Bob

Some we know went to Arizona to help a aunt move and he did a bit 8f a grocery shop, was shocked how much cheaper it was over there.

Living in MA is not cheaper, unless you're out west.

guitarmaan

Salaries seem to be low here in Arizona. My hands have been tied a little ( actually a lot) because I didn't count on the better driving jobs here requiring at least two years of US driving experience. I foolishly assumed over 20 years of UK driving experience would be acceptable. It isn't. As a direct result I lost out (literally at the last minute) on a potentially great job with benefits etc.

So I'm experiencing life in the US on low wages I guess. Maybe that's why I'm being extra critical. I just thought that buying a home without a mortgage would magically turn our finances into easy street. But I compared costs to owning property in the UK and the US total came out higher. As I said this is mostly due to food costs, higher contracts here and there, and to non-employer provided healthcare.

I'm currently not even contributing to a pension, and that bugs me. Obviously for those of you who came over with a job lined up it would be very different. I'm guessing those types of deals are well paid, otherwise why come over in the first place?

I know it's difficult to make comparisons when there are so many different costs of living in the UK, and a 100 times more in the USA! It did surprise me in the US that you can't simply downsize by buying a flat. As mentioning condos require monthly fees. And those are permanent.
I think it makes sense.

civilservant

I too think it depends where you live, moving from Somerset to the sticks in GA it seems roughly the same. Lower costings of renting/utilities are offset by lower wages and having to drive everywhere in a blood suckingly inefficient car.

Pulaski

Did you own a flat in the UK? ...... I considered buying one as my first home in London, back in the 90's but was shocked to find out what the "ground rent" would be. Just like condos in the US, the owners of the units have to contribute to a fund that pays for the repair and maintenance of the shell and common areas.

guitarmaan

We rented in the UK, though we could have bought. I feared a property crash, which had happened in the states but never took hold in the UK.

Ground rents vary, but are generally very low i.e. £300 a year. Sometimes they are less than that. There are exceptionally expensive ones around too though of course.

I'd be interested to know what ballpark association fees are in the US. Realtors seem so reluctant to give out that kind of information

Sally Redux

I bought a flat in London in the 80s. The ground rent was nominal, but the service charge was higher, and didn't cover the cost of maintenance - we had to pay separately when some major work was needed.

This would put me off buying a leasehold property in the future.

Pulaski

I looked at flats in London in the mid 90's, and faced paying very nearly as much in ground rent and service charges as I had been paying for my share of a rented house, so would have saved virtually nothing of my rental expense if I had bought a flat.

MarylandNed

Is the USA actually more expensive than the UK? In general, no. Every cost of living ranking by country that I have seen ranks the UK as more expensive than the US. Individual experiences may vary from this general rule because it depends on various factors e.g. where you moved from and to.

jackattack

I'm surprised that you find realtors don't give that info. Mostly I've found it quite easy to get it; although I guess I'm typically finding it by using the online listing rather than asking the agent.

And I bought a flat in London in the 90s (terrace house converted into 3 flats) and our maintenance and ground rent is £40 per month. This covers utilities, insurance, filing the leasehold company taxes every year, and general maintenance for the flats. I thought it was quite reasonable.

Duncan Roberts

I think it also depends on the quality of things as well. If you go for the cheapest thing when buying things like food, houses, cars and pretty much anything else then you will almost certainly spend less in the US than the UK. If you actually start evealuating things like for like the price difference of the lower UK qualities is not that much different and the better quality stuff will often cost you more in the US than the UK. I think long term, it pretty much equals out regardless of where you are or what you buy. You may save a ton on a house for example but you will end up paying that difference on repairs on a US house that you wouldn't need to do on a UK one.

paul32x

Like most people, I think it depends where you are, but I would imagine that on the whole, cost-wise, it probably all averages out.

MarylandNed

Cost of living also depends on salary...not just the monetary cost of goods. My wife and I obtained much higher salaries in the US for basically doing the same jobs we did in the UK - and we moved here from London. So we feel a lot better off financially in the US. Tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes also helps a lot. We were also worried about US college costs since we have 4 kids. After the recent tripling of tuition fees in the UK, costs there are now comparable to US "in state" tuition fees.

rebs

The headline fees may make it look like they are comparable, but the payment method options in the UK (student loans which are effectively a 'graduate tax') set them apart.

steveq

Yes, but payable at an effectively zero real interest rate - not the American system.....

HumphreyC

I'd say inside 495 is comparable to the South East of England (London and suburbs). Outside of that is more like the Midlands in terms of prices and COL & it tends to get cheaper the further out of the Boston area you get. Certainly not a cheap state to live in.