Don't know about living costs in Japan, but I've lived in Thailand and Russia where doing a bit of remote consulting and a bit of product development earned me

Don't know about living costs in Japan, but I've lived in Thailand and Russia where doing a bit of remote consulting and a bit of product development earned me around 2000 USD a month without a whole lot of sweat. In those countries, it was more than enough to live well above average. Taxes are naturally also much, much lower which have a large effect. At the moment I'm back in Europe for a contract. 2000 USD while living here? After 50% tax, that's only enough to cover half my rent! Techies in low-cost countries really do have it easier, as they can price their products / services to an international level, while still having low local prices.