SamG

Hi Spuddie,

I've been living in Sydney for the last 6 years and have recently moved to Seattle. I don't know much about the part of the US you're looking at and I don't know where in Oz you're thinking of settling but for me (and it is only a personal opinion) I prefer living in Oz. As a young single guy you would have a blast out there - we moved out having already started our family and I really wished we'd done it sooner. The massive drawback to Oz is that it is cripplingly expensive to live there - you think the money is good, well, cost of living is high too so it kind of balances out. Have you been on the Australia forum asking questions, there may be a way of securing a job before you go - just like here there's a wealth of knowledge and people willing to help.

Good luck with your search/move - wherever you end up. Feel free to PM me if I can be of any help, but really just keep posting with all those 'silly' questions

SamG

Oh, and if it helps, we moved out to Sydney without a job and my hubby had never even set foot in the country before - although I had and we sort of figured 'hey, what's not to like?'. We had 3 children and no job but were committed to the move and decided that even if we had to take poorly paid jobs/were homesick we'd stay for 2 years to give it a proper go. None of that was necessary though, hubby got a good job within 3 weeks and we loved it straight away.

We plan to be in the US for a few years but will be returning 'home' to Sydney after we've made the most of our time here. You know, if you need a change then any change is good - just make the most of it!!

Jerseygirl

Depending where you live in the US it is very expensive...especially hidden extras ie property tax, health insurance, copay, deductibles, dental treatment, utilities, car insurance etc etc.

Reading through the posts in the Moving Back To The UK forum and Aus forums I thought quite a few have difficulty finding work. In fact it forces some to return to the UK.

E3only

Let me share my opinion. I am not saying one is better than the other coz it really is subject. I really believe though, its up to the individual to make the best of the situation....OP really needs to consider visiting Sydney if they are serious about the move. That;s my opinion.

As for of the expenses you are highlighting, I assume you have not lived in Sydney/Australia. I am pretty much guaranteeing you that living in Sydney is much more expensive than living in Calif. Salaries are very comparable but cost of living is much higher....

property tax - does not exist in Sydney, sure. Property tax however is tax deductible here (as I understand)

health insurance - people can argue all the want with me, dollar to dollar however health insurance is better here. That is of course given the employer here is giving us good plans. Instance, wife and I were paying $225 a month. This is after tax dollars so considering a 30% tax, the pre tax dollars would be around $275. Remember, we have a national health insurance as well which is 1.5% tax. So a couple earning say 125K will end up paying 275$ private health + 150 for public health insurance so that's = $425 a month. This is even before family plans..


copay deductibles - Sure does not exist in SYdney but this is a bit of a no debate point. That reason I say that is, most of the copays here are 10-25$ a visit. Now, How many times do you go to the doctors anyway. Note again, I am just going by my experience (we have not kids and I do realize with kids, one may tend to go more. However in taht scenario - I will just move from PPO plan to HMO).

dental treatment - as pathetic as it can get. dental is a huge problem no matter AUS or US. So this is no comparative point

utilities - MUST cheaper here. Example, our electric + gas + water would be around 150 a month (we are lite users of water, electric etc). Here it's around 100$. Although when I say utilities I am taking into considerating mobiles, landlines, calling charges etc. I don't blame Australia for being expensive. It's a different market and much lower population base. around 6.8% that of US.

car insurance - lol, In Calif (one of the most litigious states) my insurance (without much driving record) is around $1200 a year. In Australia it was 800 a month for comprehensive, 600 third party, registration 300 a month and not to mention gas is much more expensive ...

Just trying to mention the facts....

Bob

You want to visit the place, in the balls deep, height of crap that is winter.

The novelty quickly wears off....what makes the difference is if you live in a place with covered parking and someone else doing the ploughing which makes it okay, to just a pain in the balls.

Also bugger all to do in the winter and an hours commute will be a hell of a lot longer in winter.

Definitely want to have a look at city-data.com to get a better idea of what the location is like.

It's a opportunity that many would still want, so worth thinking about it.

SamG

Seriously, we're earning just over half of what we were earning in Sydney for a very similar standard of living. Our employer here does offer gold standard health cover which helps but with a lower tax base and lower cost of living in general we're living the same kind of life. We're possibly not in the most exp part of the US but we're earning a LOT less $$$s and not seeing much difference in lifestyle.


[/QUOTE]Reading through the posts in the Moving Back To The UK forum and Aus forums I thought quite a few have difficulty finding work. In fact it forces some to return to the UK.[/QUOTE]

As an accountant I don't think he'd have a problem getting work, depends on where he wanted to settle and how much legwork he's prepared to do before getting there. I don't see a problem for a professionally qualified, reasonably prepared person going to one of the major population hubs (Sydney/Melbourne etc). Just an opinion based on an anecdotal knowledge of the market though.

Anyway, this isn't really a USA vs Aus thing, I'm just saying don't be blinded by higher salaries cos you won't necessarily have as much disposable income as you'd think - although the beach is free

1chumly

Oh for goodness sake, Lincolnshire is NOT flat. The southern part, certainly but what about the Wolds (designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) the cliff villages and farther north. Rolling hills make up a good portion and Lincs is a big county. BUT, please keep telling everyone that and they won't want to go there and it will stay as unspoiled as it is!

Sorry, I don't mean to move away from the thread but I just can't let things go like that about my home county. I will get off my soapbox now!

retzie

I think this is a more important point than seems to be getting attention here. I don't know if it is the prevailing demographic, or that people on BE are generally trying to support families, but (after a point) there are more important things than money! Perhaps I disregard salary to a fault, but I would VERY SERIOUSLY consider your social well-being before comparing living costs. Besides, it sounds like you have a line of work that will keep you above the breadline regardless of where you are.

I moved from Melbourne (home) to the middle of f**king nowhere USA at 26, on my own. It was for career reasons ONLY (as in, no move = no career.) Yes, it is fairly cheap to live here, but the random bouts of depression take the shine off that pretty quickly. It can be incredibly socially isolating to do such a move and, honestly, if you have a choice, I would take somewhere where you'll have a fighting chance of meeting people and doing stuff that you like.

Having said that, perhaps WI can offer you these things. I don't know. Just please be aware that yes, location can all but rule out a social/personal life, and yes, that can affect you in more ways than you can possibly imagine.


Sheesh, I wonder who's having a hard time dealing with it at the moment...

Macca67

Listen Spuddie, do yourself a favour and cross Milwuakee off the list. It's no place for a twentysomething singleton and you'll soon be bored out your tits unless the cold doesn't freeze your bollocks off first. Take this as a tip from someone whose lived in the place for over 6 years. Beloit's probably just as easy to reach from either Madison or Northern Chicago which will offer plenty more on the social scene.....even for a beancounter.

Gingerert

Hey!

Everyone's a bit keen on bashing Milwaukee and Wisconsin, aren't they?! As someone who CURRENTLY lives here, and has done off/on for the last ten years, I've got to defend it.

Yes, the winters are f.ckin' cold, but they're cold EVERYWHERE north, so that's a moot point. The summers are fantastic, especially in a city like Milwaukee where you're no more than ten minutes from a beach in any direction. There's so much to do, as well... admittedly I have never been single and living here, but friends of mine are and live independently downtown, and think it's the bee's knees. There are pockets of extreme poverty and buildings not up to code, so if you're going to live there I'd advise seeking out someone who lives locally to navigate where you're going to rent/buy something long-term.

It will take you a considerable amount of time to commute to Beloit, but that's true in both summer or winter. Madison ROCKS, but it's a student town (we used to live there AS students, so it was pretty awesome all year round), and Chicago is a nightmare for traffic. Lake Geneva is beautiful but expensive, and I've heard good and bad things about Rockford.

ALL I'M SAYING is: don't bash Wisconsin! The people up here are incredible - I've never felt so welcome and safe. We never worry about leaving our front door unlocked (although I still do, coming from London originally. Old habits die hard), and Halloween in our neighbourhood is just brilliant. People make fun of the Midwest... until they live here. Then they fall in love with it.

SultanOfSwing

I wouldn't recommend Chicago, or anywhere in IL really - mainly because if you want a quick commute you'll need to take the interstates, and those are toll roads in IL, but freeways in WI, so you'd be hit with tolls to pay going in and out of work unless you took the back roads, or numbered US highways (which are not allowed to be tolls even though they may be interstate grade.) It might not be something you care about but it bears mentioning. I live in northern IL, quite close to the WI border, maybe 20 minutes from Genoa City/Pell Lake area. I'm only here because I have to be (US wife), given the choice we'd be living in the UK .

Milwaukee is about 75 miles from Beloit. Chicago is almost 100, so the near Chicago 'burbs would be about the same distance as Milwaukee but add in the tolls and the mental traffic in and around Chicago. Rockford is just over the border from Beloit but by all accounts Rockford is a bit of a dump.

Janesville (WI) is pretty close, and I've heard it is OK. Burlington is close to Lake Geneva and nice but cheaper and has good access to I-43 to get to Beloit.

You really need to take a week or two, and come and visit the area. Stay in Chicago or Milwaukee and rent a car, drive around potential towns and cities and see if you can envision yourself living in any of them, and if you think the commute is worth the hassle. If that is possible - I don't know what your timeline is of course. If you can - book the trip in January and see if you think the winter is something you can handle. Yes, snow is a pain in the arse for commuting and if you have to clear your own driveway et cetera but the cold really isn't too bad. Once you have experienced -20C once you know how to deal with it. I quite like it if truth be told

Definitely visit if you can, for purely logistical reasons. If you want to know about culture shock, search my past posts or PM me. It is very real and it still hasn't really gone away for me.

(Not knocking either WI or IL - they're fine in their own right but my heart still lies in Blighty )

Nutmegger

Perhaps it depends on how nicely the young man can say bottul . . . If he says it well, he may get off the plane and meet some very friendly girls in a bar on a snowy night.

Gingerert

You've been watching Love Actually recently, haven't you?

Nutmegger

No -- just getting revved up for my annual Christmas Eve viewing!

Jerseygirl

Now you've started me off...