nun

I was counting taxes a the cost of education and health care. I grew up in the UK and have lived in the US for 20 years and I'd generally agree that overall healthcare and access to education is better in the UK. But I've seen some worrying changes in the UK system like top up fees for students, so don't sit back and think the UK system is great, it's being nibbled away and we need to protect it.

The cost to raise a child and access to healthcare and education in the US is very dependent on what state you live in. I can only describe it for Massachusetts which is not your average US state as we have gay marriage and there's state subsidized mandatory health insurance.

Up to the age of 19 every child in MA who is not covered on their parents' health insurance is covered by the state at no cost to the child or it's parents. The cost paid for a family plan where I work is $2.5k/year and you pay $10 for every visit, there's also a 1.5% payroll tax for Medicare which goes towards retired people's health care.

Education is free in MA from age 5 to 18, every school district also has to offer state subsidized kindergarten, in some districts it's free some places charge upto $3k a year.

College education can be very expensive $40k per year for some private colleges, but most students don't actually pay that much as they get grants and cost reductions depending on their parents' income. For example Harvard announced it would pay as much as $120 million a year so that families earning up to $180,000 a year will have to spend only up to 10 percent of their annual incomes on tuition fees.

Students whose families earn less than $60,000 a year do not have to pay tuition to go to Harvard. Wellesley is doing something similar

The annual cost to send a kid to MA state university is $10k tuition and $8k room and board, but those costs are also offset by grants and low interest loans.

nun

There are ways to access 401ks or 403bs etc before 59.5 without the tax and withdrawal penalties, but for regular withdrawals there's a 10% penalty before 59.5. 457 retirement funds, however, can be accessed as soon as you leave the job, no penalties. Many early retirees also have after tax savings and use them until they reach 59.5 or social security age, and once the mortgage is paid off expenses go way down. My employer also offers full retiree health care benefits at age 55 so I'd keep the same health care as I have now and pay the same premiums.

Redwing

Depends on what rate of exchange and what your job is I guess. As a registered engineer, mainly in construction management, I am able to earn a good deal more in the USA, than anywhere in the UK from what I have been able to find. And that does not include bonuses.

fogga4000

My wife is a teacher but has to pay for her own healthcare and pays $260 a month for a very basic package(which doesnt include dental care). From university I left with about 10000 pound of debt with no assistance from parents whereas my wife who studied in the U.S left with $70000 debt having had assistance from her parents. That is a massive difference and quite frankly don't know why people go to private colleges unless they are getting it all paid for(even so its crazy).

Dan725

I think thats the major flaw in your logic. While these may be "the only things" that are more expensive here, they are very big "only things". As is BIG. MASSIVE even!

Working for a big corporation for all those years, you'll have always had decent benefits. Once you get out on your own, you might find that cost for your own cover will massively increase. Especially if things start to go wrong, as they are prone to doing as we age....

For what its worth, however, I think the trend will also be impacting the UK shortly, if it isn't already - the western world is getting to a point where all the systems in place that people have counted on for years (healthcare, pension, etc) are starting to break down.

tamms_1965

My undergrad was free (except for books, fees, and day care) due to my ex working at the university. My master's was free and I was also paid for teaching.

My daughter goes to Ohio State (in top 500 of world) and it is less than $9000 a year for everything except room and board. My son goes to Columbus State, a community college, and it is half of that. So it all depends on where you go and what grants, scholarships, etc. you can get. It's not always easy, but if you want to go badly enough it usually works out.

englishinfl

Now that's getting things into perspective.

nun

$40k a year is seldom what anyone pays for college, and that $10k to 15k is probably a good figure for the total cost to send a kid to a state college. Some will cost more, some less, and some families will get bigger grants than others, but those are reasonable estimates.

However, I'll always be grateful to the UK for my education. In the 1980s my undergraduate was completely FREE! and I got a 2000 pound government grant. PhD, completely FREE! and I got 4000 pounds a year. I left with 2000 pound in my bank account, no debt, and a BSc, PhD form one of the best science and engineering schools in the world.........Thanks Mr. Beveridge

fogga4000

I left with 10000 pound plus debts, received no grants, sponsors etc and a degree thats been completely devalued. Thanks Mr Blair.

englishinfl

Oh well, maybe you'd be able to thank Mr Bush if you were an american moving the other direction?
From what I have been able to deduce, America certainly isn't the "land of milk and honey"for a lot of people either.
Like someone recently said in another thread, the grass is always greener.

fogga4000

Yes sorry, that was said tongue in cheek. It really doesn't bother me.

englishinfl

Or me either, I'm just glad I managed to clear my student loans up before it dragged on too much. I know a lot of people here that seem to have a lot of them outstanding. Apparently according to an article I read, even Barack Obama only recently managed to clear his from the sales of his book.

fogga4000

Yes in all honestly I cant see me paying them off until i'm well into my forties. Or it'll be quashed after 25 years, whichever one comes first. I can seriously see though the Government changing the terms and conditions due to many people not paying their loans off within the 25 years especially as they increased the original interest rates tenfold.

Giantaxe

This is exactly what kills the prospects of early retirement for many people:- they simply can't obtain reasonably priced health insurance at a time of their lives when they are likely to have an increased need for healthcare. Yet another reason why tieing health insurance to employment is a terrible idea.

Bob

To get any of those state bennies though, you've got to be proper breadline dirt poor, or your stuffed and forget owning a house.

Average day care around here, part time 3 days a week is $1500 a month...

And those low tuition costs are just tuition, not cheap areas to live, even slumming it as a student.