Rete

Richard -- where you do see that household insurance is $125 per month? When I lived in an apartment, my rental insurance which included personal items was $99 per year through Nationwide.

scrubbedexpat097

...Scooters and Houston traffic are not a good mix!!!

You really need to have a license if you live in Houston . Two main reasons: the roads and traffic makes it not pedestrian friendly and the heat/humidity makes it almost impossible to walk far.

There are Metro buses and light rail that run in some areas but a lot of the "crazies" tend to use them

petitefrancaise

Here's my tuppence worth - as a relocation person based up the road in Austin.

Use the car money as a deposit /part payment on a car from a place like carmax. This will mean you get a better (safer) car and the loan - even if it's only for $5k will help build your credit score. To get the loan you will need the names of 3or 4 referees ( NOT guarantors), just people who will say that they know you and that you exist.
I read recently that 1 million cars were wrecked by the hurricanes over the last few months. So the price of used cars is a little higher and you need to be really, really careful that you don't get a car that was damaged by all that water.
Your car insurance is about right - bring your no claims letter from your UK insurer and get an International Driver's Permit (IDP). Both will help lower your first premiums. Take the Texas driver's license as soon as you can. It's supposed be after 30 days' residence but I'd go the minute you have a rental lease.

You need renter's insurance - max $20 a month. $10 for an apartment.

Mobile bill - good grief. Seriously look at mintsim or Ultra. $200 is stupid for 2 people. Bring your own unlocked phones from the UK or go to Costco/Bestbuy and buy your own phones.
Food bill too low. I'd get it up to $400 minimum
Rent? what are you renting? Have you looked for an apartment? That money would get you a luxury pad in a high rise here in Austin and Austin is more expensive for renting than Houston.

Also, if you are renting an apartment then your security deposit will be 1 month's rent, you might have to pay a bit more for a house/condo but nowhere near the amounts you are being told.

Renting - you will not be approved if your rental cost is more than 1/3 of your gross salary. Some places request 3.5 times for salary amount. That realtor should be shot.

petitefrancaise

OMG!!!

I feel like I'm taking my life in my hands driving a car in Houston, never mind a scooter. I'd rather ride a bike off the roads than a scooter on the roads. Mind you, humidity. ugh.

Maste

I agree, how some is paying $200 bucks for 2 phones I bought my phone over from the UK, and my girlfriend bought her iPhone SE on sale. We have unlimited everything for 60 bucks a month, tax included.

Pulaski

Per Twinkle, and possibly others (I didn't read every post in detail), you will likely find that your grocery bill will be $250/person/mth, and may be more if you like quality meats and organic veg. That would include other things you buy from a supermarket, such as cleaning supplies, paper products, laundry detergent, etc. We buy branded packets and tins from Walmart or BJ's (competitor to Costco), but meat and veg from a more upmarket grocery (think Sainsbury's) and spend about $750/mth on grocery bills for three of us - buying everything from "Sainsbury's" could easily add $100, I think.

Also used cars are expensive in the US and $5,000 would be the barest minimum that you can expect to pay for something that isn't junk, or close to it, so be prepared for repair bills. At $5,000 you may be looking at either something quite small, and noisy, or with 180,000+ miles on it for a family saloon type car. For a well respected brand like a Honda or Toyota you could be paying $5,000 for a car with 200,000 miles on it. ..... You might want to consider buying through International Autosource, who will use your UK credit history and a job offer to support the finance, which (i) gets you a new vehicle, and (ii) gets you an installment loan on your credit history, so you will be establishing a payment record (when you supply your SSN to the finance company) even though getting other credit will be tough in the first year.

petitefrancaise

Guaranteed to be free of flood damage..

mid range ford focus SE - under $12k and under 50k miles

https://www.carmax.com/search#Distan...ey=0&Zip=78745

ETA that with "normal" rent and normal deposit you may find you have enough to go and buy a car. I'd still get a small loan just to get your credit history going. Bear in mind that you won't be able to do this until you have your social security number. You can buy a car/register a car in Texas without a TX driver's license.

petitefrancaise

BTW, just had a very quick look at apartments in Katy. This one https://www.cwsapartments.com/apartm...ns#/categories is mid range apartment company that is popular here in Austin. They have a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment just under 1000sq ft for $1260. I know that this company will take 1 month's rent as security deposit from a new arrival. I would find an apartment locator who will find all the best deals for you - they get paid on commission from the apartment owners so it's free for you.

You could rent a house, but if there's just 2 of you and no kids you really don't need to be paying out for a good area with good schools just yet! That is the usual reason why house rentals are high.

AndyMan74

You can get a Hertz used car such as a 2016 Focus SE, 30k, extended warranty for about $11,000ish. Now i'm not sure what experience people have had doing this as i'm sure some ex rental cars have been driven very hard but seems like a good deal and they always have a dozen or so to choose from.

Ecto17

I would second looking at international auto source to lease a car straight away. Especially if you like Fords as they do good deals in them. We recently got 2 new Ford SUV with them and were really happy with the price and service we received.
Additionally they paid for 2 rental cars while we waited for the new cars to arrive. Definitely worth a look but you need to do it while you are still in the U.K. and make sure you negotiate with them.
Also l have a very overpriced mobile deal with almost unlimited data, calls, text internationally etc and it is still $85 a month so you can definitely improve on your budget.

Rete

If you want an economy car, you can always come to Mississippi and purchase my 2013 Hyundai Elantra. It has only 31,500 miles on it and most of it is highway driving from NY to Canada or NY to Mississippi or NY to Massachusetts. I'm offering it for a good price to the right person.