In 2024, Lexi Smith, 24, was working as a teacher in Atlanta, Georgia, when she decided she was ready for a change of scenery.
Smith began exploring the possibility of teaching English abroad and worked with Xplore Asia, an organization that assists individuals in obtaining their TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification to work and study abroad.
“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,” Smith tells CNBC Make It. “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.”
Smith pays $238 a month for her one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment.
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Smith got her TEFL certification and taught English as a foreign language in the U.S. for a bit while Xplore Asia worked to find her an employer abroad.
Eventually, Smith landed a teaching position at an eikaiwa, a private language school focused on conversational English, in the Chiba Prefecture of Japan and moved in March of this year.
The Chiba Prefecture is located on Japan’s eastern Pacific coast to the east of Tokyo. It is about a four-hour drive from the country’s capital city.
“Living in the countryside of the Chiba Prefecture is quite different than Tokyo. Things are a lot cheaper out here. The culture is more respectful, and what you see when you look around is rice fields,” Smith says.
In lieu of an oven, Smith’s kitchen has a mini grill.
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One of the perks of Smith’s job was that her employer was able to secure her an apartment before she even got to Japan. It’s a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with a balcony and a walk-in closet that rents for 35,000 yen or $238 a month. The apartment is also within walking distance of the school where Smith teaches.
Smith admits she was nervous about moving to the countryside, having grown up in a city like Atlanta, but it was a much easier transition than she expected.
“I really did move here by myself without knowing the language or anyone here. My family knows that I’m a bit of a wild child, and I want to see the world. I’m a free spirit, so they accepted it,” Smith says. “They were a little bit nervous for me, but after virtually meeting my boss and seeing how well prepared I was, they weren’t that concerned anymore.”
One of Smith’s favorite design features of her apartment is her walk-in closet.
Naotomo Umewaka for CNBC Make It
Smith’s employment contract includes her employer covering the costs of some expenses, like key money —a one-time, non-refundable payment given to the landlord when renting an apartment or house. Smith also didn’t have to put down a security deposit, which is usually the case in the U.S. Her employer also pays for her fire insurance.
The apartment also came with a portable washer in her bathroom, and she uses the balcony to dry her clothes. One of the unique aspects of the apartment is that it came with an emergency bag containing items, like a safety helmet, needed in case of events like a tsunami, fire or earthquake.
Some of Smith’s other monthly expenses include water, gas, electricity, health insurance, and groceries, which total approximately $376 a month.
Smith’s apartment also has a balcony.
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Though Smith is enjoying her time in Japan, she already knows she will move back to Atlanta at the end of her one-year contract.
“There is a big part of me that does want to stay longer than a year in Japan, but there’s so much of the world to see. As much as I love Japan, I can’t wait to also expand myself to see the rest of the world as well,” Smith says.
“I miss my family. We’re really close-knit, so it’s hard being 7,000 miles away from them, but also being a Southern girl, I miss my soul food so much. Japan’s food is great, but there’s nothing like a good collard green at the end of the day.”
Smith still isn’t sure what she’ll do when she moves back to the U.S., but is considering pursuing a graduate degree or a return to teaching.
“I’m not quite sure what the future holds for me, but I’m excited to take whatever path it has,” she says.
Smith’s apartment came with an emergency kit in case of tsunamis, earthquakes and fires.
Naotomo Umewaka for CNBC Make It
One way that Smith is making sure she gets the most out of her experience living in Japan is by documenting her journey on social media, which is she started doing three months after relocating.
“I decided to start sharing my experience because people don’t know what regular life is like. I feel that Tokyo gets a lot of viewership, but all of Japan isn’t Tokyo. A lot of us live in the countryside and live regular lives, and I wanted to share that with the world. A lot of people are thinking about leaving the States and I wanted to share my perspective on it too,” Smith says.
Since she started sharing her life in Japan on TikTok, Smith says the reception has been positive.
“A lot of people who live in Japan do see themselves in me. They feel like I am sharing the authentic Japanese experience and that means a lot to me that I can create that visibility where it might not otherwise exist,” she says.
“And for other people who look like me, [they can] also feel empowered that they can do it too. 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.”
Conversions from Japanese yen to USD were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 147 Japanese yen to $1 USD on August 30, 2025. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
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