Home US Seattle parents reveal why they are quitting life in the US to move to a small town in JAPAN with their newborn after buying a home for just $30,000 – as they admit soaring living costs have made it too ‘tough’ for them to remain ‘comfortable’ in America

Seattle parents reveal why they are quitting life in the US to move to a small town in JAPAN with their newborn after buying a home for just $30,000 – as they admit soaring living costs have made it too ‘tough’ for them to remain ‘comfortable’ in America

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Leika and Brandon Hansen spent most of their lives together in Seattle, but upon welcoming a new baby, they realized their growing family needed a change of scenery.

An American couple has explained why they are considering moving from the United States to Japan after finding an adorable farmhouse near the city of Okayama for just $30,000.

Leika and Brandon Hansen, who both work as educators, have lived in the Seattle suburbs for much of their adult lives, as they explained to Business Insider.

But since welcoming a new baby into their family, they had begun to realize that the cost of living in the West Coast metropolis would mean it would always be “difficult” to “afford things comfortably “.

At the same time, Leika and Brandon had spent time in Japan before starting their life together.

Leika and Brandon Hansen spent most of their lives together in Seattle, but upon welcoming a new baby, they realized their growing family needed a change of scenery.

Leika and Brandon Hansen spent most of their lives together in Seattle, but upon welcoming a new baby, they realized their growing family needed a change of scenery.

Leika and Brandon spent extended periods in Japan.

Leika and Brandon spent extended periods in Japan.

Leika and Brandon spent extended periods in Japan.

Although Leika's mother is Japanese, she remembers disliking the country's fast-paced city life when she spent time there growing up.

Although Leika's mother is Japanese, she remembers disliking the country's fast-paced city life when she spent time there growing up.

Although Leika’s mother is Japanese, she remembers disliking the country’s fast-paced city life when she spent time there growing up.

Leika’s mother is Japanese and she spent long periods of time in the countryside growing up.

But she admitted that those early experiences didn’t make her fall in love with the country.

“I don’t think I really expected to move there. It was a very fast-paced lifestyle – I didn’t like it,” she said.

“If you told me five years ago that I was considering moving to Japan, I’d be like, ‘What? For what ? “I never really thought I would want to go back,” Leika continued.

However, Brandon lived in rural Japan from 2014 to 2016, which gave him a “different experience.”

Leika said he finally sold her on the idea of ​​moving somewhere less hectic.

“I thought, ‘OK, maybe it’s not that bad,'” she said.

Brandon added: “The places I lived were in the country. They were really relaxing towns or quiet and cute and uncrowded and busy towns. It was my vision of Japan, and I said to myself: ‘I would live here.’

However, Brandon eventually convinced Leika that the more rural parts of Japan offered the lifestyle they were both looking for, especially when starting a family.

However, Brandon eventually convinced Leika that the more rural parts of Japan offered the lifestyle they were both looking for, especially when starting a family.

However, Brandon eventually convinced Leika that the more rural parts of Japan offered the lifestyle they were both looking for, especially when starting a family.

Among other things, the duo was eager to leave the automobile-centric culture of the United States behind.

Among other things, the duo was eager to leave the automobile-centric culture of the United States behind.

Among other things, the duo was eager to leave the automobile-centric culture of the United States behind.

On top of that, Brandon added that he was impressed by the “public services” in Japan.

“Schools are really regulated. They have security, they have public transport. It’s easy to live here,” he said.

“Japan is probably more family oriented and very safe. There’s a lot of community support and engagement,” Leika added.

She further described not feeling as safe “as a woman” in Seattle, especially “now having a child” – adding that her car was broken into in Washington state a year ago. a few years ago.

Brandon was concerned that in the United States, criminals were more likely to possess guns in situations like those experienced by Leika.

“It’s a little less worrying in Japan. Our child will be able to go shopping and do a little more,” he said.

“And walk to school and shop alone. You don’t have to have your tracker on them and always check on them and make sure they’re OK,” Leika continued.

When they decided to move to rural Japan, they were pleasantly surprised to find how much easier it was to navigate the country’s real estate market.

“There’s a first-come, first-served system, which we weren’t used to. We’re used to auctions and negotiations,” Brandon said, recalling having to go through “so many different condos and bidding wars” in Seattle.

“The first house we looked at in Japan, they told us, ‘We can show you the house, but we have other interested buyers, so we’re waiting for them.’ So it wouldn’t be polite or usual for us to come in and say, “We’ll give you more.”

They eventually settled on a century-old Kominka-style farmhouse, 30 or 40 minutes from the city of Okayama in western Japan, near the city’s train line.

Brandon explained that their community was technically a commuter town, known locally as a “bed town” – “just a town where people mainly commute to the big cities,” he said.

“It’s not in the mountains with nothing around,” Leika added.

“We wanted to take advantage of Japanese public transportation and the walkable lifestyle,” Brandon emphasized.

The two men acquired a Kominka-style farm outside the city of Okayama for $30,000.

The two men acquired a Kominka-style farm outside the city of Okayama for $30,000.

The two men acquired a Kominka-style farm outside the city of Okayama for $30,000.

The 100-year-old traditional house is in a suburban town, about 30 to 40 minutes from the city by train.

The 100-year-old traditional house is in a suburban town, about 30 to 40 minutes from the city by train.

The 100-year-old traditional house is in a suburban town, about 30 to 40 minutes from the city by train.

Although the 900 square feet of the house wasn't much bigger than what they had had in Seattle, it sold on the large lot.

Although the 900 square feet of the house wasn't much bigger than what they had had in Seattle, it sold on the large lot.

Although the 900 square feet of the house wasn’t much bigger than what they had had in Seattle, it sold on the large lot.

The extensive land surrounding the main house offers paddy fields, sheds and other storage spaces.

The extensive land surrounding the main house offers paddy fields, sheds and other storage spaces.

The extensive land surrounding the main house offers paddy fields, sheds and other storage spaces.

Coincidentally, Okayama has almost the same population as Seattle, with just over 700,000 residents, compared to Seattle’s 733,000 – although the US city’s population fits into a much more compact 84 square miles, compared to the 305 square miles of Okayama.

The 900-square-foot home is “similar” in size to their Seattle abode – but comes with a huge plot of land with “rice paddies,” “a few sheds” and ample storage space, a added Brandon.

“The land was our big motivation,” he said.

“In Washington, for what we could afford, we were very lucky to have the condo where we are. We did some real estate research in Washington, but everything was so expensive for even the smallest amount of land.

The house itself, Leika said, was only worth about $2,000 to $3,000 on its own – with the surrounding land justifying the $30,000 price tag.

More broadly, the couple was also happy to leave America-centric car culture behind.

“When we lived in Japan, we loved being able to bike or take the train to places. When we were looking for a house, we didn’t want it to be very far away, especially since we were planning to start a family there,” Leika said.

“We wanted it to be close to schools. Although I would consider it more rural, we still have amenities nearby,” she continued.

So, having your “own space” means never having to worry about “other people nearby sharing the walls and worrying if the baby cries too loud.”

“I’m excited to have lots of little projects to work on, for the farm or otherwise,” she exclaimed.

“I really want bees. I’m super passionate about pizza and own an outdoor pizza oven. These are things that we consider retirement dreams,” Brandon said, further elaborating that he was excited to have these kinds of things “earlier.”

“We’re starting to have a family now,” Brandon continued.

“If we stayed here, it would probably be another seven to ten years before we had a house that we could set up a hobby farm on. And at this point, the kids would be halfway through their time with family.

“It was really about getting ahead of that schedule.”

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