Giantaxe

It's certainly possible to think of scenarios where people with roughly equal income, one with large medical expenses, would benefit from filing separately. I guess you could make the same argument for miscellaneous deductions that are subject to a 2% of AGI floor.

The medical expense threshold is now 10% of AGI thanks to tax "reform".

dj6372

As a Production Manager a smattering of Spanish would help, sounds odd but it occurred to me that you said you were going to be working in Agriculture, as a former PM in Cali my workforce were 100% Hispanic and I'm guessing your situation will be similar, your workers English will vary between none, some, won't, can't or excellent.

I know some people will shoot me down in flames but IMHO a general grasp of Spanish will be useful.

I did a 'Holiday Spanish' course before i moved to the USA and it was totally useless lol, not much call for 'where is the train station' or ' a room with a shower on the 3rd floor please" in the production world.

Just a thought.

Steerpike

Anyone who shoots you down in flames for suggesting an ability to speak Spanish will be useful in CA has no idea what it's like to be in CA!

Antihero

Lol did make me laugh , yeah i am fully aware and that would be something i would do , having been to site and knowing the people it would be good idea , they also do speak english but it would be good to discuss in spanish......

Hotscot

Keep in mind that Rosetta Stone has different courses for Spain Spanish and Latin America Spanish...

dj6372

Or as my instructor told me, pure Spanish and dirty Spanish.......................I'll leave you to decide lol

Pulaski

​​​​​​​Even "standard" Latin American/ Mexican syntax is going to be different from usage by industrial labor. Think about Oxford English v English in an industrial setting in Liverpool, Huddersfield, or Newcastle!

Lion in Winter

On the other hand, it is perfectly possible to communicate with any of these variants. Spanish speakers do it all the time among each other, after all.

In England, we even manage to communicate with people from Yorkshire, for example.....

Pulaski

​​​​​​​Agreed, but I would contend that being fluent in a standard language and communicating using the vulgar variants is different from trying to learn the standard language and simultaneously trying to communicate using the vulgar variants.

shiversaint

I live close-ish (LA) to the area that you're talking about OP. Honestly, I think $90k will probably cover a careful family of 4, but not much more. You'll need that second income to start experiencing the US a bit, and I doubt you'll start expanding your lifestyle beyond what you have already described. Agree that relo is low. Also agree that the health insurance description is odd but good for you if they can actually give you that.

I don't think Oxnard will be that much of an interesting place to live, unless you're into sailing/watersports or general SoCal weather is particularly important to you. I've spent a bit of time there and it wouldn't be my pick. LA is far enough whereby you probably won't get down there that often, and timing it correctly with traffic will exacerbate that.

Antihero

thanks for info , i would probally look at Camarillo to live in as its alot better than Oxnard and better schools . Beaches and mountains not to far and the commute to work would be an easy 10-15 min , i could commute further as petrol will be paid for but i rather not spend time commuting as thats what i currently do alot of in the UK.

i am still waiting for further updates on the medical and relocation , they want to move foreward asap but i dont want to be stuck with a wrong decision !

Mic1

Hi Antihero,

I'm in a situation not that dissimilar to yours which involves relocating my family (wife plus 2 daughters under 10) to Southern California. The only real difference is that i'm involved in the set of a USA subsidiary of the company i work for and will own almost half of the shares so for me, i'm looking into the future far more than you might be revolving around longer term exit strategies etc. However, in the meantime, we still have to live and like you, i've worried long and hard about whether or not our income (joint circa $140K) was enough to support our very run of the mill lifestyle.

As long as have some sort of safety net in place if you had to come home, you'll never forgive yourself if pass up the opportunity

Antihero

thanks mic. Well good luck when are you planning on going ? It's a big decision , we planned for a few years but never know where we will end up.

Harveyspecter

I haven't read every post but wanted to add my 2 cents. I moved here on a spouse visa so some of my situation is different, just a disclaimer.

I'd ask too. Where I work, we have a high deductible plan. This basically means for a family we are at worst, $11k out of pocket per year (Max $5500 per person). How this works is the insurance premium a month is about $60, but you put up to I think $7k tax free into a 'Health Savings Account' that you can then use for expenses. If you don't use it, it gets saved. So like others have said, be sure what exactly they are offering you.

To relocate for WA to IN I got just under $10k, that was for me to cover everything though and had I chosen to fly down there and get a mover to collect all our stuff, the amount I would have gotten would have been less but they covered the flights and movers if that makes sense.

Agreed, you need 2 cars. I'm handy with spanners so I drive 10-15 yr old cars while my wife has the new/family car. Given I never paid more than 900 pounds in the UK for a car that usually lasted me 3-4 years, I was shocked at what I had to spend here. $3695 (tax took it to nearly $4k) got me a 2003 SUV with 180,000 miles on the clock and it needed some work (in 2016). If you want something older you don't have to finance, budget AT LEAST $5000. Rust wont be an issue in CA, but worn out mechanicals will. Cars don't have MOT's over here so some are far from roadworthy.

Food bill for a family of 3 is about $600 a month (150 a week)

Coworkers pay $1100-$1500 a month for childcare.

dj6372

Spanners my dear Harvey, surely its wrenches lol