whiterabbit

Saleries are pretty high in London in my experience at least as high as the US if not higher. In my company for example we pay an average consultant between 55k and 70k pounds with car in London and 95k to 115k dollars in US with no car. Same job and rank in both countries. Hard to find people in both places too! You will work much longer hours with higher expectations in the UK and not have long lunches like here although you will have more direct vacation time.
I would say 50k is low for a couple in the SE these days. My friend makes 45k as a mechanic in Hertfordshire. A lot of the online jobs offer less than what you can really negociate. Especially Monster.

whiterabbit

I agree with all this. Half of Georgia live in Metro Atlanta and they are generally Democrat. Its only recently the state became Republican and historically have always been Democrat (think Jimmy Carter).
Atlanta has the second largest gay comunity after San Francisco.
Apparently they also now have the highest full time English population as a percentage of people!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe because of all the British businesses here? There certainly were tons of St George cross flying from cars during the world cup.

whiterabbit

[QUOTE=Cape Blue]I'm not entirely sure that a comparison between Atlanta and London is entirely valid, for starters London has a population density of 4,700 people/Km2 whereas Atlanta's is nearer 220. London has double the population of Atlanta but does not have the classic US suburban sprawl.

A very good point. That is a massive difference. If I had to choose between London and NY or Boston I think we may have stayed in London.

The problem for us was that we could only get good jobs in London and the whole country is very London centric. Even when I was offerd a job in Birmingham it still would have involved comuting to London half the week because thats where all the clients/business was.
In comparison they are maybe 10 urban centers in the US where you can have a good career. So I guess what I mean is Atlanta is good for the very reason that you can have a London/NYC type job and career without all the drawbacks of living in those cites.

Triumphrob

Apparently they also now have the highest full time English population as a percentage of people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They do? Where? Ive lived in Atlanta for years and go to one meet up in Roswell last Friday of the month but besides that... I would love to meet more Brits
Rob

Hayley

[QUOTE]Yes I know the US has crime but its easier to avoid because you are not forced to take public transport or live next to a violent council estate. US teenagers are much better behaved and spoken.QUOTE]

Yes, can't beat a bit of segregation! I think that the whole reason England is such a liberal country is because you are forced to face up to issues because you see people living with them (but it's all so dreadfully unpleasant) - unlike when hurricane Katrina hit and most people were clueless as to why people didn't just move from the area. By the by anyone heard about how the new Orleans situation is going lately?

More importantly- that grey haired bloke won American idol!

gardnma

Thanks for the reply. If we went, it would be to the SW. My lunch is 1/2 hour and I regularly work 3-5 hrs unpaid OT per week. Week in week out, for the equiv of 25k pounds. Standard 2 weeks vac.....
Do you really think this is better than in England? (genuine question)

Thanks again.

snowbunny

I've looked at UK salaries in my field -- firstly there is not nearly the number of jobs or variety in specialities as there is in the US -- and secondly the salaries are nowhere near as high. Many friends who've worked in both countries say that engineers do not make decent money in the UK.... I'd love to be wrong about this.

Yes, you can make good money in London just as you can in NYC, but it is in different specialities and you have to contend with high prices on everything and horrible commutes whether by public transport or car.

gardnma

Mmmmmmm. So 25-30k in pounds isn't too far off the mark for an ME then?

Understand there are allways exceptions to the rule.
The commute thing would be part of the trade off. I used to commute an hour one-way in upstate NY..........

whiterabbit

I would really need to know more detail to comment accurately. Obviously there are bad and good jobs in both countrys. In my field which is consulting you have to work harder and bill more than in the US because the business burden is so high.

I am also not sure where you live in the US but the SW of England has also got very expensive these days. We actually considered living there and staying in a hotel in London during the week but with kids it just wouldn't work.

whiterabbit

[QUOTE=Hayley][QUOTE]Yes I know the US has crime but its easier to avoid because you are not forced to take public transport or live next to a violent council estate. US teenagers are much better behaved and spoken.QUOTE]

Yes, can't beat a bit of segregation! I think that the whole reason England is such a liberal country is because you are forced to face up to issues because you see people living with them (but it's all so dreadfully unpleasant) - unlike when hurricane Katrina hit and most people were clueless as to why people didn't just move from the area. By the by anyone heard about how the new Orleans situation is going lately?

I wouldn't use the word "segregation" to describe what I said as it has racial overtones. Whether the PC brigade will admit it or not the quality of life in England has gone to crap especially in the SE. A lot of that is because of the present Liberal/PC govenment forcing crazy policies and increasing taxes etc. Yes Bush and the right wing republicans are idiots but the PC element in London is worse for an average working family unless you are super rich and can afford to make social commentary whilst living in Hampstead or Islington. I notice a lot of the people who brag about being so liberal such as Diane Abbott in London won't send their own kids to school or live in the area they are elected in choosing instead to live in leafy suburbia whilst pushing policiy on everyone left behind. I wouldn't make the mistake of thinking that all of the UK population right now are liberal thinking at all. Seems to me the UK is getting more right wing each year as a backlash against political correctness.

The fact is in London and most of the SE you come into direct contact with crime much more often that in the US. I had my car broken into twice and witnesses tons of fights in pubs and on the streets in two years in the UK. Cant say I have ever seen Yanks fighting in bars......... Watching crime on the news rather than seeing it in person suits me fine!

whiterabbit

Yes they do, lots in Buckhead, Dunwoody, Midtown and Vinnings. Try any of the pubs in Midtown or Buckhead for starters. The alehouse in little five points is always crowded during football season and shows all games live. We have 10 Brits in my office out of about 90 and I hear English accents all the time at lunch in Buckhead. Even went to the barbar the other day and all three people in their were English (crazy). Apparently a lot of Brits have also bought flats in Atlantic station.

By the way to you have a Triumph motorcycle, was wondering as there are loads of Brits who ride bikes in town.

ladyofthelake

This is true, and it's also the reason my husband's boss has refused him a pay rise.... because he's getting more than he would in the UK.
This, despite the fact that colleagues below him are being paid more than him. Gee, it's great being tied to a certain job by your visa so they can treat you like shit.
Bottom line, we go home if a payrise is not forthcoming soon.

Taffyles

We've been there LOTL. Things improved drastically for us when we got greencards- funny thing hubby got a whopping pay rise when they realised he could leave!

On the subject of wages- hubby can earn more here but I can earn much more in UK. Swings and roundabouts.

Triumphrob

[
By the way to you have a Triumph motorcycle, was wondering as there are loads of Brits who ride bikes in town.[/QUOTE]

Sure do!! Need to get it out more though. We live north of Atlanta in Woodstock, dont get downtown much as square concrete dont do that much for me :-)
Maybe we should...........
Thanks
Rob

Hayley

Segregation is a form of discrimination against a disadvantaged group. In the US this just so happens that more poor/ lower class people are black, hence the race connotations.
Segregation: the separation or isolation of a race, class, or ethnic group by enforced or voluntary residence in a restricted area, by barriers to social intercourse, by separate educational facilities, or by other discriminatory means b : the separation for special treatment or observation of individuals or items from a larger group <segregation of gifted children into accelerated classes

You've hit a nerve with me as I grew up in one of those 'violent' council estates you described, went on to UNi and got my masters and so know both sides of this debate. But I have no desire to encase myself in a bubble. The US has given me a wonderful material life, where I can consume anything I want and chat about such purchases to my white, privileged neighbors, but they do not seem to know what struggle is.

.

This is no different to the folks in starter mansions over here that know nothing about how to survive on minimum wage. Sounds like you want to be locked away from the PC bunch in suburbia yourself and it's easier and cheaper to do that in the wide open spaces of USA than in Britain. Fair enough, I'm sure your children will have a well rounded view of how the other half lives!


Well seeing how things have run the course over here- that's a real shame.

How much of the US have you seen/ Lived in?- How much of England? London is a capital city- not sure you can compare!