halfhalf1

Hello everybody!

Quick backstory. I am originally from the USA but I left when I was 1 year old and have lived in London ever since. My parents are both American but moved to England for work and just never went back. I have both passports and I'm looking into moving back to the USA sometime this year.

I am currently working in IT and I have applied for a lot of jobs in Richmond Virginia which is where I studied abroad for a year and loved it. I have been offered a few jobs and the pay is almost 2-3 times as much as I make now in London. While this looks great on paper I'm curious to how far my money will actually go. I didn't feel as if people in Richmond were very wealthy so I'm curious if Americans have a lot more expenses than we do.

Here is the most attractive offer I have received.
Base salary USD 93,000. Full match of 401k. 15 days paid holiday with an option to take as much time off unpaid as I want. Healthcare provided from the company.

Is this really too good to be true?

SanDiegogirl

What's the job? Position/level? Have you been interviewed or just offered based on your application? If the second scenario then its a scam

Option to take off as much time as you want sounds weird.

halfhalf1

The position is at a medium sized IT company and the title is senior system administrator. It's the same title I have here. I have the job offer from HR and she told me I have some time to think about it as she thinks I will be a good fit.

In the interview I told her I was worried about the lack of holidays in the states and she told me they are flexible with it.

md95065

Direct cost of living comparisons between the UK and the US are difficult because there are so many variables and a lot depends on your own particular lifestyle and expectations.

That being said, a gross US salary that is around 2 x the gross UK salary for an IT position doesn't sound unusual to me. (and $93k actually sounds to me as if it might be a little low, but I am more used to California salaries)

So, if you do your homework about the cost of living and taxes in the area where you are thinking of moving to and you can get an offer that looks good to you then you might as well go for it. What's the worst that can happen? If, after 12 months or so, you decide that you don't like it then you can always move back to the UK.

Oh, and btw, the two standard check list items for returning US citizens - make sure that you have been filing your US tax returns (and if not, do it now and get up to date) and, if you are male, make sure that you have registered for Selective Service.

username.exe

I work in IT, and although I don't have a huge amount of experience over here I have observed that most of my current colleagues would be earning less for similar roles in the UK. Not sure what the col is like in Virgina, but you'd have a very reasonable lifestyle out here with that salary.

Is the company a startup or more established? Do you have a comfortable buffer to see yourself okay for a while if things didn't pan out at the company? Sounds like a decent opportunity to me.

johnwoo

The short answer is $93,000 is a very good salary. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Ozzidoc

It depends where the job is located. That's an OKish salary here in San Diego for single person with no dependents who is not interested in buying a property here. It's a fantastic salary elsewhere eg in Wichita, for example.

AdobePinon

A quick google search suggests it's in line with expectation.

johnwoo

If your a Doctor, it probably doesn't look like much.

Pulaski

Do you have much experience of IT salaries and the cost of living in Virginia?

To the OP: I have no comment on the level of the salary for the job, but you should be able to live very comfortably on $93,000 in Virginia. Richmond is on the outer fringes of a commutable distance to DC (where housing is expensive), but so long as you don't look too far north of Richmond you should find housing and the cost of living to be quite reasonable.

johnwoo

Well if people here are making that much, I've no idea why there's so much complaining.

johnwoo

I what is the point you are trying to make.
I live in the San Francisco Bay area, I'd be surprised if Virginia was more expensive than here.

md95065

While we don't know the OP's qualifications and experience or the exact details of the job that he appears to have been offered I can assure you that $93,000 is well within the normal range for a senior systems administrator position (according to glassdoor.com the national average is $105,000)

Whether that is enough to live on depends on where you live and your expectations. In San Francisco or New York it wouldn't go very far, but in Richmond VA it should be more than enough.

md95065

No it isn't, but I don't understand *your* point.

While salaries do vary across the country they don't vary nearly as much as the cost of living does.

That $93,000 job in Richmond VA might pay $115,000 in San Francisco but the person in Richmond is going to be much better off because the cost of living in San Francisco is so very much higher.

Pulaski

"A very good salary" is your opinion, and no doubt many people working in retail, restaurants, and semi-skilled occupations would agree, but whether it is objectively "a very good salary" for the occupation and the person concerned in this case, is unclear. If md95065 is correct in his glassdoor research, then it is only "a fairly average salary".

Given your location in California, your posting history, and general west coast mindset, I doubt you know anything about the cost of living in Virginia.

In short, other than expressing a layman's opinion, I don't believe you have any objective basis for declaring $93,000 to be "a very good salary" for the OP.