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Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Old Mar 6th 2014, 7:44 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Bob
Food, subjective, but good quality and fresh, no.

Insurance, definite no.

Taxes, no and far more hidden taxes.

Cable/internet/phone, no.

Utility bills, no. Electric is probably about the same, gas for heating about the same in our current place but then it costs far more to heat/cool depending on seasons.

Petrol, on it's own, yes, but over all cost of running a car, no. Drive more, drive further, costs more to insure, more to maintain, tyres and exhaust don't last nearly as long due to road conditions, far more toll roads which cost more, parking costs a hell of a lot more, there's sales tax on second hand cars. Etc.
Well i suppose this then comes down to individual circumstance then. As I am experiencing the opposite.

I drive much less here than in the UK as my job has changed, so my car running costs are lower.

My car insurance is over 50% less here, for a much more powerful car.

My TV and internet is around 30% lower than the package I was on in the UK, and it is much faster here. But I must admit its no where near as good as Sky back home.

Food again is subjective, we shopped at Asda / Tesco back home (so not Waitrose or M&S!). But our 'weekly' shop has gone down about 20% now shopping in Whole foods and Pavilions mainly.

I guess we are all different, just adding my colour to the conversation.
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 8:00 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by KingJeff4th
Originally Posted by Bob
Food, subjective, but good quality and fresh, no.

Insurance, definite no.

Taxes, no and far more hidden taxes.

Cable/internet/phone, no.

Utility bills, no. Electric is probably about the same, gas for heating about the same in our current place but then it costs far more to heat/cool depending on seasons.

Petrol, on it's own, yes, but over all cost of running a car, no. Drive more, drive further, costs more to insure, more to maintain, tyres and exhaust don't last nearly as long due to road conditions, far more toll roads which cost more, parking costs a hell of a lot more, there's sales tax on second hand cars. Etc.
Well i suppose this then comes down to individual circumstance then. As I am experiencing the opposite.

I drive much less here than in the UK as my job has changed, so my car running costs are lower.

My car insurance is over 50% less here, for a much more powerful car.

My TV and internet is around 30% lower than the package I was on in the UK, and it is much faster here. But I must admit its no where near as good as Sky back home.

Food again is subjective, we shopped at Asda / Tesco back home (so not Waitrose or M&S!). But our 'weekly' shop has gone down about 20% now shopping in Whole foods and Pavilions mainly.

I guess we are all different, just adding my colour to the conversation.
Sorry Jeff, I mostly agree with Bob on this one. You are one of very few people who report that groceries are cheaper here than in the UK (perhaps you eat a lot of steak? ). Likewise driving, only those who relocate to Manhattan or a handful of other urban cores normally report driving less than in the UK. I am pleased things have worked out well for you, but your experience is far from typical.

On taxes, however, I agree, even including health insurance as a de facto tax, I pay a lot less than in the UK, but then unlike Bob, I don't live in Massachusetts!

Last edited by Pulaski; Mar 6th 2014 at 8:18 pm.
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 8:15 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by KingJeff4th

I drive much less here than in the UK as my job has changed, so my car running costs are lower.

My car insurance is over 50% less here, for a much more powerful car.

Food again is subjective, we shopped at Asda / Tesco back home (so not Waitrose or M&S!). But our 'weekly' shop has gone down about 20% now shopping in Whole foods and Pavilions mainly.
Like I said, great if you can get it.

Driving less is rare though and well, your car is 10+ years old, that's to be expected. But then it all depends on the levels of cover, but having insurance being less is rare.

Food is massively variable, cost changes a fair bit from season to season and location makes a massive difference.

A bakers dozen of corn up where we lived in ME, $1...down our way, $3 for a half dozen. A pound of cod $7 v $15, lobster $6 a pound compared to $15 but then spices and herbs are massively more cheaper here than what we experienced up there. Move over to the next season, and it's a very different story again.

But at the end of the day, it's all a bit irrelevant if one doesn't have the start up costs available and as mentioned, coming here with no US credit or driving history adds a lot of unexpected deposits to a lot of simple, every day utilities for many people.
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 8:43 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Bob

But at the end of the day, it's all a bit irrelevant if one doesn't have the start up costs available and as mentioned, coming here with no US credit or driving history adds a lot of unexpected deposits to a lot of simple, every day utilities for many people.
Now this is something we can agree on . Without a bunch of cash to get going, you're going to find it almost impossible.

We were lucky enough to get a large (taxable) cash allowance when we moved. So we didn't have to touch any savings.

We've spent close to $20k all in to move here I would estimate, and the cash allowance is all but gone.

Maybe I'll recoup it with all this cheaper food and car insurance
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 8:51 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by KingJeff4th
Now this is something we can agree on . Without a bunch of cash to get going, you're going to find it almost impossible.

We were lucky enough to get a large (taxable) cash allowance when we moved. So we didn't have to touch any savings.

We've spent close to $20k all in to move here I would estimate, and the cash allowance is all but gone.

Maybe I'll recoup it with all this cheaper food and car insurance
If you were given $20k, and it's all gone, you're going to have to find about $8k to pay federal and state income tax, and if you don't pony up most of that with quarterly payments during 2014 you're going to be slapped with late payment penalties to boot!
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 8:59 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Pulaski
If you were given $20k, and it's all gone, you're going to have to find about $8k to pay federal and state income tax, and if you don't pony up most of that with quarterly payments during 2014 you're going to be slapped with late payment penalties to boot!
I didn't say I was given $20k, i was given much more, but $20k is what i have to spend after taxes are taken into account.
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 9:11 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by KingJeff4th
I didn't say I was given $20k, i was given much more, but $20k is what i have to spend after taxes are taken into account.
"If"

IF you read my post carefully you will see I was very careful with my wording.

The bit about making quarterly (pre)payments still applies too.
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 11:09 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Why quarterly? Cause it's an allowance?
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Old Mar 6th 2014, 11:34 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by hotscot
Why quarterly? Cause it's an allowance?
Because interim/ advance payments of tax are expected quarterly. Following two years when I owed federal tax >$1k (but less than $3k), I was sent quarterly payment vouchers by the IRS. I didn't actually use them because knew I wouldn't owe taxes the followinh year, in part because I added a little to my payroll withholding. That said, as far as I can tell the IRS doesn't care, so long as you're close to fully paid by 12/31.
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Old Mar 7th 2014, 10:56 am
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Pulaski
If you were given $20k, and it's all gone, you're going to have to find about $8k to pay federal and state income tax, and if you don't pony up most of that with quarterly payments during 2014 you're going to be slapped with late payment penalties to boot!
That last part isn't true. Penalty payments don't apply if you have paid at least 100% of the US income tax you owed in the previous tax year (or 110% when you're above a certain income level). Expats new to the US therefore don't have to worry about making estimated payments in the first year.
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Old Mar 7th 2014, 11:13 am
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Owen778
That last part isn't true. Penalty payments don't apply if you have paid at least 100% of the US income tax you owed in the previous tax year (or 110% when you're above a certain income level). Expats new to the US therefore don't have to worry about making estimated payments in the first year.
Interesting, OK. Thx.
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Old Mar 7th 2014, 11:39 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Owen778
That last part isn't true. Penalty payments don't apply if you have paid at least 100% of the US income tax you owed in the previous tax year (or 110% when you're above a certain income level). Expats new to the US therefore don't have to worry about making estimated payments in the first year.
Not sure if that concession applies if one was a non-resident alien in the prior year. However, there also a concession on estimated tax if you pay at least 90% of current year tax liability. As with many things, the detail of how these apply can be quite case-specific.

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-...stimated-Taxes
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Old Mar 9th 2014, 1:17 am
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

We moved out here 10 years ago, on a partial 'own dime'.

Company sponsored my husband's L1-A VISA and agreed to sponsor the green card. We had about $20K in addition. This covered one way flights out here, cost of packing and shipping all of our stuff in a 20ft container, 1 month of temporary accommodation.

Although it would have been nice to have the full relocation package, we knew we wanted to live and work out in the US and this was our best shot and we took it with open hands.

We have never looked back!
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Old Mar 9th 2014, 4:40 am
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Funstuie
We are coast people and would prefer to live close to the sea on either coast.

The problem is we were completely focused on the San Francisco area and now it's sort of been thrown open to anywhere we want.

My wife wants to live in a city (which is unrealistic if she wants a house with garden) but she wants the "bohemian" feel. We used to live in Crystal Palace in SE London and she wants to replicate that place. A town in spitting distance to the big city but has nice bars and restaurants in the town with the city being a train journey away. We currently live just outside Brighton in East Sussex and we love being by the coast and we love Brighton as it's a "little" big city. My does not want to live in "commuter town hell" or "small town Hicksville" - her words not mine. Personally I want to move somewhere with good people where I can join the softball team and live the dream

Basically I can choose to go to the west coast and hope to negotiate a salary which will allow us to live comfortably or go for another role and choose to live anywhere with good internet.
If your missus wants a "bohemian" type feel and you like Brighton, I get the feel that you are probably left-wing types. From my extensive BE monitoring over the past few years, it's the commies who have the most trouble settling - take note of that.

Re San Francisco, its a great city, those who suggest it is full of tramp piss don't know the place and flew-in from the boonies for a weekend walking around the tramp-piss sector. Note that it is small compared to London, more like a big town by comparison. Rent is expensive.

4-bed right next to Golden Gate Park

In reality you might consider Daly City
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Old Mar 9th 2014, 3:28 pm
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Default Re: Get here on your own dime! Advice required.

Originally Posted by Cape Blue
If your missus wants a "bohemian" type feel and you like Brighton, I get the feel that you are probably left-wing types. From my extensive BE monitoring over the past few years, it's the commies who have the most trouble settling - take note of that.

Re San Francisco, its a great city, those who suggest it is full of tramp piss don't know the place and flew-in from the boonies for a weekend walking around the tramp-piss sector. Note that it is small compared to London, more like a big town by comparison. Rent is expensive.

4-bed right next to Golden Gate Park

In reality you might consider Daly City
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