Pulaski

OK, let's work back from your upper limit of $6k/mth. You will likely find that you net income after tax, SS, and health insurance will be about 60% of gross, so your $6k/mth equates to about $10k of gross income, or $120,000/yr. If you are willing to spend 50% of your income on housing, which seems extreme high to me, then that implies annual gross income of $240,000.

However that only leaves $6k/mth to live on. .... Let's see where that goes: $500 for heating and electric, $100 for water, $200 for cell phones, $100 for basic cable/internet, $250/person/mth for food and household consumables, $500/mth/vehicle for two cars, $250/mth for car insurance (it's crazily expensive in NJ), $300/mth for petrol (it seems cheap, but you will drive a lot further. $500/mth (minimum, average) for clothing for the family. Family meals out (cheaper chain restaurant), two per week @$100/meal - $900/mth. Expensive meal one per month, just you and the Mrs, $300. (I have included health insurance and PP/401k in your basic salary deductions).

So, so far we have $900 for utilities, phones and cable, $1,000 (assuming two children) + $1,500 for vehicles + $500 basic clothing + $1,200 for meals. That comes to $5,100. What about holidays and travel? Gym and discretionary leisure spending?

Honestly, even if you're on $250k, you would probably want to stay as close to $4k/mth rent as you can.

Telic

And thanks Pulaski, appreciate the detail!

yellowroom

off the top of my head:

• repatriation costs in the event that the company terminates you (NJ is an "at-will" state, which means the company can fire you for any reason at any time). If you lose your job while on a visa dependent on your employment, you will have to leave the country, and doing so at short notice could be even more expensive than planned repatriation.
• A written agreement to apply for permenant residency for you and your family (note, this is dependent on the type of visa the company is applying for - some offer a route to green cards, some don't)
• I got an extra 5 days annual leave and a paid flight back home each year ("keep in touch" days and travel).

Englishmum

Unless you have a green card it is best to keep your home in the UK....have seen a number of expats whose jobs have ended unexpectedly in the US and they have to leave the country. If you end up returning to the UK you may find it best to stay on the 'property ladder'.

Actually I was in Hoboken last Friday, it's a great town with a good vibe. I think it's more suited to singles and couples, although some families do live there although the schools aren't that great in Hoboken. Parking is a total nightmare; my friends (no kids) who live in Hoboken are lucky enough to have secured their own (rented) parking space. Luckily I can just take the train directly to Hoboken (NJ Transit - Gladstone branch line) from our local station in Short Hills (township of Millburn) and we are also on the MidTown Direct line (Morris & Essex line) to New York Penn Station. My spouse was working out of the Hoboken office for a few weeks in the Summer when there were upgrades being made to the tracks at NY Penn.

When we relocated to the US (spouse works in Times Square, NYC), our priorities were good schools, near a train line (no parking in Times Square lol!), safe/low-crime neighbourhood, and easy access to an international airport (spouse often has to go to meetings in Canary Wharf or domestically). We are just 15 minutes from Newark airport (EWR); BA, Virgin and United Airlines all fly to London daily and United also flies directly to some UK regional airports.

We are lucky in that we live within walking distance of the train station and we only need to have one car. You will need an all-wheel drive here as sometimes there is significant snowfall although the roads are cleared quickly.

Check out New Jersey Transit - Home - I used it when I was choosing where to live, saw the names of the towns which looked like the best for commuting and then checked out the profiles of the towns/schools. There are loads of expats (from many countries) around here and in the NY Metro area

robin1234

Not really essential, in my opinion.

When we moved from Boston to northern New York (very rural, long winters, extreme snow, extreme cold) we bought an all wheel drive. After a few years, we concluded a regular car with snow tires in the winter was perfectly adequate.

fbf2006

I watched that episode last night and just rolled my eyes. So many things that won't happen. Being able to schedule an interview with an immigration officer at all, but they were able to do it in a day. Becoming a citizen immediately after marrying a US citizen. So many untruths!

Pulaski

But what would the neighbours think in a posh suburb in NJ if you didn't have an over-sized SUV that was difficult to control in ice and snow, because of its weight?

Shortly after I came here I found myself following a Landrover Discovery down a snow-rutted road - I was driving our Accord, with regular tires. I soon caught up with it because it was barely moving at walking pace. The road was quiet, so I drove out of the ruts, into the opposing lane, passed the Landrover, and pulled back in across the ruts ..... then drove away from the Landrover!

In other words, it's no good having the tools if you don't know how to use them!

yellowroom

and yet the average person thinks this is how it works! Similar to how characters in Eastenders just up and move to America...

Pulaski

If I have learned one thing so far in life, it is that no matter where you go in the world, the average person is an idiot!

Twinkle0927

Yep! Eastenders is to blame for the plethora of threads here all wanting to move to America next week because they have got 5 years experience of retail/hairdressing and they are certain that Florida needs these skills.

MarylandNed

Agreed. I lived in Toronto for 7 years and didn't need all wheel drive.

carcajou

OP, that you were comforted by Americans moving to New Jersey as an omen in your case, makes me think you do not understand how the visa process works. Please heed advice given here and do not make any irreversible life changes (like selling your house and quitting your job) until you have your visa in your passport. Do not accept HR assurances from the US that it will happen - they do not speak for the US Government and have no control over the outcome. This is not the formality that I fear you think it is.

Pulaski

One of the Canada forum regulars, who I believe lives in Ontario well north of Toronto, puts winter tyres on his Mustang in the winter, and uses as his daily transportation year round. At least he did, I don't know if he still does.

vikingsail

To the OP please also bear in mind that there is a reason they are hiring you. Apart from the obvious that your the best. It is very convenient for an employer to hire a foreign worker. With that decision usually comes increased control (for the employer over you). The ability for them to pay you less than market rates, because you will be dazzled by the prospect of them helping/letting you move to the US (that's already coming out in your posts so far) and will be eager. I mention these things purely to give you perspective so you can negotiate and get the right deal. We see it all the time where I am on the West coast where they hire in unsuspecting midwesterner's and east coasters who are dazzled by the salary they have been quoted only to realize that it is below market value and cannot buy them what they want here. They are human and forgot that spending power does vary geographically or worse knew it but discounted it because they wanted to live here, does that sound familiar!

Englishmum

Actually, come to think of it when we lived in Switzerland we didn't need an all-wheel drive as it is compulsory to have winter tyres from 1st October until the end of March; in our five years there we had two Skoda Octavia estate cars (company cars) but then the company decided to stop purchasing cars for employees and gave a lease allowance instead. Much to my chagrin my spouse got a BMW X1 in our final year there which I think was all-wheel drive. I really disliked the car though However, the tyre companies store your tyres when they change them around...although there was a fee for this.

We get a lot more snow in NJ than we used to get in Switzerland (we were 25 mins from the Alpine areas and were right next to Lake Zug). However, our first car in NJ in 2000 was a Dodge Caravan mini-van. It wouldn't go up our sloping drive if it was even a tad icy or snowy. We have nowhere to store winter tyres, I have no idea if the tyre places around here would even store them for half the year? We replaced it with a Volvo XC90 which was fine until the warranty expired, then it was very expensive to maintain. We now have a Subaru Outback and a Subaru XV Crosstrek....much cheaper to maintain and all Subaru cars have all-wheel drive as standard