Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
Jun 29th 2017, 3:38 pm
#31
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 65
Re: Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
Properties For Sale in London - Flats & Houses For Sale in London - Rightmove
Jun 29th 2017, 3:58 pm
#32
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Joined: Jul 2008
Location: Portlandia Metro
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Re: Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
Not in London, if you exclude "shared ownership", "lifetime lease" and auction "guide prices":
Properties For Sale in London - Flats & Houses For Sale in London - Rightmove
Properties For Sale in London - Flats & Houses For Sale in London - Rightmove
and £100k parking spaces
Jun 29th 2017, 4:01 pm
#33
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Location: Portlandia Metro
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Re: Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...eporting-funds
If you own these then dividends, capital gains etc are recognized as such by HMRC and taxed accordingly at the much lower rates instead of as regular income.
If you own these then dividends, capital gains etc are recognized as such by HMRC and taxed accordingly at the much lower rates instead of as regular income.
Jun 29th 2017, 7:55 pm
#35
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Joined: Nov 2014
Location: London
Posts: 556
Re: Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
You can get surprisingly far south in England for £250K you know, if you pick the area carefully. That amount buys a 3-bed detached house in Peterborough, which is only 50 mins from London. Some of the villages near Peterborough are very nice, and other towns to the north of London but still fairly south include Stevenage, Huntingdon, Welwyn etc. Much cheaper than the same distance from the capital but south of it, like Kent.
Jun 30th 2017, 7:29 am
#36
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,148
Re: Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
Not in London, if you exclude "shared ownership", "lifetime lease" and auction "guide prices":
Properties For Sale in London - Flats & Houses For Sale in London - Rightmove
Properties For Sale in London - Flats & Houses For Sale in London - Rightmove
Jun 30th 2017, 8:15 am
#37
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 10,023
Re: Cost of living for retirees: USA vs. UK
Like everything it depends on what you are comparing. Last May we moved back from just north of Houston to a market town in the NE of England and everywhere is so much closer and easier to get to here. As mentioned above we drive far fewer miles here and second hand car prices are very good here.
We rented a 3 bed bungalow for about a year while we looked for and bought a 4 bed 2 story detached house with double garage with wonderful views of the hills but only a 10 minute walk from the town centre. Rent was £650/month. Cost of new house was £285,000. We are looking for a place for our son to move to and there are plenty of 2 and 3 bed semi detached houses for £120-160,000 on the same estate as we are. My sister is in the process of buying a 3 bed semi very near us for £123,000 (hopefully will be moving in 2 or 3 weeks time.) she has been renting a 3 bed house for the last 2 years in the same town, on the high street, for £450/month.
House insurance, car insurance, broadband, cable TV is all a whole lot less expensive here. Car tax is more, food is less, healthcare is less. We just had our first visit to a dentist here, recommended by good friends, private only, not NHS. Much cheaper than our excellent dentist in Texas. Our first visit was free and he asked if he could do a full set of x-rays which he did and spent plenty of time discussing them with me. Cost was £7. Although I don't need treatment I asked him how much a crown would cost and he said about £400. Dental insurance is available but he said that I had very healthy teeth so the cost of insurance would probably be about the same as treatment.
We are both dual US/UK citizens so have to do the tax returns in both countries. We structured our finances so that all our after tax investments in the US are HMRC reporting funds, and in my wife's name to maximize the tax benefits as my US pensions plus my U.K. pensions have me in the higher tax band. (The exchange rate pushed me over - not complaining as the house purchase was hugely cheaper than we had budgeted for).
We are also converting IRA money to Roth as the conversions are taxable only in the US and the Roth withdrawals when we take them are tax free in both countries.
We rented a 3 bed bungalow for about a year while we looked for and bought a 4 bed 2 story detached house with double garage with wonderful views of the hills but only a 10 minute walk from the town centre. Rent was £650/month. Cost of new house was £285,000. We are looking for a place for our son to move to and there are plenty of 2 and 3 bed semi detached houses for £120-160,000 on the same estate as we are. My sister is in the process of buying a 3 bed semi very near us for £123,000 (hopefully will be moving in 2 or 3 weeks time.) she has been renting a 3 bed house for the last 2 years in the same town, on the high street, for £450/month.
House insurance, car insurance, broadband, cable TV is all a whole lot less expensive here. Car tax is more, food is less, healthcare is less. We just had our first visit to a dentist here, recommended by good friends, private only, not NHS. Much cheaper than our excellent dentist in Texas. Our first visit was free and he asked if he could do a full set of x-rays which he did and spent plenty of time discussing them with me. Cost was £7. Although I don't need treatment I asked him how much a crown would cost and he said about £400. Dental insurance is available but he said that I had very healthy teeth so the cost of insurance would probably be about the same as treatment.
We are both dual US/UK citizens so have to do the tax returns in both countries. We structured our finances so that all our after tax investments in the US are HMRC reporting funds, and in my wife's name to maximize the tax benefits as my US pensions plus my U.K. pensions have me in the higher tax band. (The exchange rate pushed me over - not complaining as the house purchase was hugely cheaper than we had budgeted for).
We are also converting IRA money to Roth as the conversions are taxable only in the US and the Roth withdrawals when we take them are tax free in both countries.
Then there is proximity to Europe, and often affordability of travel.
Housing prices for same amount of space even in North East seem much higher than many parts of US.
Dealing with HMRC and local government seems much easier to get someone on the phone, and government website easier to use.
