scrubbedexpat097

Most day cares charge for full time even if you only leave your child there half days. You are basically paying for a spot. The reason is if you only pay for mornings and they can't fill afternoons then they are losing money.

There may be home based day cares that will work with you on that. Just make sure they are city approved and have good liability insurance.

Oh and welcome to Texas if you do decide!

One thought, if you move a little to the south life is a bit cheaper as long as your husband's commute to Houston is not too far . Look at the Pearland/Manvel area in Brazoria County.

What type of work does your husband do?

london_calling

As one solicitor to another, I honestly think this is a terrible idea. America is awash with hungry law school grads wanting paralegal work and consequently wages are low. Your husband's salary won't be enough so you're looking at slogging away in a law firm for peanuts and for lawyers who may be far younger than you.

I can't believe anyone would want to kill their career to go live in Houston. You'd be insane.

petitefrancaise

what's up with Houston??
$80k may not be much in NYC but it's certainly not breadline down this way.

Funny how things tend to work out if you're flexible too. A friend here in Austin is a lawyer from an EU country - couldn't afford to take all the courses etc to work in Texas and like you say, apparently no shortage of fresh grads. So her speciality in EU was environmental protection law - she now oversees the regulations for a huge dutch conglomerate's sites in the USA.

Rete

Why would they? It works for them on collecting revenue from American citizenships. At least they retain the right to vote in their country's elections unlike Canada which does not allow their citizens to vote if they immigrate to another country and have definitive proven plans to return to Canadian within 5 years of leaving.

My husband holds Canadian citizenship from birth. Served in the RCAF for 36 years. Had a military pension and now an old age pension but isn't allowed to vote in his country's elections although the government laws voted on by their politicans can change that at any time or without input from him.

london_calling

Ok let me rephrase - why kill your career just to live anywhere? I'd suggest your friend was both lucky and highly specialised so had enough to capitalise on. The same may well not be true for the OP. The bread and butter work of most solicitors won't cut it over here.

petitefrancaise

fair enough.
I also would NOT advise the OP to come without a clear plan to work. Preferably as a lawyer/solicitor. Otherwise she'll be de-skilling herself and her husband's salary is OK ish but it's going to be a bit tight on one salary. I'm assuming they will need a mortgage? And then in Texas we have property taxes instead of state income tax.

Bomjeito

- Husband is an American citizen and will be earning approximately $80,000, will this provide a comfortable lifestyle in the Katy area of Houston?
** Everyone has a different interpretation of comfortable. $80k will get you by. Depends on what car you need/want, what daycare you want/need, what kind of house, etc. Katy is HUGE. The farther you are from Houston, the cheaper the house. No one ever believes us that you need to first determine where you work, then find your home here. If one of you works downtown, then far west Katy can take you 1.5 hours in the rush hour, each way. My hubby's boss lives in West Houston (or most east Katy Cinco) and he leaves for work in the Energy Corridor around 5 AM. He gets to work by 6, or earlier. I cannot stress how much our traffic is standstill from 6-9 AM and from 3:30 to 7 pm. All Brits tend to want to go to Katy, but do remember there are many other fabulous areas of Houston, which are also closer to work.

Again, the salary will depend on how frugally your family can spread this. The initial outlays are large - deposits on utilities, deposits on a home (or mortgages), buying cars, registration fees for day cares, etc.




- We've 2 children, what age do they start school and is there any free nursery hours from age 3 as there is in the UK (ie 15 hours free for all 3 years olds in the UK). Do most children under 6 attend nursery/daycare ?
**School is only free for k-12 in the cachement of where your taxes are paid. Be careful where you buy your home; this can make or break your family's happiness. Public schools in Texas are not always good; do your homework, get a local realtor and talk to other expats in the area.
Texas law is school starts in the year your child turns 5 by Sept 1. There is no free preschool or nurseries. I'd say most kids here DO attend nursery/daycare as Houston couples tend to have both parents working to pay all the bills.


- How much is daycare/nursery per day?
** Depends. Some selective, private day cares run $2k a month for 5 day weeks, and wait lists start when the child is born. Nannies are often the way to go here, if you have more than one kid. Undocumented babysitters run about $15 an hour, legit (with you paying their taxes as by law if you pay more than $1800 a year) - runs about $20 an hour. Many churches run reasonably priced Mother's Day Out programs and preschools. These run about $1200 a month for 5 days a week. Again, depends on school, location and demand. Check Yorkshire Academy; it is a good one.


- I'm a British solicitor in the UK but will probably look for a paralegal type role initially. How much annual leave do you typically get and are employers open to part time working? Is the job market good?
** Job market in Houston is good overall, however salaries are not as so many people are still moving in and so many applicants for these jobs. Most full time jobs here offer 5-10 days holiday per year (see all the posts on how employment here is 'at will' and normal policies on the forum) with about 8 bank holidays. Since law is specialized to the US system, you may find yourself not quickly employable here.

You can find a good life here, once you accept the fact the place is a bloody furnace for 6 months of the year. And traffic doesn't bother you. There are many things to do and keep a family busy here.


You'll be best to know the specifics of your hubby's job first. Does that $80k include healthcare? Is that post or pre tax? Does his employer provide a nice relocation package to offset the settling in payments? Things like that. And where will he work. Once you know location, then go over to City-data.com and ask the questions there, too, in the Houston Forum.


Good luck with your move! Let us know how things are panning out.

Bomjeito

[QUOTE=Goldfishfrogs;12136717]Thanks all. Husband is looking to apply for jobs - we are in the very early stages of considering a move and weighing things up. Husband thinks our 2 young boys will have a better life over there having grown up in the South himself.


oh- Texans cringe at being called "the South."


Is your husband a Texan?


Totally different culture from "Southern" culture.

TheKingOfHearts

This is the only one I can realistically comment on - but honestly, no.

$80k is definitely comfortably sufficient for 1, maybe even 2 people in an apartment or similar. But I'd be pushed to say that would be "comfortable" for 2 adults and 2 children in a house. Manageable, yes, comfortable, probably not.

Just my 2 cents.

carcajou

$80,000 will get you by in the Houston area, with two kids. You will have to crimp on some things and won't be able to save a lot, but it is doable (probably not for years but in the short-term, yes).

I agree with other posters who mentioned how difficult it may be to find a paralegal position. The US has a glut of law school graduates with no jobs right now who are applying for these positions as a way to get the foot in the door.

LondontoDMV

Oh goodness! I'm following the job prospect comments.
I jus got my green card, never lived in the US and feel like it's come late as I'm qualified as a lawyer here in England. What careers will you suggest the OP consider?

Just_Joy

The US requires you pass the bar exam for the state in which you wish to practice law. Unfortunately the majority of states will not even allow you to take the exam unless you have a JD from a US institution. Sorry
Taking the bar as a Foreign Lawyer | Study Law in the US

LondontoDMV

Thanks Joy, I'm considering a career change and open to ideas.

PootleK

I do know in New York State foreign educated lawyers, including with an UK LLB, can take an ABA Masters degree and then apply for the state bar via exams. There is another similar procedure in California but I don't know the full details. No other states, afaik, allow this and you'd be stuck in your state.

Edited: Have just seen it's possible UK educated solicitors may not even have to take the Masters degree! https://www.law.georgetown.edu/acade...gal_education_

MidAtlantic

You asked this in another thread, but never came back with answers so that we could help. You also said you got your green card about a year ago, so which is it?