Webley

Hi Everyone,

I have the opportunity to take up a position with my current employer at their HQ in Boston. They're a company growing very fast, plenty of $ behind them but are still fairly young and inexperienced in a whole load of things, international relocation being one of them.

Whilst we're still drumming up the details of my position (and pay!), I'm doing my research and trying to compare and realise ACTUAL costs and how much we'll be in/out of pocket. Their UK operations are changing shape and long-story-short they don't need me on that project anymore. As they head hunted me a year ago from a very secure job with a competitor, they committed to looking after me and guaranteed my ongoing employment. There is a chance that they will let me work from home in the UK if we can't come up with the right role/package for me the U.S., hence I really want to try and understand what my finances would look like.

I'm married with three young children (under five).

I have loads of questions (sorry!) but two that are really pertinent right now:

1) rent - Boston looks extremely expensive! On top of monthly rent, are there any other stealth charges I need to know about, eg council tax equivalent? 3 bedroom houses look very expensive - even looking in greater Boston and out, circa $2,500 PCM for a very modest place.

2) cars and car insurance - I heard from a stateside UK friend that because I wouldn't have a credit score, it would be hugely expensive? How do car costs (tax/insurance/fuel) compare to the UK?

Thanks to everyone in advance - a long and important journey of discovery for our family.

Colorado calling

Boston certainly is more expensive than other places (such as a place in Montana I once saw and thought they had missed a zero or two off the end of the price!) but it's all academic until you know how much you will be making. I don't convert any prices back to pounds. I think about the money we have and consider whether that amount as a percentage of our money is an amount I am prepared to spend.

You could also look at the suburbs with regard to housing.

In addition to your salary, your employer should also be including relocation costs to get you "set up" in your new life. Help with leasing a vehicle could be included in this. You'll have to negotiate with them. This is going to cost them a lot of money in visas and legal fees anyway - they need to be prepared for all the added costs on top. Ultimately, they have to make you an offer that is worth uprooting your family and taking them thousands of miles from their home and extended family for. Personally I'd put a very high price on that.

Colorado calling

By the way, what happened to the Sydney job offer? Is this the same company? If it fell through once before, I'd proceed with caution.

Webley

Thanks for the quick reply! Much appreciated.

You're right on the 'high offer needed to relocate family thousands of miles' approach. I just need to weigh up whether they will be willing to keep me on in the status-quo at home if I turn down moving to the U.S.

The % approach is a good one. Converting into GBP leaves my eyes watering. Are there any tools or templates that help in estimating costs to get that %?

Ah - Sydney! That was with my last employer (the competitor) who brought me out to Australia to interview almost telling me the job was in the bag - and then they didn't offer it to me

Awesome Welles

I would concur that the dollar/pound conversion is meaningless, unless you continue to earn pounds in the US.

Boston isn't cheap, being a significant academic/healthcare/financial center - I suspect it's a relative though - compared to San Francisco, it's cheap as chips.

If you are renting a home, there should be no 'hidden' extras - the property tax is the responsibility of the owner (though will be rolled into the cost of the rent).

Generally, new cars cost in dollars what they do in pounds in the UK - but used cars are a LOT more expensive. However, running costs are a lot more friendly for an everyday vehicle.

MA winters are kind of chilly.

When my job moved me here, my employer was quite generous in that they provided a mortgage and a couple of vehicles as part of my relo package. I suspect that was not usual.

Bob

Is it actually in Boston or the burbs? Do you actually need to live in Boston or the burbs?

Rent is expensive here, as is everything else.

Things to consider when you're renting, cost of snow removal, cost of parking, especially if you need permits for more than one car (can be free or $400-1200 a month depending on type of parking and location etc). Rubbish removal can be town, dump, town bags or private so anything from included in your rent to $50 a month.

What affects the rent is how much parking you have available, if it is street is it winter/time zoned or not (you have to move the car certain hours for snow removal etc), off street, covered or not. Off street, covered parking will have one of the bigger impacts on lowering your car insurance, which you should budget $2K a year for the first couple of years on a half decent car.

As for locations, all depends on what kind of commute and where you're heading. There are so many threads though, but places like Wellesley, Needham, Natick, Arlington, Lincoln, Concord, Sudbury, they're all lovely, but which would work would depend on where you need to be. Natick is 13 miles from downtown and it's a 15-20 min drive if you leave before 7:15 am after than and it can be an hours drive etc.

Facebook, there's a decent and active Boston Brits group and also a Metrowest group for the burbs. There's also a north and southshore set of groups but I don't know how active they are.

Awesome Welles

Bloody hell! $2k to insure one car?

I was positively apoplectic when I got my renewal and it had gone up by $100, despite never having so much as a parking ticket since moving here 15 years ago. The excuse was, "Ah, but you live in Orlando. Orlando and NYC are the most expensive in the country for auto insurance". I figured they just trotted that out to anyone who complained - wherever they are located.

For the record I now pay $1300pa full coverage 300/100 for a 2015 Dodge Challenger and a 1992 F-150 truck.

civilservant

We pay $1200 a year on full coverage for our Ford Fusion.

That covers the full cost of anything still owed on the finance though, regardless of the cars actual value, if it's a write off.

Bob

Fresh off the boat, no US driving history, no US credit history.

It's the standard ball park to budget for.

How long have you been living in the US to get the rate you get now?

When we lived in Maine, our rate just before we moved drop to $620 a year, it jumped to $1400 a year when we moved to the burbs of Boston for the same level of coverage, which was good coverage rather than bare minimums.

MsElui

just to make you aware - it sounds like you could be trying for a transfer visa L1 - but now that you have to have worked for that new employer for one year. you need to exclude any time spent in the usa (ie vacations or work trips too) so make sure you have at least 366 days in the bag at the new employers or that visa may not work for you.

kins

When we were fresh off the boat we paid about $100 a month total for two cars in Maine. I just read something saying car insurance premiums here are among the lowest in the country.

Pulaski

The thing to watch out for with the cheaper insurance quotes is what coverage you're getting. In some states the minimum coverage levels are pretty pathetic, ..... or indeed zero, for example for property damage in some states. If you cause an accident and injure someone l, you could be in a real pickle if you're only covered for, say, $100,000 of personal injury liability. You could find yourself facing a lawsuit for much more than that.

kodokan

We've just moved from AZ to OH. Car insurance in AZ for a 2012 F-150 and 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon was initially 'fresh off the boat' at $3,200 a year; it dropped to $2,500 once we hit the 3 year mark.

In OH, we're insuring the same truck, and a 2016 Ford Escape. Insurance for both is around $650 a year. It's been one of several pleasant surprises about moving here!

(Coverage on both examples is $250k liability; we're topped off after that by an umbrella policy.)

petitefrancaise

If you've got 3 kids then you'll need to make sure that you are in a good school district and these typically have premium rents. Look online and ask your colleagues or in one of the places Bob recommended to get suggestions.

International auto source to arrange a car either to buy or lease - do this before you leave and you can get some figures from them right now. You will need a deposit for this.

Car Insurance - join AIG Inbound USA , they charge for this service but it's a great help and you will probably save their fee on the first 6 months' car insurance/renters insurance which they can find for you. It's a concierge service so you can ask them to do all manner of things. If you join ahead of time they might be able to find the best local schools for you.

Our Utility bills are much higher here than they've ever been elsewhere. Because we are in Texas our winter bills are usually very low but summer and a/c costs are eye-watering. It's going to be the other way round in Boston. Ask on your local forum

Kids' sports activities are expensive and may require a lot of time commitment. Everyone is training to be an olympic hopeful!! Or at least get a college scholarship...

If your company are sending you over on an L1 visa then get a green card thrown into the package.

Bob

Schools in Boston are often pretty shit...the burbs on the other hand can be fantastic.

As for utility bills, heat will depend on what you're using. Oil can be $350-600 a month depending on how large and well insulated the place is. Electric wont' be far behind, gas would be the cheapest, about half that but not all towns have gas.

It's really humid here in the summer, so again, depending on the build, AC costs aren't that cheap. Our 1200sq/ft apartment, that's well insulated and sealed up, kept at 75F runs about $120 a month over summer months.

School activities can be eye wateringly expensive as you say and they're a massive time commitment and with more than one kid, can be really hard to juggle the schedules.