Jayjay89

Hi everyone

New to the website. I am posting this because me and my wife will be moving to California in September. I work for a UK company and this move will be an internal transfer to the NASA division of our company. Our visa will be sponsored by my company although that process hasn't started yet. I am a consultant and my salary will be 155k. My wife is a pastry chef so she will try to find a job when we reach the states. I wanted to ask a few questions :
1) is 155k a good salary for 2 people - we don't have kids but probably will try for one when in America .
2) Is the cost of living less or more when compared to London. I am aware of the rental prices in california being higher than london but not sure about gas, electricity, grocery etc
3) How much would it cost for me to lease a car with a uk driving licence ( we dont have enough money to buy a new one).
4) Our company will provide medical insurance packages for me and my wife and I am aware that I would need to pay for medical services - up to a certain amount. However what other costs should I take Into account?
5) is Anaheim a safe area to live ? We did some research and shortlisted Anaheim and Santa Ana
6) Are there places In Orange County where brits meet up? Pubs or bars?
7) lastly - may be stupid for some - but I really don't want to stop playing 5 a side or 7a side football- is there a culture of playing soccer in 5aside or 7aside teams ?

Sorry for so many questions. Any help would be much appreciated.

Pulaski

I have not lived in California myself, but while $155k isn't a bad salary, I doubt you'll be living high on the hog, and your budget for various things, especially discretionary spending, will be dependent on your wife's pay. I am sure others will be along to give their opinions and experience of living in OC.

The one question I have my own question about, is 3) ... are you anticipating leasing a used car? I am not aware that that is a thing in the US. In any case leasing wouldn't save you much as a lease has a similar cost to finance, but includes "ample depreciation", to ensure that if the lessee turns in the keys at the end of the lease then the lessor has a very high probability of being able to sell the vehicle and recover the their residual investment in the vehicle. So I think you may be facing buying a used vehicle, one way or another.

Also, unless you choose your home very carefully (very near to your place of work, or close to public transportation, such as it is), you will likely need to find a means to buy two vehicles as most of the US is heavily car dependent.

GeneralPowerpoint

$155k sounds quite low for a consultant.

How many years experience do you have and what was your salary in the UK?

Jayjay89

Thanks both for the response. I was thinking about getting a car on finance or leasing and but I have noted your point and will see if we can buy a used car. My wife rides a bike here in the UK so we are aware that her work would need to be close to public transport or home.

Our offices are in downtoan LA and also in Orange.

I was previosuly on 70k in the UK so a significant salary increase. I have 10 years experience in consulting. The salary range for the role I applied for was between 120- 170k.

Our main aim is to save up in the states and then to return back to the UK after a couple of years. There is this element of the "unknown" and concerns about whether it would work out from a financial perspective. I am hoping it does. Of course this all depends on our lifestyle.

GeneralPowerpoint

I would temper your expectations about it being a significant salary increase. £70k to $155k is probably about equivalent Quality of Life and spending power in LA. It's more of a salary match than an increase.

Great that you've established the pay range for the position in the states though. So many people don't consider the going rate for their position before they get there and benchmark themselves against the UK.

You will need a California driving license, you won't be able to use your UK one long term. But the test is very easy.

nunnun

You say you are a consultant, but that you work for a UK company and are being transferred to a US division. So are you self employed or an employee of the UK company?
In LA you will need two cars and you and your wife will both need to drive.
There will be plenty of "soccer" leagues in LA.

Jayjay89

Thanks. My research showed me that taxes are lower in the states when compared to the UK. I take it bills and everyday living expenses are higher in the states when compared to London then ?

Jayjay89

I am an employee of a UK company. Its an internal transfer.

nunnun

That's good as it will make taxes etc easier. Saying "consultant" comes with an implication of self-employment.
Out of interest which NASA division or program will you connected with the most? In LA it's usually JPL or out at Edwards AFB, although you could be doing contract work for any NASA function.

GeneralPowerpoint

I'm not sure taxes are that much meaningfully lower in states like CA and NY once you factor in state and local taxes. Bills and living expenses vary. The cost of groceries in NYC was a shock. $5 for a bag of salad etc.

christmasoompa

No idea about LA (we're in Boston), but our living costs are far higher than they were in the UK. We get a 'cost of living adjustment' as part of our expat package, and that's £3k a month (tax free) - that's what an independent company estimated it would cost us extra each month for the same things here. That doesn't include our health insurance, house or car, so it's just things like groceries, utility bills, meals out, etc.

Taxes about the same as in the UK here, we've just done our first tax returns and it's an almost identical rate overall.

christmasoompa

It's bread that gets me here, $5 for a decent loaf. Luckily I make my own most of the time as we get through about 5 loaves a week as a family, so that would be $25 a week on bread alone.

GeneralPowerpoint

If I ever wanted to shock guests I'd show them the cost of toilet roll. Which is doubly impactful because it's not even good toilet roll, and it's $15 for 4 rolls or something mad like that.

christmasoompa

Just out of interest I've just had a quick look - using the Smart Asset calculator it shows a tax rate of 33.47% for a $155k salary in Orange County. https://smartasset.com/taxes/paychec...tor#BdLrimw40m

Using a similar calculator for the UK shows a tax rate of 30.1%, so almost exactly the same. https://uk.talent.com/tax-calculator...=Great+Britain

Jayjay89

Thanks. Could i ask which company you used for your analysis ? I would be interested in doing one for us.