nadnad

i wonder if i will be able to survive in usa. my salary is going to be less than 3000 dollars a month for 3years : have a dependant wife and a toddler

jumping doris

Where will you be living?
It sounds a bit low. Will you get bonuses, pay rises? Will your wife be eligible to work or will she be H4?

SagenOnion

If you are moving to New York City it will be impossible...if its LA it will be hard...if it is Maine it will be a piece of cake.

Sally Redux

My husband's place just employed someone on J1 with a dependent wife and small chilld at $33,000, which is pretty low for LA, but he is in subsidised university accomodation. It will greatly depend on where you are and any subsidies they are offering.

nadnad

well i will have a pay rise but after 3 years. i will be a junior doctor. my wife is a usc. but prolly childcare will cost more if she worked.

Sally Redux

You'll soon make up for it then

chicagojlo

My husband earns nearly 3 times that and we aren't exactly living the high life. I work full time too and we still have debt and can't afford a second car. But that's living in Chicago...
(Childcare costs us $200-250 a week by the way)

NC Penguin

The OP needs to state where he will be living (city and state) to get any useful responses.

Bob

How long is a piece of string?

Without knowing where in the country you live, what sort of things you like doing, have kids to put in daycare etc, it's a question that can't be answered.

Daycare is a good $1600-2000 a month if you've got a wee thingy...rent can be $700 up in Maine to $3500 down in Cambridge Mass etc...

kins

Much more information needed. Where will you live? What size house do you plan to live in? Are you willing to live in an area with not-so-good schools to save money? How much will your family health insurance costs be? What kind of pay rises do you expect?

Below a certain income you do get help with various things like medicare but we're above that level (not far) so I've never looked into them. It doesn't seem to be as simple as the UK system where if you're on a low salary with kids then you get tax credits paid to you.

Childcare can be much cheaper here than in the UK if you go with a childminder rather than a nursery.

ugacrew

Oh so you are doing a residency. Do you mind if I ask where? What's your specialty by chance?

Yes, do tell us where you are going to be. Three thousand a year may be more than enough in some places and just above poverty in others.

Kaffy Mintcake

Forgive me if this is a silly question - but is the $3,000/month you're quoting before or after taxes?

nadnad

i will be living in pittsburgh. i have some savings from uk- approx 160000dollar. so i may be able to make some downpayment for a house(i was planning to buy house about 200000dollar with 100000 as downpayment to reduce monthly mortgage).

i wll be very busy with work so i do not think i will be able to spend much money.and i do understand that i will not be having much money to spend anyways.

i am doing my residency in internal medicine. my salary will be about 45000dollar per year. my health insurance will be covered as i will be working int he health sector. i hope after i have done my residency my salary will be pretty good- and then maybe i can enjoy a little more then.

i am not sure how should i distribute my savings- i presume a large part goes into downpayment. and we need two cars- i presume car insurance will not be a problem as my wife is a usc and i can add myself on her policy? i am a green card holder myself and i hope that will make things a litttle easier.

what is the forums opinion on multifamily house- that will reduce my mortgage if i am living in the same unit? how are multi family house to live in. my priority will be a good school in the neighbbourhood.

Manc

personally mate,
I'd rent for 4 years as you have the cash to rent, and pay cash for the 2 cars.

then in 4 years once residency is over, you'll be in a lot better position finacially (and knowing where you'll be settled after residency) in order to go house shopping.

for example, lets say you buy a house, and do 4 years residency in Pittsburgh, but then after residency, get a great job in a hospital in say, Boston.........
if you're renting then you don't have to go through the hassle of selling.

Also as you say you're gonna be working 90 hours plus a week..... so if you buy a duplex, why add more hassle of being a landlord to your already limited time off?
I mean seriously, after a 14 hour shift you don't want to come home and have to deal with fixing someone elses furnace.

augigi

Check www.craigslist.org for housing, or if you're working at UPMC, there is a housing page on their site.

Pittsburgh is very cheap to live, so you should be okay. I agree that I'd rent for the near future though.