Wiggle

Hi, what I'd like to do here is actually check out if living in the States is actually more expensive than living in the UK. We hear alot about the UK paying more tax's etc but from my trips to Los Angeles it seems that the cost of living there (and that's what counts) is a lot higher than in the UK.

So, if possible, can we have posts here where people actually can explore the true costs either side of the pond.

.This is not a complaining or bitching post, if you want to do that then join another thread, I merely want to check out the true prices people are paying to live there.

Now I know that Los Angeles is expensive, so it probably needs to be compared with the London area for a true comparisson.

Let me start the ball rolling with a list of things that a typical couple with 2 kids would need irrespective of where they lived.

1. Housing .. probably rented in LA at $2000pm minimum, in the UK suburbs probably £1000
2. Food, how much per month ?? in LA probably shop from Wholefoods or Ralphs, in the UK from Tesco or ASDA
3. Schooling ?? private(paid for) schooling in the US is very expensive compared to my nearest private (paidfor) school in the UK
4. Transport ? car leases ($500pm) and expensive auto insurance($3000pa) in the States, in the UK probably purchas a car on cheap finance with insurance <£500 per year
5. Petrol/gas, well the UK is heading to £4 per gallon while the states hits $2 per gallon
6. Healthcare, very expensive in the States with the free NHS system in the UK
7. Genaral shopping, furniture, TV's, hotels, dining out, etc etc .. how does that compare ?
8. Income/Salaries, in LA it seems that you have to earn at least $100k pa to even survive, in the UK the average salary is probably £30k
9. Tax's. In the US in addition to state tax's, there are federal tax's? local sales tax's, almost mandatory tipping at 20% for all service staff, any others ? In the UK, we have in general a flat rate of 20 - 25% income tax, then there is the 9% Nat Insurance tax and the 17.5% VAT on most sales

Anything I've missed please add.

So, can we have posts please from people who have actually tried to compare their true cost of living in the US with the UK so we can get a more accurate picture
Thanks :lecture:

Steff

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Wiggle
I don't live in LA but...
My car insurance is $280 but my car is old and crappy and it doesnt cover damage to my car.
Yep too expensive in the US
My husband says it is cheaper in the US but I am not sure since I didn't buy any of that stuff in the UK
I don't know anyone who makes $100k!!!!
I think the tipping is supposed to be more like 15% and the sales tax here is 6% (not sure about LA tho). And there are income taxes and stuff

antjen

from what i have gathered (as im moving to LA this year) - the general cost of living is about the same, yes things cost more, but jobs pay more - though 100k is a great wage?? - the average is a lot lower than this.

Ant

Gross50

you get much more for your money in the US.
houses are much bigger, similar houses would cost twice as much in the UK
corresponding salaries are much higher
food is generally cheaper
cars cost much less, and gas is cheaper
furniture is cheaper (and better quality)

Manc

I think what makes the USA stand out on this forum, is if you look at the moving back to the UK threads,

there is a lot of bitching about Australia. It gets quite verciferious at times.

There have also been a couple of threads about discontent in Canada.

I have yet to see someone willfully leave the USA to go back to the UK so that must say something about the place.

While I understand that some of us aren't having the greatest of times over here, or very pissed off with the current administration, or we sometimes let things get us down and just have a general whine...............
I do feel that the USA is quite an agreeable place to live and I won't be going back to England anytime soon.

AlisonPA

I believe if you total everything up that it's cheaper to live in the US than in the UK. I lived in London and that was really expensive.

As for not knowing anyone that earns $100K, well all the execs where I work do and so does my husband and my salary is only just a bit below what I was on in London (and I was paid very well there). We have a good income between us, so I'm not complaining at all.

NC Penguin

I think this post is overgeneralizing and contains no examples.

I will say that the quality of food is poorer in the US, especially with regards to fresh produce with much of it grown in California.

For the OP, it might be helpful to do some comparisons of American cities to get an idea of the variation of cost of living, etc. within the US. Look at this site-

http://www.bestplaces.net/

Patrick

This is purely a regional thing, where I moved to salaries are terrible and nothing like what they pay for similar jobs in the UK.

Again, not found either of those to be true, all my furniture here was twice as expensive as in the UK and both the couch and bed have had to be shipped back to factory for repairs.

Because america is such a big country and there are so many regional variations I think a purely UK to USA comparrison is pointless. Generally I have things even themselfs out and in the end all things are equal

Wiggle

Oh I forgot to mention ..

if you win "Who wants to be a millionaire" or the lottery .. you are taxed 50% in the States but its all yours to keep in the UK

Sorry just light hearted post there ... but ok this is good info .. lets have more posts please :lecture:

PrincessofWales

Its the same for annual bonuses, spifs, etc....whatever you are promised by a prospective employer, you can usually expect only to see half of it...the rest goes to you know who.

cdandi

Iarrived in New York (one of the more expensive cities to live in the US) from 19 years in OZ 5 years ago. I was shocked initially at how expensive everything seemed. However, after settling in and living like an American i.e eating chicken instead of Lamb I find it very reasonable to live here and overall I have far more disposable income than in Oz or the UK.

I think it's wrong to compare individual items between one country and another. You really need to settle here first of all and then compare how much spare money you have in your pocket to enjoy the finer things in life.

BritGuyTN

yes - in some respects you do get more for your money in the US - (depending where you live) but what you get is usually crap

NC - i also think quality of food here is worse

and value in the USA is mostly PERCEIVED rather than ACTUAL value - yes a honda in america may be a bit cheaper than a honda in the UK - but the car is a poor reflection of the european car due to be being 'decontented'

if you want a crap standard of living then i think you can have a cheaper one in the USA - move to the south and shop at aldi and big lots - you can eke out an existence for a thousand dollars a month

if you want a quality of life where you occassionally go to excellent restaurants, wear clothes of comparable quality to good european makes and drive a good quality car (i.e. non-domestic), combined with living in the north-east/south-west (high property prices) then you will pay the same/more than the UK for equivilent

i am trying to do something somewhere in between

Ben

cdandi, that is what I was going to say. We came from Nottingham to NY so we haven't got London to compare it too. We live in one of the most expensive place in the US (Long Island) and my husband was on a good salary back home. I didn't work then and I don't work now. On first looking, it does seem very expensive on some things and cheaper on others, but once you adapt to life here and live like the locals, you don't spend as much on food, clothing, furniture etc. Just as you would back home, you start to find bargains, the best time of year to shop etc.

Our property tax is huge compared to the UK but the kids never want for books, computers, sports equipment etc. You name it, they have it. If we were in the UK these things would have had to come out of our pockets directly rather than indirectly. You can say this for a lot of things.

If you really want to find out how expensive LA is, go and live there for 3 years first. Then at the end of the 3 years, go back to the UK for a year. Then see what you think.

Also, as Patrick has also touched on, different parts of the US have different costs. When we drive down to Florida, we notice huge differences in how much we can get for our money. As a family of 5 we can go out for breakfast here and we wouldn't get much change out of $50. In South Carolina, it cost us under $20! The waitress got a bigger % tip in SC than they do here! But if I lived in SC, we wouldn't have the income we have in NY.

ironporer

Non-Domestic being such as Honda (made in OH), Toyota (made in KY), BMW (made in SC) Mercedes (made in AL) or Mitsubishi (Made in IL). Perhaps you meant Ford Chrysler or GM (plants in Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Spain...). What is domestic and not anymore is a fuzzy line- the car with the highest "American content" is a Honda, and the least is a Ford.

jambo_2004

What product or service do you get more of for your money? fast food is about the only thing i've discovered you can get more of for your money.

Houses are cheaper granted, but like someone said this depends where you are prepaired to live..they are giving away land and houses in NC...but from what i'm told the place is hickville (no offence, I know a few of you live there). Building materials are also relevent, British houses are made of brick, American ones are made of wood...quality before quantity?

Salaries are about the same I find...add the cost of medical insurance and you are worse of.

Food is definitley not cheaper here...unless it's fast food.