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I used to live in a mansion in Shaker Heights for $1100 a month and honestly enjoyed my time in Cleveland more than here. I pay $3300 for a townhouse because my wife won't go without central air. This place is great in a lot ways but hard in many others. I know someone who works in Solar installation and he's broke as hell but has no kids so it really doesn't matter. Your husband speaks Japanese which will get him through a lot doors here but that's more in the business/finance market. The west coast isn't much better of an option as the Bay Area is more expensive than here and outside of there the Japanese culture is pretty limited. You may be better off actually going to Japan instead. Your husband and kids will get certain rights/entitlements from the government and possibly some employment assistance as well. My best friend is married to a Japanese women and going through that whole process now.
Hi. I'm Japanese living in Ohio. I happened to read this post and realized it was kind of old one, but I'd like to share my idea.
If you are still in Ohio, why don't you move to Columbus? Many Japanese live in north west area especially Dublin as Honda and its affiliate companies are around here. If your husband is bilingual of Japanese and English, it will not so hard to find a job here. Cost of living is much lower than Honolulu of course, yet you can get Japanese things, like decent size of Japanese grocery store, bakery, shop, and tons of Japanese restaurants everywhere. For this size of city in Midwest, Columbus is one of the best places for Japanese to live in, I think. Big cities like Chicago can offer more, but Chicago weather is worse, cost of living is higher, and traffic is nightmare. Relocation to Columbus is easy and it's much easier to see your family back in Cleveland. $20,000 should be enough to start a new life here. If you do home schooling, you don't need to live in an expensive good school district, so rent won't be that much.
As you know, weather here is not as pleasant as in Hawaii. I know how he feels. Gray sky everyday in cold winter and snow... But it's still a bit warmer and less snow here compared to Cleveland. Job market is better too, so it may be easier for you to find a job.
If weather is the main reason for relocation, what about Dallas, TX? Toyota and other Japanese companies are relocating there and bilingual Japanese person will be appreciated. It's much warmer and less snow, and more blue skies in winter. (I used to live in San Antonio, TX. Dallas is a bit different but weather in winter is much better anyway. In summer, I choose Ohio though). You can take direct flights to Japan from Dallas and more Japanese/Asian things available than in Cleveland.
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