andrewlohnes

That is the same as moving from Corby to London. In Corby you could afford, for example, a 3 bedroom semi-detached house but then move to London and you might only be able to afford a 1 bed flat.

FlyingDutchman6666

Well yes, but the average Brit is usually acutely aware that, in London, "nothing is certain but expense". Whereas they might not realise that San Francisco, LA or Boston can be eye-wateringly expensive, too.

scrubbedexpat097

........and no government benefits to fall back on to help with rent or living expenses in the US either.

kins

We moved to Seattle with no jobs and each found work pretty quickly. We got a pretty cheap apartment, shared a car, etc. It certainly can be done. We weren't earning loads of money in our first jobs but it was easily enough - I think about $40k each. That was a while ago and the cost of living will be higher now obviously.

jeepster

Excellent post.

The only thing that matters where do you want to live, UK or USA? You can plan until your head spins but you can't anticipate everything and when moving to the US or anywhere else for that matter you're going to start all over again. So you are going to take an immediate financial hit.

If you want "a job" off the plane, North Dakota, Fargo or Bismarck (Brass monkey winters). You can start here and apply for larger urban areas. Minneapolis is nice, so is Chicago. Detroit has moved to the suburbs. Birmingham, Royal Oak, Berkeley are very nice. Troy is the New Detroit. Detroit proper looks like London after the War. After the oil industry the Automotive industry is doing very well so the Detroit area may be more feasible than people think. If you want warmth Texas over Florida or Cali. (lower cost of living more vibrant job market). Overall Midwest is cheaper for living costs than either coast, also health care is higher quality. Good luck.

scrubbedexpat091

I dunno but unless one has a skill that pays well or a degree and experience, even 40k isn't really doable in my experience.

kins

The OP has a masters in business and her husband has been a store manager 8 years - that's way more degrees and experience than we had when we moved...

Bob

A while ago though...

Trying to get a managerial role in retail without a degree will be though, without any US work experience.

scrubbedexpat091

No degree = not likely to get a store management job at any good retailer these days, likely wont even get an interview. Experience means very little these days to companies, and not having a degree and experience only, it will be hard to find a 40k a year job.

Partner has a better chance though with a degree, but I was referring to the one without a degree.

I might be a cynic but experience alone with no degree seems pretty useless in the US and Canada these days. I can't even keep track of how many rejection letters I've had and jobs I have been turned down for when I had more then enough experience, but only thing missing was the degree, its the exception if someone ends up into a good job now without a degree, not the norm.

Bluegrass Lass

In this instance, I know we are speaking about the retail industry, but I just wanted to chip in and say (for any future readers), that the lack of a degree is not a major barrier in every industry. My OH has a 2 yr degree in engineering from a school in South Africa, but has since moved into IT (which he has been in for 12 years now). With his experience gained on the job, and industry certifications he has done, he has been able to move on to better positions and always acquire decent jobs.

But saying that, we are pretty dang sure there have been doors closed in his face over the years due to no 4yr degree (i.e. jobs he was never considered for), and he is looking into completing a degree finally just so can tick off that box for HR.

hoffage123

This is interesting - so with a degree for most jobs, would you say the premium salary should be a minimum of 40K or thereabouts for roles that require it? I have a BS and a PgDip (equivalent to a Masters) ...

Hoffage

Bob

That's the key thing in IT, rather than just experience though.

And sure, not having a degree isn't a barrier to getting a retail job. It is for management positions that pay well though.

Does depend on the industry as you said though. Plenty of vocational jobs won't require a degree, as long as one is certified and having certifications is key.

Bob

Depends on the industry.

Local town library required a masters minimum and only paid $28k starting

hoffage123

Eek.

I have been working off a minimum expected salary of 34K (based on trying to afford a rental of $850/month and have enough left over for the bills etc.) - I was on just under that in the UK ...

Salary.com and Glassdoor are nice for working out estimated salaries but I have previously applied for jobs in the past where I knew what the rough range was (having worked in the Public sector), so am new to the whole negotiating salary thing ..

britishamerican

Hello everyone, I'm so sorry been away for a week when we both became busy with guests!

Anyhow, looking st our options I think we still want to make the move while we can.I understand all the challenges that we are probably going to have to face, but from my perspective, the one and only barrier we have is to find a job! Thats all we need to worry about when there are people out there who have more issues such as, visa, finances, no family etc who have achieved it all.Yes its not easy, but thats life.
Also, I'm wondering now how to sugercoat the cv of my husband, maybe make all the linkedin contacts we can make in the next 6-8 months and see how it goes.He doesn't have a degree but he does have HND, and maybe that will be taken into consideration?

I would LOVE to live in California, but if not, we like Chicago,Michigan,Carolina states too.I wonder if its possible to get a job in the UK before the actual move? That would be awesome!!

@Kins, I'm not sure how to ask a question to a member in here, but could you share your experience please? I would love to know how you guys are doing now? Did everything turn out to be like you wanted?