expenses
|
Expense |
USD |
|
Groceries |
$400 |
|
Rent |
$290 |
|
Entertainment |
$150 |
|
Restaurants |
$50 |
|
Gym |
$50 |
|
Internet |
$45 |
|
Electric |
$40 |
|
Cell Data |
$15 |
|
Total |
$1040 |
(Mark’s exchange rate ¥143/$1 for the above table)
Dan: This is Dan from Vagabond Awake, the Youtube Channel for VagabondBuddha.com. Today we’re lucky to have Mark on the channel. Mark is in Okinawa, Japan. Mark, we’re excited to hear about it and we’re excited to have you here on the channel.
Mark: That’s great. Excited to be here, Dan. I’ve been following you for years and you’re a real inspiration. So great information and I’m so happy to be here.
Dan: Well, thanks so much for all of you listening. If you wanna find out more about Mark he has a YouTube channel we’ll put a link to it below.
We’ll also put it on the webpage below. Mark. Welcome. So where, where are you from, Mark?
Mark: I’m actually from California, but I was in the Marine course, so we moved all over California, Virginia Florida, Mississippi, Texas, you name it. So then Japan.
Dan: Okay. And why did you decide to leave your home country and move to Okinawa?
Mark: Well, I actually came here on active duty in the Marine Corps first, and we loved it so much in Japan. I pretty much stay here ever since, so I’ve been here for many.
Dan: And when did you move there permanently?
Mark: Let’s see, 1998. I came here in the Marine Corps and have pretty much been here since 1998 in Japan.
Dan: Wow. And what was it about Okinawa that really caught your eye and said, Boy, this is gonna be home for me?
Mark: Well, I lived in Japan mainland first, so I spent a lot of years in mainland Japan, which is much different from Okinawa. I came to Okinawa in 2010 and have been here ever since.
It’s more of an island, island vibe. I don’t know if you’ve ever been here.
Dan: No, I haven’t been to Okinawa. I’ve been to other parts of Japan, from Tokyo on up.
Mark: So yeah, much different on the, on the OK Okina.
Dan: And so you probably as a Marine, you probably also went to other parts of the world. What, what’s the feeling there that you get, that you’re not, you know, that just really sets it apart for you?
Mark: I mentioned it in my videos, but the safety and security here is really nice. You don’t have to worry about, you know, anybody stealing anything or any crime. So I, I, I really love that, you know, And of course, I’ve been to every other country in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and, you know, it’s much different here. I love it. I love it in Japan.
Dan: So when did you first think that maybe you would decide that living overseas would be for you?
Mark: Wow, that’s a good question. I think I’ve always felt that way. It, as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to move and see the world. And literally, when I came here with the family, of course, my kids are all grown now and off doing their own thing.
But we had little kids when we came here and it was such a safe, secure environment in Japan. It was, I just, we loved it. As soon as I got here, I was like, Man, I don’t wanna leave. This place is great. And so yeah. Far back as I can remember, always wanted to get out of the US and just travel.
Dan: That’s great. I have a nephew that really loves it there too. He was in the Marines. So I get it. I hear it over and over again from people, so it’s definitely something that people should think about if that makes sense for them. So do you ever think about moving home or is this it for you? Do you think you’ll just stay there or in any other country?
Mark: You know, I could answer that real quick. There’s absolutely no way and nothing against the United States. But I love it here and I’m Southeast Asia is really where I’m gonna stay, so yeah, I love it in Southeast Asia. Absolutely.
Dan: So what do you do about health insurance or do you pay as you go? How, how do you handle healthcare? What are your thoughts on that?
Mark: Well I’m retired military, so I have that benefit. And here in Okinawa, there are a lot of military bases, so that’s not an issue for me, and I stay super healthy.
But the Japanese healthcare system is really good and it’s literally a fraction of the cost of the US. So yeah, healthcare is just not really an issue here. You don’t hear people talking about it. They do their annual health checkups. When you go to the hospital in Japan, you just pay on the way out, you know, you give ’em your credit card.
And it’s just not an issue. I think years back I had an experience with dad, a family member, and it was literally a few hundred dollars for something that would’ve cost thousands of dollars in the US.
Dan: Wow, that’s great. That is also a bit of security, isn’t it?
Mark: So that’s definitely a benefit here.
Dan: So what’s your overall feeling about how you’re received there? Do you feel like the Japanese are friendly to you as in your home country? Are they more friendly? What’s, what are your thoughts about that?
Mark: Yeah, that’s that’s another thing I love about here. Absolutely. Everybody’s friendly. Yeah, I haven’t been to the US in so long. I, you know, when I fly back there, you fly to the airport and, you know, get treated like a, you know, like cattle coming through there. So I literally you know, without saying too much more it’s very, they’re very friendly over here and I prefer it. Go where you are treated best. So yeah. Very friendly. No, no problem.
Cost of Living in Okinawa Japan
Dan: So what would a one-bedroom apartment rent for? You know, people that are thinking about living or retiring overseas are always curious about the cost of living. What would a one-bedroom apartment rent for there in Okinawa, roughly?
Maybe a range.
Mark: Japan is one of those places where you could spend a ton of money or a little bit of money, and I just prefer to live cheaply. I just like it. It’s just me. Now here I have a one bedroom. Literally, my place is 41,000 yen, so I just did the exchange rate on that. That’s like $286 a month, including the water.
So yeah, all I have is that electric bill and the wifi, that’s all I have.
Dan: Wow. That’s great. Well, you mentioned water and electricity and wifi. What are those?
Mark: Yeah. As I said, the water bill is included in the rent, but water bills are cheap here in Japan. I think it’s less than $10 a month for water, but it’s included in my rent.
So I pay wifi, like $45 a month or something less than that. And the electric bill, the most I ever had was, I think the highest electric bill I ever had was $85. Usually, it’s like $20. Just depend. So, yeah, that’s cheap. Cheap.
Dan: So the high one ($85 electric), was that an AC thing? Air conditioning?
Mark: Yeah. Yeah. Middle of the summer we’re running the AC 24 7 probably got, you know, $85 maximum. But typically, you know, when the weather’s good here, I live right by the ocean, so you know, just run the fan. It was $20.
Dan: So you, you mentioned hot. I like hot weather. Not everyone does, but how hot does it get in the summer there? How hot is it in the winter?
Mark: Yeah, it’s hot and humid here. Probably comparable to, you know, like Florida or something if you’re in the US but, so it stays hot and humid during the summer. Wintertime in Okinawa gets chilly. It doesn’t freeze, but it gets chilly. If you’re on the mainland of Japan, it, you know, it gets cold, it snows there.
So just depends on where you are.
Dan: Okay. And what’s your smartphone run you per month, roughly?
Mark: Yeah, cheap. Actually, my data is like less than $15 with the exchange right now. It’s like basically $15 a month, for my cell phone bill. So, yeah, it’s negligible.
Dan: Okay. You mentioned that you’re single. Are you doing some dating while you’re there and what’s that like?
Mark: That is a good question. Actually, I’m going to Thailand next month for a while. I’ll be over there for a while. So yeah, no, it’s great here. It’s great. No, no issues there at all. So no problem at all. Finding company if you want it.
Dan: You mentioned Thailand. What’s a flight to Thailand cost you?
Mark: It’s a shame because, before the whole pandemic, there were direct flights with Peach Airlines. It was cheap, like a hundred dollars, a hundred something dollars, go direct to Thailand. Now, I gotta go to Tokyo. So it’s costing me just a little over $300 to get to Thailand now.
Dan: Yeah, it’ll, I’m sure it’ll come back soon though, to, you know, direct flight. So I, I hope so. I bet you within a year, my guess. So so what are some of the things you do for fun there in Okinawa?
Mark: Yeah, well actually, if you look at my video, I can kind of see a typical day, but I’m right here by the beach or by the ocean. You get the beaches, of course. And I like the lifestyle. Like you, I like warm. So if you, if you look at my closet, it’s pretty much shorts and t-shirts and that’s it, you know?
So yeah, I’m outside when the weather’s good right now. I could actually take you outside right now if you want.
Dan: Yeah, let’s do it. Let’s do it.
Mark: You wanna do that?
Dan: Yeah. Bring your camera out there. Show it to us.
Mark: Let’s try it and let’s give it a shot and we’ll go right outside. Here we go.
Dan: Good. Mark mentions he has a video, he has a YouTube channel. We will put a link to that. So if you’re interested in Okinawa, you’ll have a resource you can go to to watch videos and stuff. And he’s gonna take us out now. Let’s see if this works, Dan. Okay. Mm-hmm. Nothing wrong with experimenting in life.
Mark: Yeah. What the heck? Oh, shoot. It’s raining. It’s raining. Sorry about that.
Dan: I happen to be in Bangkok. It’s raining here too. Looks like a, looks like a nice little beach community you’re in there.
Mark: It is … I love the community. It’s great. So like I said, I spend a lot of time outside and especially during the summer when the weather’s good.
Ban: How does the visa work there?
What’s that like? Actually, you know, immigration, I, I’ve heard you mention it in your other videos, the typical complaint. You know, they don’t put a lot of information on there. It’s not clear. So, I mean, it’s all out there. You can do an extended tourist visa if you have a certain amount of money in the bank.
You know, business visa, education visa, entertainment, visa, cultural visa. There are different options. Japan is one of the challenging ones. Of course, it’s not like other places. So it is, it’s challenging, but I wanna say like, you’re a good person. You’re contributing to the economy. And you’re, you know, you don’t have a police record or anything and you’re willing to jump through a few hoops.
There’s always a way to stay. So, Okay. Kinda sum it up like that, you know, there’s, that’s great. There are always options and if you want to work, you can go to the military base, get a job, and then you have SOFA status, which means the status of forces agreement. So then that’s that allows you to stay in Japan.
Wow. So I don’t know if that helps, but Yeah.
Dan: It lets them know, some places do require a little more creativity. Japan and Singapore, I think this year are rated the number one and two passports in the world. Meaning there are most places you can go to anywhere in the world without a visa if you hold one of their passports.
So it’s not surprising, it’s hard to get in there. That’s usually the case like in the US it’s also hard to get into, but a lot of people like to live there. That’s the breaks, you know? Well, good. So so what if you could do it all over again, you know, what, what would you do differently, if anything?
What sort of advice do you have for people thinking about it?
Mark: I really love, I love ok. Just because I love the warm weather. I’m done with cold weather and snow and, no, never again. I’m not doing that. So so nothing against it if that’s your thing, but I like warm weather and coconuts and beaches.
Mainland Japan is very, much different than Okinawa. I don’t know. I, I wanna say I would’ve moved to Okinawa sooner than I did. There are pros and cons to each. What I would do differently? That’s a good question. I don’t know.
I’m happy right now and if, as I say, you would’ve changed anything in life, it would’ve put you in a different place. So where I’m at now is great. So I, I guess wouldn’t change a thing.
Dan: Cool. And so tell us a little bit about what you’d like to talk about and share in your channel so people have an idea of what you’re doing over there.
Mark: I just started the channel, you know, I retired recently. It’s called Pursuing Impact. And I’m just pursuing ways to have a positive impact on the world. You know, I just, I’m having, I have a great life, have a good time, and I wanna share it and inspire others.
So that’s what I’m doing. So, yeah, I started with a few videos. I’m working on another one right now, so hopefully. Channel will build and grow and you’ll see a lot more. So it’d be great if anybody come over and check it out.
Dan: Definitely that’s, that sounds like a good spin to have on your retirement. To just look around and say, Hey, how can I make life better for other people? So that’s sweet. I recommend people go over there and check out Mark. I watched his video a couple of weeks ago when he emailed me, and I was, I thought it was fun. It is a fun video to watch. It didn’t seem that long, but it was fun.
It, it had it gave you the tempo and the feel of Okinawa. So if you’re curious about Okinawa, I recommend you go over there and check out what Mark’s up to and what it looks like on the ground there and what, what a day in his life looks like. So, so, Mark, it’s, it’s been a joy chatting with you.
I wanna thank you for coming on the channel and sharing your experience with people, and, and please check out, check in with us in a year or so. See, let us know how things are going, and what you’re up to. Absolutely. I look forward to one of these days running into you and shaking your hands. So I appreciate everything you do and all the great info and it’s great chatting with you.
Thanks so much, Mark. You take care.
Mark: Take care. Take care. Bye bye.
Thanks for reviewing my report, Mark shares his cost of living in Okinawa Japan.
This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the Youtube Channel for VagabondBuddha.com. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?
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