So much to research - where to begin???
#17
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Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 16
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Thanks Pulaski I know I can ask my dad all the questions regarding these issues but as he never lived in UK he can't compare, although step mum is from Scotland so I can bombard her too � ����. Think a holiday is in order.
#18
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
You might consider any nearby large city, not just Dallas, and remember, larger usually also means more expensive, both housing costs and commuting costs (distance). And don't automatically rule out Arkansas either as there are jobs there, including a moderately successful retailer in Bentonville, AR. In fact unemployment in Arkansas is fairly average for the US as a whole, and only a little higher than in Texas.
#19
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Joined: May 2010
Location: San Diego, California
Posts: 9,669
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Since you have medical issues I would suggest you research the health insurance arena very carefully.
Don't know what age you are but since you are talking about transferring pensions, assume you are "middle-aged".
Even with the new exchanges coming in next year - which are supposedly more cost effective then current individual policies - you should budget several hundred dollars a month to pay for premiums for you and your husband. Apart from monthly premiums, yes, there will be additional costs such as visits to doctors, deductibles, co-pays etc but it is all according to what your plan will and won't pay for. What plans you are able to get is also dependent on which state you live in - some States are saying they are not going to go the exchange route so who knows what will be available there.
Getting health insurance via a job is always a much better scenario.
Just read an earlier post from you and you have children 7 and two, so not likely to be "middle-aged" then. However, with children I would up that several hundred dollars a month to around 1,000 per month whether you pay individually or in a job based scheme.
Don't know what age you are but since you are talking about transferring pensions, assume you are "middle-aged".
Even with the new exchanges coming in next year - which are supposedly more cost effective then current individual policies - you should budget several hundred dollars a month to pay for premiums for you and your husband. Apart from monthly premiums, yes, there will be additional costs such as visits to doctors, deductibles, co-pays etc but it is all according to what your plan will and won't pay for. What plans you are able to get is also dependent on which state you live in - some States are saying they are not going to go the exchange route so who knows what will be available there.
Getting health insurance via a job is always a much better scenario.
Just read an earlier post from you and you have children 7 and two, so not likely to be "middle-aged" then. However, with children I would up that several hundred dollars a month to around 1,000 per month whether you pay individually or in a job based scheme.
Last edited by SanDiegogirl; Aug 8th 2013 at 4:33 pm.
#21
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Read the wiki?
There a good chunk going over health care and credit issues... Also a few current threads on those subjects so don't need repeating unless you have specific s. School is also fairly well covered, so should be a good starting point.
There a good chunk going over health care and credit issues... Also a few current threads on those subjects so don't need repeating unless you have specific s. School is also fairly well covered, so should be a good starting point.
#22
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Hi everyone,
We are starting our process to move from UK to USA and I know this will take some time. My husband is very keen but obviously has some concerns especially of the unknown - reading various website sometimes confuse or terrify us so I thought I would ask for some personal opinions.
Big issue is healthcare - obviously used to free treatment here in UK - is it very expensive especially if not provided via employer and is it correct you pay yourself for every GP appointment? Hubby is asthmatic and although he is not serious or suffer attacks, he does require daily inhalers!
Education costs??? No idea on this one!
Pensions - can we transfer ours or best to leave here?
Is tax etc deducted from salary in USA as it is in UK? Lots of comments made about having to do tax returns etc
Lastly (for now) my dad lives in Arkansas and as much as he wants me close to him he said work is not great there and suggested Dallas. I have visited both places but prefer weather changes and seasons. Love the thought of Colorado but this seems more expensive than dallas or Arkansas and is much further away from my dad and family. Any comments or suggestions on area to research that has seasonal weather - not too far from Arkansas.
Sorry lots of questions but any advice I can share with hubby would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Debbie
We are starting our process to move from UK to USA and I know this will take some time. My husband is very keen but obviously has some concerns especially of the unknown - reading various website sometimes confuse or terrify us so I thought I would ask for some personal opinions.
Big issue is healthcare - obviously used to free treatment here in UK - is it very expensive especially if not provided via employer and is it correct you pay yourself for every GP appointment? Hubby is asthmatic and although he is not serious or suffer attacks, he does require daily inhalers!
Education costs??? No idea on this one!
Pensions - can we transfer ours or best to leave here?
Is tax etc deducted from salary in USA as it is in UK? Lots of comments made about having to do tax returns etc
Lastly (for now) my dad lives in Arkansas and as much as he wants me close to him he said work is not great there and suggested Dallas. I have visited both places but prefer weather changes and seasons. Love the thought of Colorado but this seems more expensive than dallas or Arkansas and is much further away from my dad and family. Any comments or suggestions on area to research that has seasonal weather - not too far from Arkansas.
Sorry lots of questions but any advice I can share with hubby would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Debbie
There are some lovely places to live. Some are more expensive than others of course. This looks to be quite realistic:
http://www.zillow.com/local-info/CO-home-value/r_10/
#23
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Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,834
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Edit: sorry, just seen your other thread about passports and the like, where others have amply covered this off.
Last edited by kodokan; Aug 8th 2013 at 10:52 pm.
#24
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Big issue is healthcare - obviously used to free treatment here in UK - is it very expensive especially if not provided via employer and is it correct you pay yourself for every GP appointment? Hubby is asthmatic and although he is not serious or suffer attacks, he does require daily inhalers!
Will you have to pay for each GP appointment? It depends what health insurance you get.
Many policies ask you to pay a co-pay towards each visit - for example I have to pay $15 each time I see the doctor and my insurance pays the rest of the cost.
Many other policies have a deductible you must meet before your insurance will pay the cost of your visit - for example my husband's policy has a $2500 deductible, so (apart from his one insurance-paid healthcheck per year) he pays for GP visits. He pays at the insurance company's negotiated rate, not the higher rate the GP actually tries to charge.
To offset this cost, his company puts $900 a year into a health savings account, which he can use to pay these costs. If he doesn't have any costs, he carries over the savings.
Because his policy has such a high deductible, the cost of his premiums is lower than on a policy like mine that has very low deductibles. He could choose a policy with lower deductibles but he'd rather take the risk.
To confuse things more, your employer might choose to subsidise the cost of your health insurance, or they might not. So for example if we were all insured on my husband's policy the cost for a family of five would be about $12,000 per year. My company gives us a much higher subsidy, so instead we get much better insurance for about $5,000 a year - the company is paying the other $12,000 a year that the insurance actually costs.
The short answer is that you really don't know how much health insurance and other expenses will cost you till you have a job here. But I would budget a good $20k a year for a family of four if you don't have a company-subsidized policy, and be aware this might well not cover everything in a bad year.
#25
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Where to start? Our WIKI will answer many of your questions and even some you haven't thought of just yet.
Guide to Health Insurance
Guide to US Schools
And many others:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:USA
Guide to Health Insurance
Guide to US Schools
And many others:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:USA
#26
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Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,834
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
I did a bout of low carbing 2010 - not an extreme Atkins-a-like, just cut out the 'white fluffies' of sugar, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and upped my intake of green veggies, salad, lean protein, eggs, healthy fats, nuts, etc. I lost a little weight, but unexpectedly after a few weeks, my asthma that I'd had for two decades just disappeared. And even though I now eat a reasonable amount of carbs again - I usually aim for one meal a day without fluffies - it's never re-appeared. I've been asthma-med free now for 3 years.
Googling suggests it might be wheat, and that although I'm not noticeably intolerant - I eat bread and pasta now with no digestive or respiratory effects - giving my system a break for 2-3 months allowed it reset to a baseline of being able to cope fine, ie, back to what it was before the illness knocked it off kilter. Might be worth looking into - there's quite a lot on the internet about asthma, wheat, carbs and improvements or 'cures' through fairly minor diet changes.
It was certainly good to arrive in the US, have a new patient physical with our doctor, and present myself as completely fit and on no medication whatsoever.
#27
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
Well, the good news is that they are actually willing to try treating asthma here, rather than just throwing inhalers at him and telling him to get lost for a few months.
#28
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 214
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
My asthma has also mostly disappeared since moving to the US, it only flares up once every couple of winters if I get a really bad cold. Lucky it's not that often because even with insurance I've been prescribed inhalers that came with a $125 co-pay
#29
Re: So much to research - where to begin???
The thing with Asthma, and I'm a sufferer, is that it is usually related to a trigger, so moving, even in the same country can have either a beneficial or harmful effect, there may well be as many start to get symptoms from moving as have symptoms clear up, so it's not always good.