dotsas

Sooo... after much discussion, weighing up options and hours of googling hubby and I have come to the decision that Atlanta is going to be the place to be as I (USC) can transfer to our Atlanta office, and hubby, whose company is predominately located in San Fransisco, will allow him to work from home with the occasional trip to San Fran (yay for neither of us having to give up jobs!).

I've been running some numbers, and yes, I realise the answer is probably 'how long is a piece of string' but hoping to get some second opinions on whether I'm being overly optimistic (or pessimistic) about getting us set up. It's been a while since I last did this so hoping I haven't forgotten anything substantial. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Outstanding visa costs $1,000
Shipping: $2,500
Flights (hubby only, mine will be paid for): $1,500
Flights (1 cat): $1,500
Temp accommodation: $4,500
Rental car + fuel: $1,500
Food: $1,500
Rent + deposit: $10,000 (assuming 1st month, last month and 2 months deposit)
Utilities (vaguely remember paying a deposit previously due to limited credit history): $500
Car: $5,000
Car insurance: $1,000
Furniture (some items are being shipped): $1,500
Misc stuff I can't think of or to small to warrant listing: $5,000

Total: $37,000 (give or take £25,000)

Anything massive I'm missing, under or over estimating for? Does the above seem a reasonable amount to get us kick started? Bearing in mind we'll have jobs from the get go?

Thanks folks!

Pulaski

Looks mostly reasonable, though you have likely over-budgeted for rent (assuming that Atlanta is a broadly similar market to Charlotte, NC). You should be able to rent a decent SFH for no more than $1,500/mth. Unlike New England, I don't believe that taking addition months of deposit is normal, though you're prepared if asked for it. Look for private rentals and you should be able to avoid the worst of being sçrëwed by corporate letting agents.

Conversely your $5k budget for a car is scraping the barrel, anything below that and you're asking for a constant stream of repair bills. If you're happy with a house rented at around $1,500 you'd have freed up $500, which would be more than enough for a monthly payment on a new car sourced through International Autosource.

Canveydave

I also wonder about your shipping costs. We are currently shipping our stuff over and are the wrong side of $4,500 and we didn't ship THAT much

dotsas

Thanks both - sounds like bit less for rent, bit more for car (or go monthly payment - the name International Autosource seems to come up regularly, will add it to my Google list) and potentially a bit more on shipping, but ballpark in the right direction. Fab!

BubbleChog

I would say less for rent too. We were paying $1250 p/m for a 2 bed 2 bath 1400sq feet on the edge of Buckhead in 2013.

Maruchino

Rent has gone up a lot in Atlanta and northern suburbs in the past 12-18 months

Pulaski

Not to $2,000 though. $1,500 should still cover $1,250 + "a lot".

dotsas

Had a quick look on craigslist (is that still the go to place for these types of things?) and found a whole host of nice looking 2 bed 2 bath at least the size of our current 3 bed house in the Buckhead area for $1,500. We haven't decided exactly where we want to be, but from our basic research that will certainly be one of the areas we'll consider so good to see rent will be pretty cheap (we were also originally considering San Francisco as hubby's main office is there but as SF makes London look cheap and I would have to give up my job thought Atlanta might be a better option in the first instance). And a lot places in Atlanta come with a pool That won hubby over pretty quick to be honest!

Bnet36

Spend as much as you can on a good 'young', safe car. Everything is spread out so a lot of driving and dependence on a car. Even if your commute to work is easy. Which of course you should try and live as close to work as possible.

ScotinUS

If you don't have an established US credit history I would definitely try to finance a car before coming over - we did that in '96 when we came over (as well as transferring our Amex card from the UK) to help with the credit. Also means you will have more money in your account when you first arrive rather than buying a car. Our current fixed rate at Bank of America is 1.99%. Obviously that varies with credit scores

Also traffic in Atlanta can be an absolute nightmare at rush hour. Take a look at the traffic cams on Georgia 511 - 511ga.org during busy times. I would take that into account when looking for a place in Atlanta. You may want to ask your Atlanta Office colleagues about which areas have the easiest commutes.

BubbleChog

We used Promove - The Apartment Source - Atlanta Apartment Experts They were really helpful

Pulaski

A lot has changed with respect to renting in the past few years, and a lot of rentals get posted on zillow.com, trulia.com, and postlets.com (which I think are all related) which are free for landlords to post on, and then there are some pay-sites, such as rent.com. Craigslist works, but you have to wade through a lot of $4!te, and has been linked to a number of scams and worse.

daccs

Whereabouts in Atlanta are you looking to move. I am hoping to move to Alpharetta in May with my family. Regarding costs we have been quoted £4k for shipping a 20ft container. Rent for a 4bed is around $1700. The AIG inbound program can help you with all sorts of relocation needs, mobiles, credit, insurance etc. we are using international auto source for car lease, got a pretty good deal.

Vimto

Also traffic in Atlanta can be an absolute nightmare at rush hour. I would take that into account when looking for a place in Atlanta. You may want to ask your Atlanta Office colleagues about which areas have the easiest commutes

Having lived in Atlanta for over 8 years I would totally agree, We rent a 2 bed 2 bath apartment in Smyrna area in a gated apartment complex for less than $1500, luckily with 4 miles of where I work so the commute on surface streets is between 10 & 15 mins depending upon traffic light syncronisation

jenninedinburgh

I too suggest that you look at commuting time as a part of your search. My husband and I were considering a move to Alpharetta and I did a lot of research on the area. Although we have ended up staying in Edinburgh for now, I had the chance to take a look at the area when driving through for a visit with a friend in NC last week. I happened to drive through at rush hour and OMG what a nightmare! It really was the most horrible traffic I have ever experienced (bear in mind that for a time, I drove the M25 daily during rush hour with bumper to bumper traffic and it was NOTHING like what I experienced in Atlanta last week).

Having flown over through ATL to avoid the snow storms in the EWR area, I met a guy from the UK who had lived in Atlanta for several years. I asked him how he endured the traffic - he advised that he used the MARTA system each day and it was a good service - so something to consider.