UKHE4NOW

Dear all,

This is my first post, and I need some input or advice. I currently live in Staffordshire with my family, but possibly as a result of a mid-life crisis want to move abroad. I have previously lived a year in Brighton, MA, six months in Louisville, KY, and six months in Southbend, IN. I am in Higher education with a UK salary around sterling 42K. My US salary would be in the range $70-72K. In the UK I also have rental income which I would likely terminate when moving abroad (or even sooner, as it is a hassle, and contractors are almost lawless).

The two places of employment that I am looking at currently are a few miles north of Charlotte, NC, and a few miles east of Westport, CT. Salaries are not too different between the two places, and I have to find out more about the exact details of the health insurance schemes in place, but they do cover families. I have great experiences with the NHS (including the dental side), and have 5 kids, so healthcare is of importance to me. My kids range from 0-15, so need good schools and high schools as well, and universities in the not so distant future.

My first question is whether there is such a thing as child benefit either at the state or federal level? I am not currently qualifying for much child tax credit (perhaps two digits per year), so don't bother with that, but overall the child benefit does help as does the free prescriptions and glasses for kids.

My second question is about university fees and whether at state-level, students pay more or less than the UK rate of sterling 9,000? How common are scholarships in these states. With five kids, I dread having to put them through UK universities with that level of fees and few scholarships.

Thirdly, any advice on climate would help. If my own experience is an any guide, CT summers will be nicer than the UK sunless summers, while the winter would be harsher. Yet, I prefer that (if you have had a decent summer, you can get through a tougher winter, but without a hot and sunny summer, you don't have the strength to get through endless days of grey and rain). My d-vitamin levels are persistently low and I suffer from SAD.

Fourthly, living expenses, I am assuming are lower than the UK? I am currently living in a detached 5-bed house and would continue to require a 5-bed house. We paid just over 200K here and I can afford up to $450,000 in the US, based on selling up here.

Fifthly, taxes: I am not unhappy with the UK tax system, as it is a reasonable balance of tax to services provided. Could someone explain how it would work differently in CT or NC.

Finally, any comparison of the two states (which I understand are very different: south vs. New England). I am Muslim so diversity is good in my eyes, just as warm weather much of the year, low crime and reasonable amenities matter. I live in a village currently, and am looking at towns in the US (in fact, I couldn't live in a large city, as long as I am close to one for networking purposes).

Thanks in advance.

penguinsix

Lot of questions. Let me start with my first one: are visas an issue? Do you have a visa or are the current positions willing to sponsor you? Some of the answer below will depend on this question (and, if no visa is likely or available, then most of this is moot).

There are some benefit programs available for children, such as school lunches and other things but generally no, you should not expect any assistance from the government. In fact, depending on your visa situation, the acceptance of 'means tested' assistance programs is generally not allowed for the first five years of living in the USA. More on that here:

http://www.nilc.org/overview-immeligfedprograms.html

US university fees are considerably higher than their UK counterparts. Top private schools are £40,000 a year with the average over £20,000. Government state schools can still be considerably expensive, with prices well over £9,000 a year. Most American (i.e. citizen) kids are on scholarships, but the offerings are considerably less for non-US citizens or Green Cards.

Living expenses vary, but I would suspect CT is more expensive than NC. Taxes would also vary. You will pay a federal income tax, a state income tax, in some places a city or county tax (which is usually computed on your state income tax) and then a 'sales tax' that is assessed on basically every item you purchase (like a VAT but different). If you own property, such as a house, you'll pay 'property tax'. In some states you even pay property tax on cars, which you will need in the USA no matter where you live.

I think most people would say to the question "is it cheaper" it's more "a wash". Some things are cheaper, some are not. You pay for some expenses here (health care, sales tax) that you don't pay in the UK, and some things like mobile phone plans and electricity and food can actually be more expensive here.

UKHE4NOW

Thanks for the first reply. The visa situation is not a problem, as the prospective employers are large educational institutions with lots of international staff. I can believe that mobile/cell phone plans are more expensive (500 minutes for a tenner a month in the UK remains a steal). My recollection of food prices were that they were lower, although my experience is a decade old. VAT in the UK is applicable to products and services, so is that not comparable to sales tax?

Also is not the US tax system based on allowances for dependents so that the taxable income for a sole breadwinner becomes much reduced for large families?

I was hoping that in-state tuition fees in the US were lower than was stated. My eldest is planning a medical career.

penguinsix

With respect, visas are never "not a problem" until they are in your passport, and even then there are many issues you will need to consider if you are hoping to stay long term. Have they given you a specific visa for which they will be applying (i.e. H1B, J1 scholar, etc)?

For example, most large education institutions may prefer to use the H1B visa which may have some restrictions on your spouse working and a 6-year time limit after which you need to return to your home country. There may also be an "age out" issue when your child turns 21, kicking them off of you dependent visa (H4) and onto their own education visa (F1, if they can qualify) but that might incur additional charges at the university, should they decide to reclassify them as an "out of state" international student due to the F1. There are many different angles that will have to be sorted with the visa before you'll have a clear picture of how easy / difficult this move might be. (Note I am not that familiar with the academic visas so there may be some different policies on what I mentioned above--you will need to check with a professional).

As for the specifics of tax savings, you might want to google a "paycheck calculator USA" and try on any one of several systems to help you calculate your actual take home pay in different states. Here is one you could try:

http://www.paycheckcity.com/calculator/salary/

Of your time in the USA, did you prefer the Massachusetts 'culture' or the Lexington KY 'culture? Did you have any problems blending in in either environment? I think CT would be more similar to MA and NC more similar to KY, but that's a bit of a rough generalization.

NatashaB

You say you work for an 'educational institution' - any chance that they would offer reduced tuition for employees families? Some US colleges do this. How old are your children? This may be significant in determining whether they qualify for in-state tuition fees and what their visa situation will be. Also, if one of them wants to study medicine, you need to make sure you fulfil and exceed all the necessary high school requirements and that everything they've done so far in the UK is correctly translated and credited on their US high school transcript.

Pulaski

Under the circumstances you describe living costs are likely to be critical for you in making a choice between CT and NC. The cost of housing in CT is high, as are property taxes. In NC you should be able to get a nice five bed house in a good school district for your budget if $450,000, though watch out for property taxes - on a house at that price level you can expect to pay about $100/wk.

House prices vary substantially based on the reported performance of the school district, and around Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville is going to be pricier for this area, and you'd get a lot more house for your money by looking north in Iredell county around Mooresville, but the school performance might not be as good.

People's opinion on school districts vary, and as Cornelius, Davidson, and Huntersville are within the Mecklenburg County school district, and the shenanigans of the county councillors and the school board have at times become a three ring circus, leading to many families leaving to move to neighbouring counties, such as Iredell.

Noorah101

You mention being the sole breadwinner. Does that mean a spouse is not in the picture? You will need the children's father's permission to remove them from the UK.

You said the visa is not a problem, but you also say "prospective" employer, which leads me to believe you don't actually have a visa in hand yet. Therefore, the visa is still a problem. How do you know you are guaranteed a visa?

With children as young as age 0, and seemingly no spouse in the picture, you'll also want to factor child care into the budget.

Rene

Pulaski

You're reading a lot into what the OP didn't explicitly say. I believe the OP is male and is talking about relocating his wife and five children with him. ..... And "sole breadwinner" likely just means his wife doesn't work, not that his wife is "out of the picture". "Sole breadwinner" meaning only one working adult has a subtle distinction from "single parent", where there is only one adult in the family unit.

christmasoompa

To be fair to Noorah101, there's an awful lot of 'I' rather than 'we' and 'my kids' rather than 'our kids'. I also read it as from a single parent.

Pulaski

Look at it from a cultural perspective.

Nutmegger

That would be a low salary for a family with five children in CT.

Westport is located in Fairfield County, CT, a beautiful, but expensive area. Because it is a wealthy area, the schools are in general good. But to get the best schools, you must live in the best areas.


I'm afraid that $450,000 will not go far in Fairfield County; especially in the towns with the best school systems, that will be at the lower end of the house-price spectrum. Expect to pay high annual property taxes on whatever house you purchase. By the way, two cars will be essential. Public transport is pretty non-existent apart from commuter rail into NYC.

Fairfield County is not known for its diversity. Period. The weather is usually lovely in the fall; spring can be nice some years, other years non-existent, going straight from a hard winter into a hot summer. Note hot, not warm. We had feet of snow on the ground for about three months solid this past winter.

All in all, Fairfield County is a lovely area -- but it is not an inexpensive one in which to live.

sir_eccles

I am curious to know what visa you had then and what visa you expect now?

WEBlue

I have to echo Nutmegger that your proposed salary and housing lump sum will not be easy to live on in southwestern CT, especially for a family of 5 children. We have relatives and friends in and around Westport, and the joke about housing prices in that town is that any house selling for less than a million dollars is a "fixer-upper" i.e.--needs a lot of work.

Fairfield to the east is somewhat less expensive, as are some other neighbouring towns, but your problem will be that if as you say you need a 5 bedroom detached house you are already moving well beyond the 450K price range.

Pulaski

In fairness, $70k isn't a generous income to support a family of five even in NC. Net income will be about $60k, maybe a little less, or roughly $4,500/mth.

So from that he'll have to find about $1,500 for mortgage, $400 for property taxes, $200 for property insurance, $250 for electricity and gas, $100 for water, $100 for cell phones, $500 vehicles (loan, lease, or sinking fund for replacements), $1,000 for food (could easily be more), $500/mth clothes (5 children!), $200 petrol, ...... [that's $4,750 already. ]

So what about pension savings, college funds, travel back to the UK, or indeed any holidays, HOA fees in any "nice" neighborhood, ..... and the "minor" matter of health insurance plus copays and deductibles?

The only way I could see this family surviving on $70k gross even in NC, is if they bought a house for cash, thereby freeing up the money I budgeted for "mortgage", which would mean buying a house wherever they could find one for the net sale proceeds of their house in the UK. That would save them some insurance and property taxes too, but probably bump up the petrol bill, and mean less attractive schools.

UKHE4NOW

Thanks for the replies so far. Yes, I am the male (not that it makes a lot of difference to the situation). My wife is not working due to the baby, and don't plan to for years to come, hence the sole breadwinner situation. The link to the tax calculator was very helpful, thanks. We may actually end up paying more in tax in the US, it appears.

My wife hated Louisville, KY, and we were pretty happy with MA and visited New Haven, CT which is not far from the new prospect. We have never been down to NC, but did visit Florida which was nice too.

Yes, no mortgage planned. The $450,000 should be cash after sale of the residential and rental houses in the UK.

Previous stays were on J-1 visas. These positions come with H-1B.

If I may add a question on the pension front. I have only 10 years of service in the UK (have periods abroad in Asia, Europe and America that are not useable). Will I qualify for any state pension, if I move transatlantically at this stage?

Thanks again.