For 24-year-old Lexi Smith, the adjustment to her new life as a country English teacher in rural Japan has been traumatic. She finally moved to her new bike-friendly place about six months ago. Since then, she has learned to make a comfortable living and enjoy a rewarding work-life balance on a limited budget. Smith’s monthly costs are around $1,700. Luckily, her rent is surprisingly cheaper — only about $238, due in part to the fact that her employer covers some of her rental costs. This move away from the United States and toward Japan has undoubtedly changed her life. Today, she’s living a life that is no longer burdened by debt.
As Smith explains, his students run the gamut, with ages ranging from three to 73. Typically, she’ll work from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. This late start provides her lots of free time in the mornings. It’s a world away from her prior life in America, where having to work several jobs left no time for her to pursue educational goals. Back in Japan, she is grateful for the flexibility that her job as an English conversation teacher allows her.
My mornings really are mine, Smith stated. This schedule means that I don’t need to come into work until three. That, to me, makes it feel like I have at least two full days packed into one!
Her employer pays for major expenses such as fire insurance and assists in finding housing prior to her arrival. In addition, they help her obtain a vehicle for only $100 a month. This support has played a vital role in helping her settle into Japanese life.
Smith has ongoing monthly out-of-pocket expenses that total approximately $376. This amount covers her rent (which has doubled recently), car payments, utilities keeping her water, gas, and electricity on, health insurance, and groceries. Her current financial situation could not be more different than her past experiences in the U.S. During those early years, she struggled every day to pay her bills.
I wasn’t quite loving the school system from having an overbearing administration that didn’t appreciate me to having a hard time living on my salary, she reflected on her past.
Now, Smith is starting to feel safe in her new apartment. It has a working balcony and is outfitted for emergencies with a safety helmet in case of a sudden natural disaster. While she’s guerrilla-sculpting herself into the daily grind, she’d be the first to note that language is still her biggest obstacle.
“My biggest challenge is that I am not yet fluent in Japanese,” Smith admitted.
Chronicling her adventure on social media, it was three months after her arrival in Japan that Smith started making observations. She notes how little is known about daily life beyond these metropolises—including Tokyo—and the need for transparency. “I decided to start sharing my experience because people don’t know what regular life is like,” she explained. “A lot of us live in the countryside and live regular lives, and I wanted to share that with the world.”
Thanks to her strong online presence, Smith has found and continues to find people who relate to her story. She desperately wants to reach beyond the choir and inspire more people. In sharing her unique perspective as a young, Black woman, she truly represents the real Japanese experience.
More than half of the residents of Japan do see themselves in me. I take pride in introducing people to the real Japan. I can’t express how meaningful it is to me to help create visibility for it, especially where it may otherwise go unseen.
In her eyes, the more she shares about her journey, the more she can help empower people. “For other people who look like me, they can feel empowered that they can do it too,” she said. “I feel that knowing more about the place that you’re going and seeing other people doing it can take some of the fear out of doing that move.”
Smith’s decision to teach abroad was driven by a desire for cultural immersion and an easier lifestyle compared to what she encountered back home. “When I found out that I could teach abroad for a much easier life and the ability to see more culture, I had to jump on it,” she stated.
Beyond 2024, Smith intends to go back to Atlanta after her initial one-year contract concludes. Now she’s thinking of staying in Japan longer, or visiting other places in the world. “There is a big part of me that does want to stay longer than a year in Japan,” she expressed. There is a big world out there – and we’re missing it. I’m obsessed with Japan in the best way possible. Man, am I looking forward to getting back out there with the rest of our beautiful planet bubbling over with potential.
Her family initially harbored concerns about her move but became reassured after virtually meeting her boss and recognizing how prepared she was for this new chapter. “They were a little bit nervous for me,” she noted, “but after virtually meeting my boss and seeing how well prepared I was, they weren’t that concerned anymore.”