See Part 1 here...
Incidentally, before the vacate-notice came, we have begun some months ago to search for an appropriate home to move to.
Finally, my missus has had enough of staying in this pigeonhole...
She said, life is too short to 'waste' our lives in this matchbox...
We are getting really hungry for some space...
Said she...
Let's go and enjoy some real space!!!
One advantage of being asked to move out rather than asking to move out is that we don’t have to cough up a lump sum of money to pay for replacements of the tatami mats and paper walls.
Which could come up to quite a fortune...
On a related front, cars are relatively cheap here, as compared to Malaysia.
We got our Honda CRV years ago at about 2,000,000 yen, approximately 70,000 ringgit at the current exchange rate.
But houses... they are the killers...
And more so, the land in land-starved Japan.
A square meter of land costs about 100,000 yen (close to 3500 ringgit) in Takamatsu city.
The ones in the city center would cost a bomb...
And Takamatsu is but a mere kampong-city...
Further out in the outskirts, they go for about half that price.
Many a Japanese 'salaryman' takes out loans of up to 30 years to purchase homes.
Imagine slaving throughout your working life to finance a loan, just to live in a landed house.
‘Mansions’ which are merely glorified apartments with no swimming pools or tennis courts, are priced from about 20,000,000 yen (about 700,000 ringgit) and you get no land.
Plus, you pay a chunk for monthly building-maintenance fees and for the parking lot as well.
I refuse to even consider moving to a mansion... primarily because I want to do gardening...
Presently, I love to cycle my Giant mountain bike to work.
Been doing that for as long as I can remember...
I dislike the morning traffic jams and the occasional rude driver.
It takes less than 30 minutes to cover the seven-kilometer course...
The roads are flat and the bicycle paths, wide.
I get to exercise everyday and I particularly enjoy the views of the sea as I pedal at my pace...
However, on rainy days, I do drive (somewhat unwillingly... )
I look forward to see what awaits us at the end of our search...
What house we shall be dwelling in...
Where the vicinity is going to be...
And how long the cycling distance is going to be...
Wooohoooo...
Gardening, photography, food, fishing, traveling, scuba diving, life in Japan, plus of course, news and views of being away from home...
I bet you missed the vast land in SP?
ReplyDeleteI went to Uncle Teh (though I wonder if he minds me calling him Uncle) site and saw his lovely photos of SP. Then, I think, wah....Lrong must missed his hometown.
5xmom... you got me on that one... was drolling when I saw Uncle Teh's (or Bradddaa Teh for me) pics of all those 'empty' spaces...
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to read about the new place (and the gardening that will foloow;)) in your blog. In the meantime...happy hunting!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, our Japanese friend's place in a bit in the outskirts already, and takes him 20 minutes cycling to the office! Really nice place, got recreational hill which attracts visitors (esp. old folks). I remember seeing people selling fried maple leaves....nice!
Ops...think I should mention it in my own blog.
Mama22Beas... am certainly enjoying the house hunting... also will report on the 'new' place and the gardening... but 'fried maple leaves'? haven't tasted them before but I know they look beautiful in autumn...
ReplyDeleteI hope you will be able to find something of your liking and cheap but i know that won't be easy.Anyway Happy Hunting for the house not other things,lol
ReplyDeletethquah... danke, man... it will be the biggest 'shopping' to make so far...
ReplyDelete