Dillinger

Thanks for killing the dream guys! Lol, but seriously – really good info from all. Can spend hrs searching the net for details from articles etc but still not get a good picture.

So overall its pretty difficult to get in to USA, Fresno (where I was looking to move to as houses were cheap and big) is a terrible place, and everywhere else is too expensive and health cover will always hang over you if you don’t have it and can ruin your life financially if you ever need treatment which is what you need to enjoy life/be comfortable.

So apart from weather everything seems to be the same as London. Will discuss with uncle.

Has anyone got anything positive to say about USA?! Not sure if I even want to move there now – main thing being health cover…

what would be a decent town to move to then?

Also read pulaskis visa info – realy good!

JB - is that $11k out of what would have been in your pocket? I thought the employers pay infull but sounds like you have to make a monthly contribution.

goldenstate31

sure

vikingsail

Sorry not trying to kill the dream. I think we have all been there ourselves. Just giving you a cold dose of some of the realities which many of us probably wish we had been told/ realized at the time! Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But if you are 'set' where you are just like returning to the UK can appear daunting moving to the US comes with some serious hidden surprises.

Healthcare has been well and truly roasted here now but it is a very very serious consideration and most Brits just don't realize it because its always been there in the UK unless you remember pre 1946. Best jobs to lower healthcare are probably govt jobs but as potential new recruit (legally) as an immigrant most of those are not likely to be available to you. Unless you want a stint in the USMC or Army!!

Decent towns? That depends on what you are looking for? Do some soul searching and tell us more of what you are looking for . The mid west to my mind is beautiful in parts but rough in others, cheaper, lower crime generally speaking...West coast anywhere near the sun and sand is going to be pricey, just the way it is. $300,000 might get you 600 - 800 sq feet of condo near where I am on a good day, that would be somewhere fairly habitable in need of some work but still a rat hole! But then the weather makes up for it + 20 f all week, but that's not everyone's cup of tea, mine included, I like the sailing. Of course to someone in SF that might seem an absolute bargain. Big cities are the same the world over imho its what you want from them.

PS - re the $11,000 out of pocket for healthcare that is quite possible. I consider myself very lucky but still I am paying about $1000 per annum out of pocket, if I had a family that would jump to about $4000 pa.

Pulaski

Yes, I do, I love it here. The move worked for me. But then I was not tied to one employer, my wife is a USC, so I could look around for a job and was not tied to an employer prepared to sponsor or renew a visa for me. But it was "job first, location second, everything else follows". I happen to like living where I do, and don't plan to move, but if my job disappeared I'd be looking far and wide for work. I also came to the US with valuable and transferable skills, knowledge and experience - the streets are not paved with gold for everyone who is able to get a visa.
That depends what you're looking for. If you're not tied to a specific employer, I'd recommend any town where you can find a job, or start your own business (whichever applies)
Er, no! There is no obligation on employers to pay anything towards health insurance. Some do so generously, others chip in a little, but with the state of the US economy more employers are cutting back, and ironically Obamacare is likely to encourage employers to cut health insurance subsidies completely.

Noorah101

I work for a large worldwide engineering firm. For health insurance, I pay $4,872 out of pocket per year for the premium, my employer covers the rest (not sure how much it is total). That covers myself and my husband.

That is for an EPO type of plan, where we have to see in-network doctors. Each doctor visit costs $20 out of pocket. If we have to go to an emergency room, it's $100 out of pocket. Neither of us have had a hospital stay or surgery, so not sure how much that would be.

Prescriptions tend to be around $10 - $20 each, depending on the drug. I'm the only one who takes anything regularly (Crestor, for high cholesterol issues), and I pay $100 a year (I take 1/2 tablet daily).

So all in all, my husband and I spend around $5,000 a year out of pocket (depending on how often we go to the doctor or ER, etc). That's with very good insurance coverage through my employer.

That's for health insurance alone, not including dental or vision.

Rene

goldenstate31

Wow! your insurance company sounds like a really great deal could I ask who your employer uses?

Noorah101

I've worked for this company for 23 years, so I have no experience with what companies are currently offering in the way of health plans. From what I've heard, though, from friends, the one I've got is stellar!

The insurance is through United Healthcare.

Rene

Giantaxe

Your W2 should now tell you:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/he...lth-plans.html

The answer for me is over $19k for self and one child... I pay between $4k and $5k of it.

Pulaski

It likely has more to do with her employer than the insurance company. The terms offered by the insurer are determined by what the employer is prepared to pay for.

Noorah101

Oh cool, I didn't even know about that! Mine says $15,552. Of that, I pay $4,872. Wow. I only pay a little over 30% of the total cost for insurance.

Rene

goldenstate31

Oh ok

scrubbedexpat099

May be self funded with the insurer doing the admin.

Hotscot

I'm covered by my wife's insurance. As a California teacher it's excellent quality.
My company even pays me every year not to take their insurance.

markonline1

The US is pretty much a closed shop to Brits moving out. I moved from Bracknell to California last month to marry my fiancée. It was a fairly painless experience, although there seems more hoops to jump through sorting out the AOS than getting the original visa. You could always go on Match.com and try and snare an American wife LOL (that isn't what I did by the way).
As for cost of living, I don't know Fresno that well. Stopped the night there once. The only place in the US I've felt uneasy. That's just a one night experience from one little part of town, but folk here seem to back up its not that nice.
I'm living in Monterey. My in laws live just outside of Santa Cruz. Neither of these areas are cheap. Whereas they aren't London prices, I'd certainly put them on a par with living somewhere like Surrey.
This is a bit of a bubble burst thread, but that's pretty much the harsh reality unfortunately. Good luck to you though if that is what you want to do

scrubbedexpat099

Christian mingle, FarmersOnly?

Do tell.