ben1989

Hi all! My first time posting here, and I’d greatly appreciate any help you guys can provide!

So I’ve recently been offered a job in Manhattan. If I accept it, I’ll be moving out from Germany (originally British though) with my wife and two daughters (1 and 6), and we like the idea of living in Fairfield CT, largely because it appears to be commutable, comparatively affordable (property wise at least), and has good public schools. My wife won’t work for a while at least, so she’d be at home with the baby, and my other daughter would be starting first grade in September. I would commute in on the Metro North train.

The starting salary for the job is 125k, which apparently works out to about 7.3k a month (paid biweekly). From what I’ve read online, I understand that it’s not completely straightforward for a family of 4 to live on that kind of money in Fairfield, but it’s really my dream job, Fairfield looks like a great place to raise a family, and the salary will increase substantially in the long run (meaning that we’d be able to save more for retirement and college a few years down the line).

We’d aim to buy a house in the 350—400k range (there seem to be a fair number of options in this range in the Stratfield area), which would mean monthly mortgage payments of about 2.5k (including PMI, taxes etc), depending on the house. My question is whether the following budget is realistic and responsible, or whether there are any important costs I’m underestimating or ignoring? I should also mention that my salary comes with quite a few tax perks, discounts and extra benefits that I’m not taking into account here, and that we have cash saved for buying a car (only one) outright and have no other outstanding debts.

Monthly Costs

2500 — mortgage/property tax etc

600 — health insurance (this is the company plan)

1000 — food/groceries

400 — train pass

100 — car fuel

200 — car insurance

80 — internet

80 — mobile phones

500 — utilities (gas, electric, water etc)

60 — sewage, trash, snow

30 — renters insurance

100 — clothing

700 — entertainment

300 — Kids clubs/entertainment etc

600 — savings/extra costs

Does this look about right? Are there many similar families in Fairfield in this kind of financial situation, and do they get by alright? Any insights would be very much appreciated :-)

P.S. I based the above budget partially on advice contained in another thread from this site (I'm not allowed to post the URL) but the original poster there seemed to be in a very different financial situation to us, so it’d be good to get some advice that applies specifically to our situation.

Noorah101

Is this a new employer or a transfer with your current company? If new, your wife won't be able to work at all while on the H4 visa.

I don't live in that area, but offhand some things look low, such as food and internet. Also, 600 might be your cost in insurance premiums, but you will have other out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles and co pays.

Rene

Nutmegger

And another question before everyone dives in with info on Fairfield County — do you know where in Manhattan your prospective office is located? If it is in midtown, CT will work; if downtown, NJ is probably more practical.

tht

I live in Fairfield CT, you can buy houses in that range if you get closer to the Bridgeport line (park ave). I did that commute for a couple of years. My office was 3 blocks from grand central. The door to desk commute was about 2 hours each way. Your biggest issue with the above is 1 car. Unless your wife plans to get up and load both kids in the car to drive your to the station and pick you up every day. An Uber/Lyft would be about $10 each way. If you have a second car parking is $6 a day until you get a permit then it’s about $420 a year (I think the waitlist is currently 1+ years).

There are no real public transport options inside the town, so you pretty much need a car for everything. The bigger roads have sidewalks, but many don’t so even walking is not a great option.

For commuting it’s pretty much one of the furthest towns out that works. The schools are great and there is a beach and lake and so many things for kids to do.

steph0scope

Looks like you’ve forgotten the additional out of pocket expenses for medical. $600 sounds about right for the premium but that’s just to get you on the books. Each visit and prescription will have a co-pay and there are annual deductibles up the MOOPs to pay too.

Will you be putting something into a pension?

Internet looks to be too low and agree with the others that you will need 2 cars which will increase your spend on fuel, tabs, maintenance, tolls, etc.

What about money for trips back home every once in a while?

But before we go into too much detail about which neighborhood and commute times, please let us know which visa type this is and whether it’s a short-term or long-term move.

retzie

Didn't you say you were planning to buy? I have no idea what home owner's insurance will set you back, but I'm guessing more than this.

ben1989

Thanks so much for your helpful replies everyone!

Here's some further info in response to your questions.

(1) The move is long term. We'd be looking to settle down.
(2) I'm not certain, but I think I'd be on a H1B visa to begin with. I think this means my wife would be on a H4 visa, and from what I can tell it's currently up in the air whether she'd be able to work with that. But there's no rush since she's not planning to work in the near future anyway.
(3) We are looking to buy, but we will rent for a few months to begin with while we look for a place, hence the renter's insurance. Homeowner's insurance is included in the mortgage estimate (which I got from some online mortgage calculators).
(4) My office would be on the upper west side, so I'd get off at Harlem 125th and walk 20 mins or so.
(5) We planned that my wife would drop me off and pick me up from the station each day. We realise this might be a real pain, but we don't see any viable alternative right now.
(6) We're not planning to set aside anything substantial for retirement right now, but intend to start doing so once my salary increases a couple of years down the line. I should mention that we're only 30, so we have some time (though of course it's better to start earlier where possible).

I also just want to follow up on the comments about out of pocket payments/deductibles/copay. How much do you think is reasonable to budget monthly for a family of 4 for these costs? Our plan seems to have a low deductible ($400 per individual per year) and low copay. Would say $200 be a reasonable amount to set aside each month (I guess we'd take this out of the savings/extra expenses column)

steph0scope

Ah, H1B...the lottery visa. Does the company know the window for registration opens today, and the registration must be in by March 20? After that, names will be drawn from a hat and those chosen will be invited to complete the visa process. This is different to previous years. Generally speaking, the chances of being selected hover around 1 in 4 to 1 in 3. Your wife won’t be able to work at all.

I wouldn’t even look into costs of medical, etc until you know if you’ve been drawn from the hat.

Has the employer confirmed that they will eventually go through the green card process with you? If they haven’t or won’t, how do you intend to make the move a permanent one?

H-1B can make the “dream job” the stuff of nightmares...

And I totally disagree with you about not starting a pension plan from day 1. Never too early. It’s foolish to think there will be any form of state pension fund by the time we retire.

ben1989

Thanks for your reply!

I'm really sorry about the mistake, but after doing more research on this I've found out that I'd more likely be on an O1 visa -- it is a tenurable professorial position. I don't yet have confirmation of this, but I'm pretty sure that the institution i'll be working for wouldn't be offering me a permanent professorial position if they envisaged there being any problems with my visa.

At any rate, I'm more interested in finding out about the financial aspects of the move, although I appreciated your feedback :-)

steph0scope

So it’s an academic institution? Could well be the H-1B as these are uncapped for universities.

I can’t understand why you are in the dark regarding the visa type. What has the employer told you that they are filing for? Surely that was part and parcel of the offer. Or have they not mentioned visas and you are just drawing your own conclusions as to what it will be, based on a google search?

tht

I can only speak from experience of living here with similar age children, to be at a work for 8am I would get up at 5.20 AM, 4:20 AM on days snow was forecast to allow time to clear the driveway. Write out your schedule on paper and you will see how impractical your plan is. Since you said you will look to rent I would look at the rentals close to Fairfield Metro train until you can afford the second car you will need (it only needs to drive you 4 or 5 miles a day, so you don’t need anything flash).

a rental like this would be walkable:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/41-Warren-Ave-Fairfield-CT-06825/57294532_zpid/

do remember that school is based on catchment so if you move areas you will have to move schools.

It sound like you are in a similar position to a family friend. They came over for a position at an academic institution in New Haven. They came on an H1b to start (uncapped) and then their employer got them the green card. They stayed a few years, but moved back last year to be closer to family. I think it was a combination of the distance and lack of family support and tight budget that drove their move back.

My wife is a USC and luckily here family are only 2.5/3 hours away in the car so they have been able to come and help, e.g. her mother came every week to help with the children when we were both commuting to the city for a while.

on retirement, if your employer will match up to a certain %, make sure you take the max you can, it’s free money and also your part will be tax free so your only paying maybe 0.70c on the $1 anyway.

p.s. On the positive side, getting off at 125th street will mean you save 5-10 mins waiting to get off the platform at GCT in the morning... but depending on the train you take in the PM might mean standing for the first half of your train home.. it can get very busy on certain peak trains, but mostly seats open up after Stamford.

steveq

Your probable visa line is the same as mine then O-1 for advanced researcher/academic, then eventually EB1-A greencard. The O-1 is supposed to be quicker to get.
Still, your wife won't be able to work.on her accompanying O-3 And the visa is NOT permanent - an O-1 lasts an initial three years, then can be extended annually, indefinitely, but at a cost. I just turned down a job on Long Island paying around what you are getting for Fairfield, the taxes out there are astronomical.

Jerseygirl

May be prudent to rent and not buy until you have green cards. We have had members who for one reason or another who have not been able to renew the visas and have to leave the US within ‘x’ number of days...ie employer does apply to renew in time, loss of job, and one occasion when the USCIS made an error and the new visa wasn’t issued. The family involved in the latter had to return to the UK, the USCIS would not let them stay even though it was their error.

Nutmegger

I w0uld absolutely second JG's comments. You don't want to rush into a purchase and then, after learning more about life in the US, find that the town/location doesn't suit you for any one of a zillion possible reasons. Get to know the area first -- you may find that a town in Westchester County (on the Harlem line of Metro North, also with a stop at 125th) might suit you just as well or better than Fairfield County. OP, is the institution Columbia? If so, don't plan any shortcuts across Morningside Park!

scrubbedexpat099

O3 can not work.