Overwhelmed - Where to Start Looking

[mighty58]

How about Edogawa-ku if you want to go east.

Prices are reasonable in Edogawa, and you highlighted some of the positives, but two big negatives: 1. Pretty much all of Edogawa-ku, as well many parts of Koto-ku for that matter, will be under water in the event of a natural disaster (the saigai-maps don't make for pretty reading); and 2. Commutes into Tokyo central can be very bad... picture those images from the 80’s where attendants physically pushed people on board.

[beanhead]

How about Machida? I've read that as being mentioned elsewhere as a reasonable place, and it seems to have lines into tokyo and also kanagawa (keikyu).

The Odakyu line from Machida to Shibuya was one of my worst commuting experiences. Not fun.
That is the challenge with what the OP is looking for, though. Many of these Tokyo suburbs will involve an unpleasant commute. If the company will pay, I have often thought about commuting by shinkansen as a better option.

[zeroshiki]

I knew a couple where the husband worked in Nagoya and the wife in Kobe. They settled in Kyoto and both had terrible commutes. Was the first time I ever saw a Shinkansen commuter pass.

The Tozai line (one of the subway lines that pass through Edogawa and Koto) is one of the worst commuting experiences I've experienced because of how far it is underground and how shabby the stations seem to be. The Tsukuba express is quite new so the stations are very nice for the most part. I also like above ground stations more than subways so anything JR would be good.

[Isodora]

As you mentioned the Keikyuline. You could look into Kamiooka (Yokohama, Konan- ku, located in the northeastern part of the southern half of Yokohama). It is an express stop, the fast train to Shinagawa takes 27 minutes, to Yokohama Eki 8 minutes and 16 minutes to Kawasaki, it is also a subway stop for the Blueline, which serves Yokohama mostly. Very good infrastructure. The seaside (Zushi, Kamakura, Enoshima, Fujisawa and the Miura Hanto to the south/southwest are also within reach by train (or car) in an hour or less.

Rentals prices for manshons 75 to 90 square meter within 5-15 walk to the train station, start from Yen 180,000, if you consider buying, 37 Mio to 50 Mio for used objects. As always, there are many old manshons and not too many affordable newer ones.

Houses for rent start from 100,000 Yen, but some are ancient, buying (used) from around 29 Mio, new from 40 Mio (bicycle distance) from 45 Mio within walking distance. No yards though I believe.

Houses with yards/gardens I have seen quite a few further south in Kanazawa-ku, which is also served by the Keikyu line, Kanazawa Bunko and Kanazawa Hakkei (36 minutes to Shinagawa) are also express stops with good infrastructure.

Yokohama in most parts is very clean and well maintained, also relatively green and there is enough to do and see to keep the family entertained.

Child care and education: The daycare situation in Yokohama should be better than in the Tokyo area, in any case, they built many new facilities in the last years, not all are public = fulfill certain standards, though and some are in horrible locations, the public ones are mostly nice to ok. Public El. and Junior High Schools should be the same everywhere more or less, unless you live in a „bad“ area of which there are not so many. Also, about 95% of the school buildings have meanwhile been re-enforced against major earthquakes. Don’t worry about good Public and Private Senior High School locations a) they all require entrance exams, b) you don’t know yet what school will fit your then almost grown child, also commuting is very common. If you plan private school from Elementary though, the situation changes a bit.

In case you ever consider an International school for your child/children, there are 3 English speaking schools (all the way up to grade 12,) albeit with a hefty price tag, especially YIS.

Keikyu Kawasaki, which you probably know well, as it is so close to southeastern Tokyo, has an even better infrastructure, at least around the train stations (especially Kawasaki JR station), not familiar with the prices though, it is less green than Yokohama, but the vicinity to the Tamagawa plus it’s location between Tokyo and Yokohama is quite attractive.

It is well worth to search online every now and then for a few months well in advance to get to know the market.

[Haystack]

Some really fabulous information and advice here. Please keep it coming.

I am going to get a paper map of the peninsula and start pinning potential locations!

[captainspoke]

As a cyclist, if it were me, I'd be looking along the Tama-gawa, for easy access to that.

[Gulliver]

A 90 minute commute? That would be three hours round trip in the train plus walking time from your home and any grocery shopping you need to do on the way back- so that’s probably four hours a day of your life that you will never get back.

If you can do that you must have much more mental/physical stamina than I do. I start to lose it if I’m on a crowded commuter for more than about 30 minutes .

Your quality of life may be much better served by trying to find a new build (less than three years old) rental as close to your work as possible. Walking/Biking distance would be a plus.

Also, access to quality of life accoutrements like restaurants, doctors, hospitals, department stores, quality schools, entertainment, convenient stores, city hall, etc. would be a bonus if you are located in central Tokyo.

[Haystack]

A 90 minute commute? That would be three hours round trip in the train plus walking time from your home and any grocery shopping you need to do on the way back- so that’s probably four hours a day of your life that you will never get back.

If you can do that you must have much more mental/physical stamina than I do. I start to lose it if I’m on a crowded commuter for more than about 30 minutes .

Your quality of life may be much better served by trying to find a new build (less than three years old) rental as close to your work as possible. Walking/Biking distance would be a plus.

Also, access to quality of life accoutrements like restaurants, doctors, hospitals, department stores, quality schools, entertainment, convenient stores, city hall, etc. would be a bonus if you are located in central Tokyo.

I'm an adjunct professor. While I'm fortunate enough to make a decent wage, the universities I work at will fluctuate.

My wife has a cemented professional career, but may float between offices along the Keikyu line over the years/decades.

Planning around my wife/son is more sensible. When I'm a bit older I will refuse positions to far afield.

[Gulliver]

My wife has a cemented professional career, but may float between offices along the Keikyu line over the years/decades.

In the case of the Keikyu line, You can get from Shinagawa station to the end of the Miura Peninsula in about 60 minutes on the rapid. Miura has some very beautiful locales and beaches especially on the west side (Araihama Beach for example has a great view and is very family friendly). If you don’t mind owning a car this might be a good option for a house.

[Haystack]

My wife has a cemented professional career, but may float between offices along the Keikyu line over the years/decades.

In the case of the Keikyu line, You can get from Shinagawa station to the end of the Miura Peninsula in about 60 minutes on the rapid. Miura has some very beautiful locales and beaches especially on the west side (Araihama Beach for example has a great view and is very family friendly). If you don’t mind owning a car this might be a good option for a house.

A bit too far from "civilization" for my wife, (born and raised in Tokyo)

This is now on my wall...we are marking down suggestions to check out! We love the input.