DexterBerkeley

Also, as it's a start-up and therefore I guess a small employer, check that they use a co-employer. I don't know all the ins and outs myself but it makes like much easier when it comes to benefits like healthcare and these co-employers manage it centrally for multiple companies and not only look after the admin, but can also secure better rates as well.

Bob

Couple of teenaged kids sharing a room?

Bink

Yes. We are a small company and use a payroll/admin company which secures us much better group rates on medical and means we actually have a decent plan.

ScousePete

I live in Boston and absolutely love it. I have been in the US for 16 years now and MA is my 6th state I've lived in - I much prefer it to anywhere else I have lived here.

There are great restaurants, bars, theatres, sports. It's a very walkable city and easy to navigate subway (the T).

I also appreciate the short flight time back to the UK.

It is one of the more expensive cities, but I think the pros far outweigh the cons. A one bedroom apartment can be had for $1200-$1500 and it isn't that much of a jump to a 2 or 3 bed. As everyone else has said, it depends on where you want to live and the price goes down as the commute goes up.

I lived for a year in the North End (touristy Italian neighbourhood) and loved the fact that I could walk out of my door and go to excellent (if overpriced) restaurants. You don't get much space for your $ there though. I recently moved to Jefferies Point, and while the neighbourhood is a little dodgier, the rent is less and the apartment is bigger. Great ethnic (Central/South American) restaurants nearby.

Good luck!

guitarman001

Quick reply before I pop home - the job would actually be in Cambridge, MA..

Bob

Splitting hairs really....that whole Davis/Porter Square, MIT/Kendall area are minutes from each other and a stop or so away from Boston on the T.

Bonus if it is Porter Square, that's on the commuter rail, so you could head way out and have a easy, if some what boring and slow commute on the rail and then not need to take the T anywhere.

Kendall area though at a guess if it's MIT related, cool campus, cool area. The Cambridge Brewing Company, across the street, really nice little pub for lunches and snacks and the Brit consulate is just around the corner and they host quite a lot of fun meet up events, especially for science/tech related people.

nun

I didn't realize there'd be 2 kids......so maybe $1800 to $2000 for a 3 bedroom.

Bob

Aye, second post by the OP, 18 and 16 I think it was as the third kid was aged out.

guitarman001

MiT related yeah.. I'll be lucky to get the job with all those smart bods around! ;D

I think only only her autistic daughter would be coming - the other would stay to go to University or similar - I don't think I could afford to support them all. 2-bed flat... Yes, still at work - better get used to long hours if I'm working at a startup!

nun

So $1500 a month for a two bed flat then.

Don't be intimidated by MIT, they're just a bunch of engineers....the real intellectual stuff goes on a couple of miles up Mass Ave.

guitarman001

Actually, that is what I've heard! The guy who interviewed me (nice guy, real smart) said they had to hire design engineers from the smaller universities as the MIT grads weren't so hot when it came to the bare bones design - they're more into the system-level side of things. At my work now the most applications we get are from the Indians and Chinese - some of their unis seem to be the size of towns here!

I was speaking to a financial consultant today and mentioned this opportunity. He said Boston is lovely and even if the start-up doesn't take off, it would look like dynamite on the CV lol. That or Munich, both look attractive.

My girlfriend is the legal guardian for her daughter, so it wouldn't look good if she ditched her here with her birth father. However perhaps a year here, a year there!? I don't think it would be fair on my girlfriend not having any relation in the vicinity seeing as I'll be at work practically all the time and she'd be stuck wherever we are not able to get a job and perhaps not much to do - emotional support as well etc..

I need to get home soon (7:45pm!) as I've got a Chinese waiting!!

Cheers!

guitarman001

Guys,

My girlfriend was looking online and she says she can't come across even if married unless I was a resident? Surely that can't be right - I thought it would be ok if I had a working VISA (http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigra...3.html#members). I've been invited over for interview and it's made it so much more real. A bit scary!

Was I correct in saying $85k per year is around $5k per month.. and is that ok to live on, really? I'm still guessing with finger in the air at a figure of $1k per month healthcare for myself and girlfriend combined..

Bob

If you're married, she'd get a derivative visa.

L1 gets L2, allows work. H1 gets H4, does not allow work.

The salary is doable, but it depends on if you want to rent a house in Boston or live in the burbs. In Boston itself, with a family, it'll be tight, but much more doable in the burbs.

The thing to consider, especially with the 16 year old, university.

You need 3 years residence in the EU to get home fees if she wanted to study in the UK, more importantly than the home rates is the student loans, which are much more favourable than private loans. Studying in the US would be much more expensive, especially at any of the decent colleges in Boston.

guitarman001

Thanks!

She wouldn't be going to University as she's autistic. At age 21 she would have to go back to the UK so we would probably get her over with a tourist VISA (you can stay up to 6 months at a time year after year?).
Same thing with my girlfriend, actually... tourist VISA is for 90 days uninterrupted?

If I were single and care-free I'd jump at this chance but I must admit, seeing the cost of living in Boston and knowing I might not see my girlfriend for months - it is putting a dampener on things.

Noorah101

After marriage, your girlfriend will be your wife, and she can get a derivative visa based on your own visa. You do not have to be a US Permanent Resident.

Regarding her autistic daughter...is she your daughter? If she's not your daughter, then your girlfriend/wife might need a letter from the child's father giving permission for her to travel to the USA.

Rene