NC Penguin

I can't give answers to your questions but I don't understand why the employer didn't hire a relocation agent/company to do all this. It would save the employer a lot of time and also the employee (and family) a lot of time.

My professional experience has been working with relocation agents and they (if they're good and if they're not so good, you have to keep them focused) are familiar with all the paperwork and expenses involved in relocation and repatriation of an employee overseas.

Doesn't the Human Resources department have any policies or directories (usually on CD ROM these days) that give statistics on the cost of living and other statistics for use for relocation?

I also have personal experience of relocation (or repatriation in my husband's case) to the US so I paid close attention to what the employer was offering.

In my opinion your husband's company's Human Resources department probably has access to the information you really need.




NC Penguin

ladyofthelake

$ 45,000!! WOW!!! We came over last year and had an allowance of.......$12,000.
Your future employers are being very generous. Are there any limits on what expenses they will or will not cover? We were not allowed to claim for any property selling or buying costs, as we were volunteering ourselves to move. We just got transferred last month, and this time were allowed all selling/buying costs (as we didn't have much choice but move) for a total of $30,000.
This combination is still less than your allowance , and it includes additional moving costs and realtors commission for selling our house, which you won't have.
It is surprising that the company has not offered help through a relocation company, considering the money they are offering.

Yorkieabroad

Hard to say whether 45k is a good deal or not, as it may depend on your UK vs US compensation as well (by that I mean if the company were providing say a car in the UK, but expect you to buy one yourself out of the 45 etc).

We made the move on our own last year, and although I know all peoples circumstances are different, thought it may be helpful to detail our expenses as far as I can remember them. At the time we were a family of 2 adults, one child, one on the way, moving from a 4 bed apartment in Singapore, to a 4 bed house here. Not saying that the company are going to pay all of these, but this is what it took for us to get here and get set up.

Vias/Greencard fees <1k
Moving (incl insurance) $15k
Hotel - didn't need, as stayed with relatives., Otherwise I guess we'd have paid 100-150/night for a 2 bed quite in one of the chains. Maybe less for long term - would need to research.
Downpayment on 200k house - 45k
Property tax - annual 8k
Neighbourhood dues 1k
New Car purchase (Honda Pilot) - 35k - could probably finance over 3-5 years, but see discussions elsewhere on credit
Car Insurance 600 for the first 6 months, dropped to just over 400 for the next 6
Health insurance - $1000/month until after baby was born! Then down to 260/month. Hopefully your employer will pick this up anyway.
Furniture replacement - approx 8k - we brought most with us, but did need new sofa's and dining set. Could have done this for a grand, or 30 grand - depends on your tastes!
Appliance replacement - <1k We brought multisystem tv/video/dvd and bought transformers for the stereo, so it was just coffee machines, toasters, kettles, alarm clocks etc that needed replacing
We haven't done much to the house yet, so virtually nothing on decorating, new curtains carpets etc.
Utility deposits - not a lot - 50 - 80 bucks for each of them (gas, water, electric, phone)

As for the discussion on realtors fees above, it pretty much depends on your circumstances - whether it is viewed as a one-way ticket, or whether you are going to get another bite at the relocation costs cherry if/when you leave.

Hope this helps, feel free to PM if you want more info. Good luck with the negotiations!

debs39

thnaks everyone for all your help, I didn't mean to cause an atguement, but thanks anyway.

Rgds to all

dunroving

You don't need to take any responsibility for causing an argument. The most innocent requests for advice sometimes get people REALLY riled up on this board - see the to-do going on in "Trying to get a job in NC", for example. I think the original poster must be wondering what she "started". It's like World War III over there.

Bottom line is that I think you got some good information - even from people who disagreed with each other. And most people were generally pretty respectful of each other. It's always good to get several points of view.

Good luck with your move!