HI all

I'm trying to gauge my current relocation offer from a new employer from the UK to USA (LA specifically)

500lbs of air freight
Temporary living expenses for 3 months
$25k lump sum to cover any other expenses
VISA applications for myself and family

Any opinions welcome!

Thanks in advance

Are you included in the air freight or are they providing you and your family with flights or is that in the $25k?

Repatriation costs if you are terminated, until they get you a green card, if that’s is an option, and if it is get the commitment in writing now while you have the most leverage.

Assuming your will rent, you may need to have your employer as guarantor to be able to rent with no credit and may want them to commit to pay the balance of the lease if they terminate you.

Remember that the lump sum is likely taxable income. On living expense if it’s cash make sure it’s grossed up, it may be more efficient if some things are paid directly not via you.

I assume you mean your visa’s or is your employer providing your family with VISA credit cards?

Unless you have very simple affairs, no property and non cash assets in your home county professional tax advice for a few years may help.

Some employees i know on temporary transfers (pre covid) got annual flights home to see family paid for until it became a permanent move or went home.

Thanks for the quick reply.

we’re assuming that flights for the family sit outside of the air freight and $25k

I see from your other thread that you have a GCSE age child, is there any option of schooling fees? Our package included fees paid for children at crucial school ages, which ours both were (GCSE and A Level), so the company were paying for them to go to the British School. Is this move intended to be a permanent one or just a few years? If the former, make sure you get it written in your contract that the employer will sponsor green cards (as it's a new employer and you'll be moving on a L1, you've got about 18 months before you can move anyway, then they may even have time to get them before you go). If the latter, then bear in mind your children's education and potentially having to pay international fees for UK universities..

If it helps, here's a link to where I've given details of our relocation package in the past. H1B vs L1B

Go for it.

I only received $10k (net) relocation compensation…

I hope your base salary and annual bonus is much higher than what you get in the UK. Life is more expensive here.

Green Card if you are looking to stay.

There's your first mistake right there.

Isn't this a bit precipitous? You're looking at an L1, and checking your other thread don't work for the company yet, right? Why are they offering a package now since you have to work for them for a year before even being eligible for an L1?

Is this move to the US the primary reason for taking this position?

Hi, you say that but i just received my latest electricity bill per month for a modest detached house in Surrey.........£242 a month, I doubt there's anyone stateside on this forum paying circa $400 a month just on power, even in mid summer with a pool! We're relocating to Orange County early next year, having been in contact with the 5 or 6 families we know out in Southern California, their cost of living is high but no higher than it was costing them in the UK (aside from the cost of Health Insurance of course which one assumes is predominantly picked up by one's employer).

£242 is $326.

Here are a couple of posts from people with their monthly elec bills.

Living Costs US vs UK

Avg living expenses Southern California

Advice Required for Moving to USA and buying a business

I pay a third of that for a small 1 bed apartment here in NJ. Pretty much everything here is more expensive than the UK except some consumer goods, and I used to live in Zone 2 in London...

If you buy property there are property taxes to consider…ours was almost $2K per month 10 years ago. I always say the US is akin to Disney…nothing is what it seems on the surface.

My electric bill in OH peaks at $200/month in Jul/Aug and drops to $70 in May/Oct.
3800 sq ft home, with gas for heat and cooking

I still pay less in tax in the US even when I include healthcare as a 'tax'.

YMMV

Apparently...........'Californians pay relatively low utility bills. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Californians consume an average of 554 kWh per month. They pay an average of 18.31 cents/kWh, resulting in an average monthly electricity bill of $101.49. For reference, the most expensive average monthly bill is Hawaii ($149.33) and the cheapest is New Mexico ($79.16). The average for the U.S. as a whole is $111.67'

One family we know in San Marcos, 2300 sf home, family of 4, 25 year old home told us they paid just over $2000 this year so far and another in Torrance, same size family, similar home, are closer to $2500. Either way, i'd much rather have their yearly bill of $2200-2500 than mine of nearly the equivalent of $4k.

Electricity and gas bills in California are nothing compared to water bills if one is in a single family home with a garden.

Moving expenses are generally no longer tax deductible. Even if things are not paid via the relocatee they will likely end up as taxable income. Getting a relocation package "grossed up" to cater for this is one of the most important things to ask for.