penguinsix

1:21 is technically the average in California by many studies (20.8) but that averages through elementary and high school. This actually makes it one of the highest average ratios in the country, though as I'm sure more than one teacher in California can point out there are classes that are higher. Many high school classes are 1:25 or so on average. If the 36,000 teacher layoffs go through the ratio will move from 1:20 to 1:23.

http://edmoney.newamerica.net/blogpo...r_ratios-33269

Picnic

If you don't like the weather in London you certainly wouldn't like it in Seattle or Bellevue (although skiing can be found within 1 hour's drive)! Teaching jobs are hard to find there as school district funding has been badly hit by the recession, and the cost of living, although not as high as the Bay area, is comparable to the South of England.

Sally Redux

1:21 is the California ratio quoted in oregon4now's link.

bromleygirl

I'd say was the average..these studies are probably using data pre teacher lay offs. I can tell you that the ration certainly at my children's new elementary school is 1: early 30's.

christmasoompa

Totally dependent on the the school though - my daughter is in a class of 14 but it's a small village school. I don't know anybody who has their child in a class of more than 20, but none of them are in cities or large towns so I'm assuming that's why.

Bob

MIL, out in the no wheres of Maine has a couple of classes with 38 kids because a bunch of schools were closed, teachers close to retiring given bonuses to retire and weren't replaced and a lot of classes were just cut so the kids don't have as many options to get enough class credits to graduate.

It's a little bit scary because she teaches art and they got rid of their special needs teacher and threw the couple of kids into her class to get them out of the way. Very safe when there's loads of dangerous chemicals for photography lying around, accident waiting to happen

Mummy in the foothills

They eliminated just about all the elective classes in our middle and high schools due to the budget. So at the middle school they are left with Art, Home economics and Band.
The high school fared a little better as they have to have some classes to graduate, but they did eliminate Accounting and electromagnetics plus a lot more that I forget.
Some seniors are really scratching about for classes just to make up enough points to graduate.

OzExpat

I paid a Lawyer because I was worried about the same domicile issue as you (I was very young when I left the USA.) My advice is don't worry, you'll have to fill in your previous 3 years of tax returns and your intention to move to the USA is enough to "prove" domicile. Do you have an SSN? You'll need to get that too.

dgandhi

Thank you everybody for the help.

I did not imagine for a minute, that life in the US would be easier - just the possiblity that it would be interesting and rewarding.

Thanks for the warnings, but our desire to move is not just because of the weather, but northern california's proxmity to the mountains, the beach, and it's natural beuty (subjective I know) is a very positive point.

Everything involves risk, and in 2007, I was on £18K a year at an inner city school. I was told by so many people to not risk my job by quitting as I was turned down for a lot of progression, but so many friends (teachers) told me to be grateful for the job. I spent a year temping before being offered my current job at £29K just one year later.

I make the rest of my salary up by points I have earned for being accepted into every co-ordinator position I have applied for in a top performing school. I have a London allowance of £3K and I run after school clubs, and supervise end of day - all of which provide points to increase my salary. I work really long hours, and I still can't afford to live close to where I work, (without obtaining a rubbish loan from the government to buy really rubbish one-bed flats, that I might pay off in 40 years! - key worker housing).

So I work very hard for my salary, and if I were to move 45 minutes out of London to a suburban school, I would lose my London allowance, and I would be starting again my extra curriculars which earn my higher salary - and thus earning not nearly as much.

Finally, I think that a sense of adventure is what makes me want to move, and the US is a lot more welcomming (given my US citizenship) than say Aus or Canada.....I also love the US lifestyle and have family there.

Thank you for pointing out the potential risks though.

Thanks to people who sent me the info on the job (and shortages of them). I think out savings would keep us afloat a while, even paying for the health insurance), and I cant think of anywhere in the south east that our 230000 - 250000 USD (£154000) would buy us more than a one-bed or a really old ex-council.

OzExpat: did you find your immigration attorney useful?

Bromleygirl:

dgandhi

Sorry, one further question:

without causing a violent backlash: a few of the people on here have said it would be cheaper to relocate in England. I can't understand this, the south is so expensive. Please could you highlight what makes a move to te US so expensive.

We do fly to the US annually anyway to visit family.

We are grateful for the NHS, my husband pays for us to have Bupa (much cheaper than any US offering, i realise) after a few of our close family members have not been given priority on the NHS (as they were not sick enough) but then had near miss experiences, that would have been fully avoidable according to the private service we now use. We were told that there were a lot more at risk people so our relatives would have to wait, as they got worse and worse.

SORRY, NOT WANTING TO DEBATE ABOUT NHS - EVERY SYSTEM HAS SOME PROBLEMS!

penguinsix

International moves almost always result in some out of pocket expenses. The first is the actual move, plane tickets and the shipping container, but then you have sundry secondary travel expenses, such as the cost of rental cars before you get your transportation sorted, meals and hotels along the way should you stop on a layover. Visas and other legalities, like setting up new bank accounts, or getting copies of documents that require a fee, can also cost.

But then you get into this second level of costs--I call it "coat hangers". When you move you end up at a new place and you find out you forgot coat hangers. So you have to buy some. Or you ditched all your china (or it got broke) and you have to replace that. Or you didn't bring your furniture and have to start grabbing stuff the moment you land (so you have a bed). You need to replace your kettle or hair dryer and a clock radio. Lots of things have to be replaced, or needed while you await the shipping container's arrival. These costs add up and up and up. I think in our last move 6 months ago, with a shipping container, we easily ran up several thousand in sundry other things.

Longer term there are additional expenses like flights home, or calling back to the UK, or the dreaded call in the middle of the night when you MUST return to the UK immediately at any cost to help with a loved one.

When your all done, you have in your head the cost of tickets + the shipping container but the reality is you've spent quite a bit more with these secondary expenses, some of which probably wouldn't have been the case if you were just moving a few hundred miles around the UK.

Bob

Easily cost a few grand just getting over, but if you've got household of stuff, cost of moving, setting up, deposits on everything, realtor fee's etc, could easily run you up to $100K if you aren't careful, realtor fee's especially if you end up moving.

Lot more hidden costs involved and healthcare insurance could easily run you a couple grand a month if you don't have a job. NHS can be flakey, but as you say, Bupa is peanuts to add on top. It's not like that in the US and you're more likely to get treatment denied, especially if you aren't on a decent employers plan, and don't expect all teaching jobs to provide decent coverage. MIL has been teaching for years, has her coverage grandfathered in on a old contract so it is very good, but in real terms because the cost has gone up each year, she hasn't seen a real pay increase in the last 10 years. New teachers are paying a small fortune for basic coverage that is almost pointless out where she works.

It's a lot less risky if you move over with a job offer in hand and some sort of relocation offer to deal with than moving over without anything set up. Getting set up and the first couple of years in a new country will be really expensive and if things don't work out, you've got the reverse costs to add on top.

dgandhi

I have seen the following health insurance for $500- $600 for both of us on kaiser permanente: no deductible (or deductible under $500), no copayment, and prescriptions ($10 copay for generic, £30 for brand). includes maternity, and $4--$50 for appointments.

Please tell me if this is sounding too good, obivously I will read the fine-print before going anywhere, but maybe I am missing something huge.

What I am describing above is 2 or 3 policies I saw as relevant, and obivously no one on here knows about our health history, but the figure that bob mentions is more typical of what people have told us about health insurance costs, but ehealth has some much lower quotes!

Jerseygirl

If you have any immigrations questions you are best to post them here. Many of the regular posters have immigration experience and they will probably be able to answers your questions.

Bob

Lower quotes to be had, but usually dependant on credit history, age, actual medical fitness and not having kids etc.

You'll have to see what is and isn't covered, which hospitals, doctors, labs are covered.

Check to see if there is a maximum level of coverage, if it's $1M it's junk, if they cover 50-75% of the costs of treatment, it's junk unless for emergencies only, but still pretty much junk if you can't afford your $5K to get your leg plastered kind of thing.