Jerseygirl

Especially for emergencies...short notice flights are very expensive.

notonuksoil

If moving with school aged kids - One thing that surprised us was having to pay for all school supplies, pens, pencils, note books, paper etc etc Plus the continual letters home from the school asking for cash, $5 here $10 there. I'd much rather them ask for $100 up front at the beginning of the year rather than having to send money in as and when.

md95065

Bank charges.
Sales tax.
Tipping.

Pulaski

Sales tax is a bargain compared to VAT.

Michael

If I was still in my house that I bought in 1972, my annual property taxes would currently be about $820 on a home valued at over a million dollars due to Prop 13. It is not just individuals that get that tax break but also businesses. There are also Beverly Hills, Hillsborough, Malibu, etc. mansions that were built in the 1960s-1970s that may be paying less than you.

Then there is also Prop 60 and Prop 90 where someone over the age of 55 can move and carry their valuations with them.

md95065

Yes, but sales tax in the US is "hidden" since it is never included in the "sticker" price.

Pulaski

On the contrary, VAT is hidden (not separately itemized). The fact that sales tax is added on at the point of payment draws attention to it, and creates the "sticker shock".

Michael

Not according to Reagan. He said sales taxes should be known so that it hurts when people pay it. When it is hidden in the price, people tend to accept increases without flinching. VAT can be raised 6% and people barely flinch but a 1/4% increase in sales taxes produces a very heated debate.

md95065

Actually they are both hidden, just at different stages in the process of making a purchase, but you have a good point.

To me this is one of the things that reflects a fundamental difference between the UK and the US.

In the UK people just want to know how much they are going to have to pay and regard it as bordering on fraudulent to add extra charges to the advertised price.

In the US people really want to know how much they are being screwed by the government in taxes.

SultanOfSwing

Tell me about it ...

Although that's not really a hidden expense so much anymore, when we were booking our tickets we already knew it would be highway robbery.

Samxboy

Car insurance, especially for 'new arrivals'. Thereafter maybe similar but have a feeling it's generally higher.

Englishmum

I remember when I first moved to NJ that I was going to join the gym at a YMCA/YWCA (mostly just called 'the Y' as far as I can tell).

I remember being shocked at the annual fees - so I didn't bother joining.

The biggest sticker shock was the price of Summer Camps....my son went to one in MA - we thought it would be nice to immerse him in American culture, even though I wasn't working, but it's like a ghost town in our town during the Summer as all the kids go away for a few weeks.

It was cheaper for my daughter (during her Gap Year) to spend nearly 5 months in India & the Himalayas - including flights from LHR, domestic flights, accommodation, food etc. than it was for my son to stay at Camp Half Moon in the Berkshires, MA for nearly 5 weeks! Btw - the 'camp counsellors' were all British university students on a BUNAC work programme in the US and one was from my hometown lol! He didn't even like it that much, they were basically staying in wooden huts which weren't much bigger than our garden shed!

http://www.camphalfmoon.com

http://www.camphalfmoon.com/sleep-away-camp/rates-dates

http://www.ventureco-worldwide.com/asia/india/

Sally Redux

Do they? They seem to make very little fuss about anything to me.

Pulaski

Yeah, well liberals seem to like paying taxes!

SultanOfSwing

There's a happy medium with respect to taxes. I'm centrist so I can see it from both sides but the whole Tea Party type attitude to taxes here is beyond counter productive.

However, I don't mind paying taxes as long as it goes to funding something of benefit, rather the lining the pockets of some representitive or senator or whoever.

I live in Illinois, so guess which one happens here ...