This is unthinkable in Japan, but most apartments in New York do not come with laundry appliances in the apartment. If you're lucky, there's a laundry room in the apartment, usually in the basement. But, having a washer/dryer in the house is a luxury. So, part of New York life is doing the laundry at the neighborhood laundromat, which will cost about $50 (5000 yen) a month for a family of four. The laundromat also has a drop-off service where you can drop-off your laundry and have them do the laundry for you. This would cost about $90 (9000 yen) a month. As you can imagine this can be very hard for a mother with small children, especially in the winter time, so I was happy to discover that there are also laundry services that pick up and deliver to your home. It costs about $120 (12,000 yen) a month to use this convenient service. A lot more expensive than doing it yourself but it's a luxury that I think many people in Japan wouldn't mind paying once they try it.

上の子が学校に入り、下の子も１歳の誕生日を迎え、こっちの生活にもなれてきたので、そろそろ仕事復帰を考えています。せっかくの機会なので何か新しいキャ リアをと思っていたのですが、子供達の事があるのでやはり労働時間がフレキシブルで自分のペースで仕事が出来るものが良いと考え、不動産の資格を取る事に しました。過去５年に３回も引っ越した経験を元に「マイホーム」を売ったり、買ったり、見つけたりする人のお手伝いをしたいと思います。先月無事試験を合 格したので早速新しいキャリアで頑張りたいと思います！