Dunc81

Hello to all
I have just joined the forum and would like some honest advice from some expats in the USA.
I currently live in York , uk and work as an engineer. I have been offered a job in Norfolk, Virginia and am toying with the idea of relocating my family (wife,3 kids aged 16,6 and 4). The salary is approx 50000 dollars before overtime. Just wanted to hear from anybody about the pro's and con's.
Cheers

Pulaski

First a question: what sort of visa is your prospective employer going to apply for to allow you to work in the US? .... If you're not sure, please go take a look at the two Pulaski wikis (under P) in the USA section of the Wikis tab above.

Secondly $50,000 per annum is poor pay for an engineer and borderline poverty for a family of five. Also, if you were interested in pursuing citizenship, your eldest child will "age out" before you are eligible to get citizenship for them, so they'll eventually need their own visa, or have to return to the UK.

Dunc81

Hi
Thanks for your swift response. I'm not sure on the visa side of things yet. The employer has asked me over for 2 weeks in the new year to see if we are suited and I think we'll thrash those things out then. They do offer a healthcare plan which would greatly reduce our healthcare outgoings but if 50000 is poor pay maybe I should re-think. How far would that sort of money go?
Thanks for your help

civilservant

'Invited you over for 2 weeks' sounds awfully like working on the VWP - which is illegal.

Dunc81

Thanks for that inspirational response.
First of all, I don't know what VWP means .
Secondly, I didn't ask the question to be quizzed on legalities. I simply wanted some friendly advice on the pro's and con's of moving to the states.
Any reasonable, non-self righteous advice would be massively appreciated.

TimNiceBut

You better get up to speed on the terminology then, you'll need it.

VWP = Visa Waiver Program, which is for visitors (holiday and business) but doesn't allow you to work.

The question regarding the visa is the *most* important one you need to consider, everything else is pretty much secondary. If the employer gets it somewhat wrong, asks you to work under the wrong sort of visa that can have all sort of consequences affecting you and your family, up to being deported and barred from entering the US for a long time and never being able to enter the US again under the VWP. IOW, get it wrong and the employer gets a fine, but you get shafted.

civilservant

Respectfully, what you asked for is irrelevant. Without giving good information you can't get good information, and as has been stated the visa is the most important question.

You'd be surprised the number of people we have provided information to only to find they have zero chance of getting a visa - so yes, we ask.

Pulaski

Well, $4,150/mth might go something like this: you're going to have some income tax to pay, but not much on $50k with four dependants, so say $400, rent is going to start at around $1,000, but you won't get much for that so let's say $1,200 for rent. Then vehicles: you pick up a couple of 5-6 year old vehicles for $8k-$10k, and are paying $500/mth in loans, but insurance is pricy to start with, so that'll be at least $250/mth, then tax, inspection and registration another $25/mth (average), petrol is cheap, but you'll find you use a lot more, so a tank full per vehicle every two weeks would be $300/mth. Food: costs more, for five of you a minimum $150/wk, and probably more, so $750/mth. Utilities: tend to be more than in the UK, in coastal Virginia you're probably looking at heating for four months of the year at a minimum $150/mth, and AC for six months of the year at $150-$200/mth, so let's say an average of $150/mth year round. Health insurance is going to be under Obamacare by next year, and heavily subsidized for those on low income, but the insurance cost alone will probably still cost (and I'm guessing here) a minimum $300/mth for your family (which is pretty good going when non-subsidized insurance typically costs $300-$500/person/mth! ), but then there are fees of several different types every time you go to the doctor, so with three children that could easily be $100/mth, and quite possibly more.

If my mental arithmetic is correct we have got a total of $3,975/mth, leaving $175/mth for clothing, vehicle repairs, traveling home to the UK, pension savings, college savings, etc.

Honestly it looks like your monthly income will barely cover your ongoing monthly costs, with nothing left for anything else. For a family of five looking for a comfortable but not extravagant lifestyle I think your gross income would need to be around $100k, out of which you'll pay a lot more tax and for medical insurance, be able to afford new cars (so greatly reduce the chance of having pricey repairs), and have money for clothes, pension, college savings, and air tickets home, etc.

FWIW After a year, if you can find about $30k down payment, an average looking detached house in the 'burbs for around $150,000, will cost you around the same $1,200/mth (mortgage, taxes, and insurance) as I estimated for rent, above. But remember roofs on US houses only last 20-25 years and cost $6k-$10k for an average house. Heating and AC systems don't last that long (15 years is as long as you can expect) and cost about the same as a roof, but require annual maintenance (another $250/yr plus any repairs!)

Pulaski

No visa, no job. Full stop. So civilservant and Tim are correct. But conversely, in your case, even IF you can get a visa (which all of us doubt), it really doesn't matter because you aren't going to want to come for $50k anyway!

McZaki

Pulaski is 120% spot on. 50k USD is not enough (like they say here) period...

If you were moving to California (main cities), 50k would not have even covered the rent and utilities... With due respect, 32k GBP p.a maybe a survivable income back home in York but in the US it's not enough for a family your size if you want a decent "middle class" lifestyle. Having said that, life is what you make of it and there are many survivors out there earning that sort of money. In my view, if one is just going to make the ends meet then it's best to get through this phase at home rather than a foreign country.

All the best.

TimNiceBut

Well, it depends on where he's moving to, if he moves to some of the cheap areas $50k might go reasonably far. I don't think that's the case for Norfolk, VA, though...

Sally Redux

It's going to be rough moving a 16-year-old too.

Pulaski

If he moved to a "cheap" area, the only thing he'd save would be some of the rent, and though he might save a few hundred dollars, (I'd be very cautious about renting anywhere under $800) it is questionable if he would be getting better value for money because living in lower cost areas commonly brings "other issues".

AmerLisa

$50k used to be a pretty nice salary....

AdobePinon

My advice would be to try and double that salary.