Tanja87

Oh dear.... I suppose now at least I know why car insurance is so expensive! Haha!
You also need to get your driver's license converted, don't you? Before you can get insurance?
What did everyone do going over there? Rent until you got your Green Card and then buy a place? Just wondering what's the best way to go on that...

Jerseygirl

Look on the Texas DMV's website for info and timeline for getting a Texas Driving license. Always rent until you have permanent status.

Owen778

Texas has a Department of Public Safety (DPS). It also has a DMV, but it's responsible for vehicle registration only. More info is here: https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLicense/

FinnDiego

To be fair, those tax figures are for a nicely six-figure salary - not everyone here in good old California ends up with 40%+ tax deductions. However this isn't exactly the land of no taxes either! My tax rate has remained fairly constant through several international moves ending up here in SoCal, even though my income thankfully hasn't...


Interestingly, Finland does the same thing. It doesn't exactly help to keep property prices in check there either... With SoCal property prices the mortgage interest and property tax deductions do make a pretty big difference in your taxes though. Suddenly I'm getting a refund!


HOA fees are very area-dependent. I don't pay one and would be unlikely to buy a house in an HOA, but that's more because I like the older urban neighborhoods here. No HOA and five minutes by bike to half a dozen breweries, but the downside is you'll end up with an 85-year-old 1000sqft house and still end up paying a stupid amount of money for it! However all newer developments seem to be in HOA areas.

Pulaski

90 day in Texas, ..... and if Tanja has a German licence, or can get one reissued, I think she can swap it for a Texas license and avoid the, .... er, ... effort and stress of taking the Texas road test.

Tanja87

Oh is that right? Hmmm, will definitely need to look into that! Makes sense I guess, seeing as it's back to driving on the same side of the road again

scrubbedexpat097

Don't worry honey, the Texas driving test is one of the easiest things you will do when you get here.

You just have to get used to seeing 15 year olds driving around in huge dually trucks

Tanja87

Haha! Yeah, I've heard the cars are rather big there lol! And yeah, totally forgot they get to drive quite young.... That must be weird!
Silly question maybe - is Green Card "permanent" enough to buy a house out there or would you need to go for citizenship for that... Cause the Green Card does require renewal, doesn't it?

Pulaski

I green card represents "permanent residence" and is renewable on demand, unless you become a criminal, when serious crimes might see your green card revoked and you being deported. .... So yes, buying a house while on a green card should be no problem, and in fact I bought while on a green card myself.

Tanja87

Great! Thank you
So hubby said tonight it would be a 1-2 year plan, if at all, so that was a bit of a bummer (I was counting on up to one year...) But gotta remain positive I guess... I'll keep researching and asking you lovely lot! Such an amazing community here

Pulaski

I think Tanja meant it would take 1-2 years to get here, not that they only intended to stay for 1-2 years.

Jerseygirl

Ok thanks. Heads a little messed up today.

Tanja87

Yes, Pulaski, you're right. I was really hoping to be over there around this time next year but 2 years seems like a long time... Plus our eldest would start school here next year so I don't know how I feel about taking her out of her school after 1 year and moving half way around the globe... :-/

Wintersong

At that age, it likely wouldn't be a concern at all. Don't forget that while she would have completed a year of school, the kids over here wouldn't (other than any who attended preschool) so they'd all be starting new anyway. She'd likely be ahead of her peers to begin with, which might give her a confidence boost as well.

Tanja87

Thank you, Wintersong! She could do with a confidence boost lol! Hopefully it'll all work out (asap!!) and be fine.... Lol! Seriously can't wait to hopefully finally change our lives for (hopefully) the better - it's about time we finally made the move we've been dreaming about <3 xx