guitarman001

Hello all,

I have the POSSIBILITY (not set in stone) of a move from the UK to Boston to work with a tech start-up. It was a casual application, but now I'm getting a second telephone interview and it's pretty scary - this could really happen! I'm staying at home right now so saving quite a lot of money (for me, say £900 a month). Are there any easy to use calculators I could use to find out net salary?

Other questions - I would REALLY appreciate your help here (or direction to other sources of info):

I have a girlfriend of 5 years with mostly grown children. One (autistic daughter) would likely move with us. I say us... but we aren't married! If I get a working VISA from this company, will it be a hassle from the company's point of view to bring my girlfriend over? I assume we'd have to get married (that's some step!!) - do we have to be married for a certain period of time before she could move?

Any general comments on Boston? My girlfriend seems to be all for it, probably because it's near the Hamptons, or so I keep hearing...! Certainly, housing looks to cost a FORTUNE. I'm wondering if it would be worth it, financially (hopefully if the tech company went IPO!).

I'm sure I have many other questions but it's getting late. Truly, all help is greatly appreciated - thank you SO much..!

sir_eccles

Age of children?

guitarman001

Her children are 22, 18 and 16. The 18 year-old would likely be moving with us. Would that be an issue? Off to bed soon but look forward to any help - truly appreciated

EDIT - chances are this start-up will decide it'll be too much hassle (financially and other) to get me over! Let's see..! My other option is Munich (some difference!) and I have a full list of taxes and rent prices etc. For now all I have is this for the U.S.:

http://calculatenetsalary.com/

$85k USD is $5k USD per month. If that's right I then need to figure out additional taxes, cost of living, I hear healthcare costs a FORTUNE, that sort of thing.

If this all seems pie in the sky and not do-able... I can handle it, let me know

TangoBlue

Hi there. I'm no expert (they'll be along shortly) however I believe you'll have to get married to bring your girlfriend over. She will also not be able to work (as you'll likely be sponsored for a H1B visa). Also, as the child is 18, they can come (if you are married) however will not be able to work and as soon as they turn 21, they must leave the country of get their own visa.

Noorah101

You must be married in order for her to immigrate with you, based on your visa.

You need to make absolutely sure whatever health care coverage you get, will cover the autistic child's needs.

Rene

Bob

Welcome to BE and good luck!

There have been quite a few threads about Boston over the last month, so worth searching out

Sticking points, if you're a new hire, chances are, H1B visa? Well you won't be getting that till next April for that following October start, unless this start up is university affiliated and gets out of the cap.

Check out glassdoor.com city-data.com salary.com for a idea about salary and living costs.

You need to be married to bring the OH over, if on the H1B, she won't be allowed to work. Can brings kids up to 21 years old, but you'd not have much time to get greencards to keep the them here.

Medical insurance could be another sticking point, start ups tend to not be great and with autistic daughter, could be expensive.

Hamptons, not really that near Boston, the Cape is about an hour south and the one in NH about an hour north.

CoL is bloody high in Boston, especially for anyone wanting a house with a garden, most don't live there but commute in, plenty of nice burbs where rent is a lot more reasonable, 15 miles out would halve the rent but could be an hours drive, sort of thing.

guitarman001

Thank you everybody!

So....

-We could get married and then she could come over with me (and not have to wait a year or some pre-determined time). I would be sponsored on an H1B visa or similar (I think that was mentioned).

-Her daughter would have to leave when she reached 21..

-The start-up is affiliated with MiT so hopefully if it went ahead I wouldn't have to wait until next October.

-Healthcare will cost a lot and probably even more if I'm with a start-up (is that what you meant? What sort of costs are we talking?)

-It can take an HOUR to drive 15 miles? Must be really busy...! What sort of rent could I expect to pay, and with $5k per month (excluding healthcare etc) do you think that would be enough to live on plus save a little?

-glassdoor is a great resource, thanks - other companies in the area tend to pay approx $85k for my sort of experience so I'll use that as a gauge.

House prices are MENTAL here in the UK, I don't know about in Boston. Looks like $1500 per month to rent a flat?

I'll check out all the threads about Boston you mention - thank you!

guitarman001

CRIKEY... on some of these threads they're saying that rent is upward of $3000 PER MONTH!! Surely this can't be right, how can anybody on a low wage afford that?

DexterBerkeley

I think it depends where you want to live. I'm moving over to Boston in a few weeks, providing I get the 1 last piece of paper work I need.

We have been looking to live downtown, somewhere like Back Bay, South End or the Waterfront. It is expensive, something like $2,500 a month for a 1 bed is possible, but you could also pay more than that. I know people living in Newton in 2 bed places for similar money. They don't have much of a garden but in nice communities with shared open spaces.

Feel free to PM me with questions. While I haven't moved quite yet, I do work for a tech startup, have had to work a few things out already and know some people who have moved over and know some of the issues.

Dexter

nun

+1 for all the people who said you'll need to be married for your girlfriend to come with you. You need to find out how the company will sponsor you for a visa.....you should get an H1B.

Rental costs vary depending on where you live. You can pay high prices in places like Back Bay (it's like living in Kensington or Belgravia), but you can get nice rentals for $1500/month in places like Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Watertown etc.

Health care will be a big issue for you if you have an autistic child. in MA you must have health insurance and insurers cannot refuse to cover you because of pre-existing conditions.....in other states it could be difficult and very expensive to insure an autistic child. Expect to pay $1000 to $1500/month for basic family coverage, but you'll be on the hook for maybe the first $2k of expenses. After that insurance will pay a proportion of the charges up to $5k when full coverage starts. There are lots of plans and if your employer provides a plan they will pay about 3/4 of the cost. If you get a job offer you need to find out about the benefits and health coverage.

Also you will need to think about taxes if you come to the states. If you become US resident the IRS will tax your worldwide income and if you have things like UK stocks and shares ISAs, personal pension plans, or unit trusts it can make your US taxes complicated.

Finally Boston is not exactly close to the Hamptons and the drive is nasty. The MA equivalent is Cape Cod and the islands like Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket

Bob

Healthcare depends on what the company offer you and if they offer to cover dependents, it can range from them paying it all, very unlikely, to you paying the whole premium or a range in the middle, so it can be a zero cost to you ranging to $1500 a month.

With a family, chances are between $200-800 though.

The commute times, depends, you live off Rt 9 and and head off before 7:15, you can get into Boston in 20 minutes, you leave after 7:15 and you won't, till around 9:30.

As for rent. It is expensive, very expensive.

All depends on what you're looking for, but presuming you're going to want something bigger than a two bed flat and somewhere to park a couple of cars, that'll push your rent up. You'd be hard pressed to find that for $1500 a month, even way the shit out in the burbs. Hell, that's lower than the low income reserved housing down where I am. Realistically, budget about $2K for a house or large apartment.

Then again, you can live way out there, get on the outside of I-495 and rent goes right down, but the commute gets a little rough, especially in winter.

Bob

They either find somewhere further out, get something smaller, or flat share.

You could probably find something on the lower end of the budget in the shit end of Jamaica Plain, but how you'd park more than one car would be anyones guess.

Move out to towns on the edge of the T, still pricey, but a lot cheaper, like Newton, or places around Alewife, such as Watertown.

Then places on the commuter rail, but then what you save in rent goes towards commuter costs.

guitarman001

Thanks everybody - appreciated. Just got a pm I'm going to read.
WOW - potential healthcare costs of up to $2k per month... plus $2k flat per month.. leaves next to nothing - and I thought $85kish salary would have been good! It's good to get all this info down - I wont be over keen if it means I can't save the equivalent of £500GBP a month...!

Bob

Find out what they offer for medical, then live way out in the burbs, sorted.

nun

I think people are being overly pessimistic about the cost of living in Boston.

Full price of family health insurance will be between $1k and $2k a month. But I would expect a company (even a startup) to pay at least half that so expect to pay between $500 and $1k.

For housing you can find lots of 2 bedroom flats in places like Watertown for $1500/month. It's easy to get to Cambridge/Boston form Watertown on the bus and the underground and the Mass Pike is also close if you need to commute out West.

http://boston.craigslist.org/search/...&sort=priceasc