Keith Moon

Hi,

I know things are tough over in the States at the moment, just wondering, if you worked full time, pulled in a wage of $650.00 aweek. What sort of quality of life would you have?

You have to pay rent on a condo, two bedroom, no kids, single or partner working so self supportive. You do the normal stuff in life, eat, drink, drive etc?

Ahhh yeh, living in and around Long Beach LA? Or around a 10km area of this area?

Cheerss Keith.

md95065

Is that $650 a week before tax or $650 take home pay?

Either way you could probably *just* survive on that in the LA area, but I'm not sure your life would have much "quality" ...

Keith Moon

Sorry,

Appologies, after tax, so in your pocket per week.

Keith Cheers.

E3only

From what I know, once you factor in car, gas, health care, groceries and rent for 2 bedroom condo – I don’t know if there will be much left. You will be in survival mode so you can forget about the 'quality of life' bit of the question.

I am sure experts will correct me. My 2 cents worth.

Keith Moon

Cheers,

Me no economist, me no rich....

But just shows you, $650.00 US a week is £420.00 aweek, you can have a great life in the UK on that.

£420.00 aweek is around $680.00 AU dollars aweek, not alot in Australia.

The UK seem to be good value for money or the xchange rate is pants?

Pants i think, the pound is way undervalued or we are living in the UK in cloud cuckoo land because £420.00 aweek is a great wage here at the moment.

Keith.

Bob

I'd think a lot of it depends on how far of a commute you've got and if public transport is an option or not.

I can't say for LA...but in Boston, would make a hell of a difference if you lived in the burbs and had to pay $600 a month to park your car for instance.

Either way, it would be tight and you'd not have much to eat out or go to the movies all that often.

Bob

Depends where you live don't it....it's a bit shit if you lived in central London, but probably pretty decent up in Yorkshire.

meauxna

But you chose one of the more expensive places for the location! Is this for an offer you've received, or are you just trying to make global comparisons?
Did that example include health insurance?

Michael

Trying to compare the UK as a whole to Long Beach is not a very good comparison. That would be no different than comparing the US as a whole to London.

Where in the UK can you purchase a new 3,400 sf home with high ceilings plus a two car garage for $265,000 like Houston, Texas. In Long Beach that same home would sell for well over $1 million.

http://www.homes.com/listing/1237845...USTON_TX_77044

penguinsix

That works out to being about a $42,000 a year job (if you are filing taxes married). That's not great. It's livable, more so if your spouse is working, but not great.

I'd be wary of anyone quoting you a 'end of the week' salary as a) they usually are not correct as they don't know the specifics of your tax filings and b) if they are wrong, even in the slightest, it's magnified 52x across the course of the year. Even a mere $20 off is over $1,000 difference in the year. Be suspicious of job offers like this. The wiggle room it gives the employer is a bit suspect.

You also didn't mention if it included health care (very important) and whether there is any vacation time included. The specifics of the health insurance are very important. We can't really estimate it without your specific age and medical history, but it could run anywhere from $250-$750 a month--just really depends.

You will also need a car. You aren't going to live in that part of California without one.

The average two bedroom in Long Beach is about $1450, though 'average' might not meet your standards (or may exceed them). But basically that's 50% of your take home pay going to house just from the start. Most financial planners recommend spending at most 33% of your take home pay on housing, maybe 40% if you are in a very high priced city. But more than that any you can cripple any attempts at long term financial stability and are living in danger of one calamity sinking you.

Sally Redux

Have you factored in health insurance?

Giantaxe

In addition to the points made by others, your assertion also depends on what income percentile that amount falls into in the three countries.

Michael

I doubt that many people in the UK would think that £420.00 per week would be a great wage. In 2004, the medium household income in the UK was £24,700 and I now suspect it is higher. In the US, the medium household income is $49,777 (in 2009) or $83,000 if two are working in the household and I don't think many would say that is a great income.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_household_income

Awesome Welles

I would beg to differ.

scrubbedexpat099

There is at least 10% of the population who would think that was pretty good.