Living part time USA
 

Hello, I am new to this forum and would really appreciate some advise.

I am now retired and my wife and I are looking to purchase a home in Florida with the hope that we could spend the six months of winter in Florida.

I do however have some concerns and these being,

If we apply for a visa from the USA embassy in London will this then enable us to stay for six months from the date of arrival in the USA.

Can we open a bank account in the USA as my thoughts are that we will need to pay monthly bills for utilities at the residence we finally purchase.

Can I purchase a car and obtain insurance being a none USA residence.

If we decide to move our furniture over what would an estimate cost be for the contents of a three bedroom house (we have a narrowboat and are considering selling our house in the UK and living on the boat through the summer).

Any large costs we should look out for.

Thanking you in anticipation
Best regards
Mick.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Have you considered an in-between, less radical strategy - for instance, renting in Florida for 8-10 weeks each year, Christmas to early March say. That way you would avoid all of the major logistical problems raised by your 50/50 initial proposal.

Welcome to BE, by the way!

Re: Living part time USA
 

Welcome to BE :wave:
You may find this thread helpful as it covers healthcare etc;
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...urance+retired

Re: Living part time USA
 

Hi Robin,

Many thanks for the reply

The whole purpose is to get away from the UK winter for six months due to my Osteoarthritis. Having had one knee and ankle replaced and also both hips replaced there is no doubt that the warmer weather in Florida suits me.

I understand that we could enter for three months without visa but the plan is for six months

Best regards
Mick

Re: Living part time USA
 

:welcome: to BE Mick.

One huge problem could be health insurance. As you get older it becomes more and more difficult to get travel/health insurance for the US...it also becomes very expensive. I'm not sure if you can get cover for 6 months. IMO sorting that out should be your first port of call.

If you apply for a visa to stay 6 months per year you are expected to have a main residence outside the US. Somehow I don't think a houseboat would do. Another consideration is US income tax.

Having homes in different countries is very expensive. For starters you will need a car in Florida...which means it would be stood idle for 6 months. You would also have air con/pool maintenance/house maintenance/gardening etc costs.

Take a read through the index list of threads...we get several people each week asking the very same questions as you. The threads will give you an idea of the pros and cons of spending several months per year in the US.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Hi Wheeze,

Many thanks interesting thread you directed me to.

Health care is a massive worry and I have had quotes from BUPA which I have been a member of for many years

Best regards
Mick

Re: Living part time USA
 

Hi Jersygirl,

Intersting reply thank you.

What income tax are you refering to?

Best regards.
Mick.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Depending on how long you stay in the US per year you may be required to fill in a US tax return.

Re: Living part time USA
 

As for maintenance/gardening etc., that can be mitigated by buying an apartment-type condo where your annual fee covers all common services. However, you would still need to keep on the electricity for the a/c to kick in all summer.

And if the parking was underground, wouldn't be too bad to keep the car idle for six months? The worst you'd have to do would be pay someone to give it a thorough servicing when you return to FL?

Both of the above would be easy if you had a trusted friend living nearby who would check out apartment and car say every two weeks.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Condo fees in Florida can be horrendous...especially now with many units left empty. There is also property taxes...again depending on the location they can be high. We've looked at buying a condo in Florida...you have to be very careful. We've not even mentioned hurricane insurance yet.

Re: Living part time USA
 

There's also the issue re condo financing, which is pretty hard to get at the moment. Not sure if that is an issue for the OP, though.

If I were the OP I would lean towards renting for a few years. It might be more expensive but it's less of a headache and it would help with figuring out which area they want to live in.

There's also the question if it has to be Florida, or if any of the other Southern states would work, too.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Thanks to all for your responses.

We were was out in florida during April till early may and looked at all of the costs then. I feel comfortable with what these would amount to.

I also have a past ex pat contact who lives in the area where we viewed the house we are interested in and they would tend the pool/ garden/car etc.

I also understand that if i sold the USA house then I would be liable for a 10% tax on the property.

I assume that if we apply for a visa then it would be for six months.

I guess my real issues is opening a bank account in the USA to pay the monthly utilities and if this is a possibility.

Best regards.
Mick.

Re: Living part time USA
 

The bank account won't be a problem. Getting the visa isn't guaranteed, but B-2s are commonly issued to retirees who want to do what you propose. When dealing with the consulate, don't call it "living" in the US.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Be careful with non-US insurance. It sounds like the Bupa thing is travel insurance which might be limited in duration - they usually have a maximum trip duration of, for example, 3 months. Obviously make sure it covers the US as many policies have a worldwide including US and a worldwide non-US version (cheaper).

Just curious really, you don't need to answer: does the humid air in Florida work for your ailments? I know other people with admittedly unrelated conditions and they hate humid air for their conditions!

Re: Living part time USA
 

Generally, if you're of retirement age you'll have an easier time getting a B-2 visa than younger people. What you need to understand though, is that the CBP officer can allow you to enter for 6 months... or 1 week - and it is solely at his discretion. While most people get 6 months... that doesn't necessarily mean you will - and there's no knowing in advance what will happen.


Yes, you can open a US bank account.

Ian

Re: Living part time USA
 

Hi Geoff,

Yes the warm humid weather does help...it really is strange but after arriving in Florida it takes a week or so and my walking and movements really do improve. I arrived back in the UK first week of may after five weeks in the USA and a week after getting back the pain was back in the knee and other areas.

For me when i get back its not so noticable what I mean by this is that I get the pain but am used to it so do not place to much on it but my wife notices a marked improve in my walking and getting about in general when in warmer weather.

We lived in Dubai for two years (work related) and again it helped and for the past four years we were in Libya (again work related) till the conflict caused us to leave and again it eased the problems.

Best regards
Mick.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Might be a daft question, but why not northern Italy, Spain, Greece etc where a visa wouldn't be required?

Potential issues, the BUPA medical just might not be up to snuff. Property and car insurance might be hard to get and expensive to get.

No credit history is always a hassle, but it adds to your start up costs, having to put deposits down on everything.

And the tax issue, substantial presence test, it's 182? days in the US and you're required to file, but it's more complicated than just that arbitrary number. So if you've got property in the UK, pensions and investments, it can become very complicated to stay compliant with the IRS and Treasury Department, even if you don't end up owing taxes in the US.

Re: Living part time USA
 

This would seem to suggest that you are considering to move to Florida, and vacationing in the UK. You need to tread carefully. A legal consultation would be in order.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Spain or Portugal would be my choice for warm weather if you live in the UK to avoid all the visa and potential tax issues.

If you do go the USA route make sure you stay in the UK long enough each year to maintain NHS eligibility and spend less than 182 days in the US so you avoid becoming US tax resident.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Exactly what I was thinking.

Also consider retiring in Malaysia (my spouse and I may do so in the future, we've lived in neighbouring Singapore). Malaysia has a retirement scheme for expats called "Malaysia My Second Home". The cost of living is much lower than in the UK and US and the lifestyle is superb. It has a wonderful climate and food, excellent medical care, beautiful beaches, English spoken almost everywhere and taxes are very low:

http://www.escapeartist.com/OREQ13/R...Malaysia1.html

http://www.expatfocus.com/retirement-in-malaysia

http://www.mm2h.com/

http://voices.yahoo.com/retiring-mal...t-7094818.html

There are some expats who have retired in Malaysia and they post on the Far East boards here on this BE website.....take a look!

Re: Living part time USA
 

Bank account is simple really. Don't worry about it.

Bigger issue is the visa and the jumps through the hoops. Biggest, and by far possibly the 'brick wall' in your plan is the health insurance. Fine print is essential in reviewing your health insurance plans as they often have many caveats that can end up 'biting you' should you actually need health care.

Quite frankly: for most people the issue of health insurance negates their plans to move to the US for retirement--full stop. It's good you have already been looking into this but really delve deeply into what is covered and what is not. It is a major minefield here.

Re: Living part time USA
 

How long can I be away for on any one trip?Hide
Single trip policies - you can choose cover for specific trips between 1 and 90 days.
Annual policies - if you are a UK customer you can choose a trip duration of 31, 45 or 91 days on your annual policy. While you may take as many trips as you like in the year there is a maximum overall length of time you can be away for - this is 183 days in any policy period. These upgrade options are not available for our International policies.
Gap Year policies (Explorer) - if you are aged between 18 and 45 and planning a "gap year", then one of our Explorer policies will cover you for between 3 and 18 months.

Re: Living part time USA
 

You also have to declare that you are a resident of the UK to get UK travel insurance. Selling one's house and buying one in the US does not suggest one is a UK resident should a claim occur.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Many thanks for all the advise given it really is appreciated.

I think after reflection then maybe renting would be the way to go as i think the visa could be a problem after all that i have read here.

Although selling the house and living for the summer on the narrowboat with a bona fida address and this being the marina that we moor the boat in I guess this could well be a problem with the US authorities.

Best regards
Mick.

Re: Living part time USA
 

HI, I've been reading this forum for a while but registered just now so I could respond to this post as two-country living is exactly what we are now doing.

We are in our mid-late 50's and retired in 2010. We were frequent visitors to the USA for work and leisure over the last 30 years and in our first year of retirement rented a villa on Florida's Gulf Coast for a long stay. We much prefer living in our own space to renting and so while there we bought a condo (bought outright, no mortgage). The buying process was straightforward.

Opening a bank account in the USA was easy. We have Bank of America's e-banking account. It's free. We used our UK passports and UK driving licences as proof of ID. We transfer funds to it online as we need to using HiFx.

Getting a B2 visa was very simple. Filled in the online form (although that took a few days to gather the data); phoned the US Embassy in London for the interview appointment and was offered one 2 days later; and then the interview only took about 10 minutes. We own a house here in the UK and took along our house deeds and copies of bank statements and investment funds statements but the interviewer at the embassy didn't look at any of that.

When we looked into the cost of shipping stuff over we decide just to buy new over there. We did underestimate the costs of that. It was not the big things like furniture, TV and obvious kitchen stuff but it was all the small stuff. For the first week I think we spent a couple of hundred dollars a day in Walmart and Target on everything from ironing board to wastepaper bins to cheese grater. And we continue to find that we don't have things that we take for granted in our established home.

Anyway our basic costs for the condo are about $6000 per year for HOA fees, electricity, water, and property taxes. Obviously the utility costs go up when we are there. So far we've not bought a car there (our town is cycle friendly and we rented when we needed one) but we'll do that on the next visit. We don't need finance but we got contradictory advice about whether we needed Florida drivers licences first. So that all needs to be looked at in more detail next time.

Long stay medical insurance is an issue and a major expense. That is true whether you rent or own. But don't skimp on it. Sadly on our last trip DH needed urgent hospital treatment. Fortunately we were covered. We did find that online insurance doesn't work for long stay with some pre-exisitng conditions. So be prepared to phone around and talk to agents and insurance companies.

Hope this info helps. Good luck.

Re: Living part time USA
 

you can no longer get one ...

Re: Living part time USA
 

Yes not that difficut to get as retiree
yes easy you can even get one on a visa waiver ... the free ones are mostly gone ..you need a minimum amount to get free banking
yes... you cannot get a US licence and insurance will be expensive

forget that idea completely pointless you can buy property fully furnished

dont go for a condo can be a nightmare

been in florida 17 years and know many snowbirds

Re: Living part time USA
 

Are you sure Ray? My parents are B2-ers and they're just towards the end of a 5-month stay, my Dad having renewed his FL license on arrival. He has to do this each time they arrive, as the DLs were tied to the length of their stay.

Re: Living part time USA
 

two of my friends could not get there renewed this past winter

http://www.gathergoget.com/

Re: Living part time USA
 

This sounds strange to me. Drivers licenses are issued state by state, but usually you need proof of residency. On a B2 you would generally use your own foreign license and an international permit.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Do they have SS numbers? We are talking about B2 visitors visas here and getting a license on that sound like an error and I would not get one to avoid confusion over residency and tax issues.

Re: Living part time USA
 

You could get florida licences up until the last year or so on a B-2
it was valid just the 180 days
all the snowbirds had them it helped a great deal with the insurance cost

then this new directive came in about federal Real I-D Act and that was the end of that

Re: Living part time USA
 

I know you can not get a DL with a Visitor Visa in CO, but why bother when you have 12 months on your UK one.

A friend of mine who admittedly was abusing the B2 big time, on one entry was taken to Secondary where the guy searched for some time to try and find a DL. The impression was that if he had had one he would have been on the next plane back.

Years ago you had to get a US DL to drive in at least some States and of course SSN's were easy to come by.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Snowbirds are usually US citizens with SS numbers putting them in a different category to B2 visa holders.

Re: Living part time USA
 

...and Canadians.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Here in my part of florida Snowbirds are those people with weird tags who cant drive.... canadians and Brits by the thousands and a smattering of northerners mainly Michigan

other areas have all ohio people ..and so forth .. they are like tribes ..

Re: Living part time USA
 

My Dad renews his DL on arrival each year as it gives him access to cheaper car insurance. He has a SSN - not sure if this makes a difference.

Re: Living part time USA
 

SSN makes a huge difference as it's require to get a license in most states. I would still be careful about residency status though as your dad seems to be in a bit of a "twilight zone".

Re: Living part time USA
 

Are you talking about residency status from a tax perspective? They usually spend I'd say 5 months and change per year in the US spread across one or two visits. The rest of the time is in Italy where they do have official residency status.

Re: Living part time USA
 

Yes I meant from a tax perspective. They don't spend enough time to be resident and the B2 is a non-resident visa so they are probably ok, but things like having a state driving license is one of the factors used to determine residency for tax purposes, so it just complicates things. I'd get rid of the state license and just drive on the Italian one.