Originally Posted by tht

in CT I pay more than that every month and have to pay $10 a week to have my trash collected and taken to the transfer station (else I would have to take my own there, and still need a $20 a year sticker to access it).

Originally Posted by tht

Oh wow you were right “down the hill from me” I was up the hill from Southfields station in slightly bigger detached house by Wimbledon common. We could hear the crowd on center court from the garden...

Originally Posted by tht

Even then you can’t compare apples to apples.. in CT and I believe most if not all of the US public school funding comes from local tax’s, you have to look at all taxes combined, saying you have low property tax is pointless if you have high sales tax or income tax etc.

that said they may be some corner cases e.g. if you retire and don’t need good schools and have minimal income where you can actually live somewhere virtually tax free and subsidized by others. Even the services provided for by the local tax authorities vary, in NYC I paid $400 a year in property tax thanks to a 25 year 421a and had my garbage collected, out in CT I pay more than that every month and have to pay $10 a week to have my trash collected and taken to the transfer station (else I would have to take my own there, and still need a $20 a year sticker to access it).

Originally Posted by Moses2013

..... Unfortunately pensioner poverty is becoming a huge problem in most countries.

Originally Posted by Nutmegger

You're lucky! There is no trash pick up in my CT town (other than hiring a private haulier, of course) and the car sticker for DIY transfer station visits is $95 per annum!

Originally Posted by tht

... personally (aside from money) I don’t know why everyone does not head to Maui when they retire...

Originally Posted by zzrmark

Do you not think that this situation is allowed to exist precisely because the administration has demonised immigrant workers from Mexico southwards and is instead trying to encourage nice white Europeans to do the crappy jobs that Americans don't want?

Originally Posted by Pulaski

But then there are the costs of being a homeowner that nobody in the UK would ever consider - such as the perpetual cycle of replacing roofs, and heating/ AC systems, and the fact that "things" always seem to need repair or replacement in American homes. As I have posted from time to time, my US home isn't just a home, it's a hobby too! It might sound like a joke, but anyone who has owned a home in the US knows that the joke very quickly wears thin.

Originally Posted by lysagrey93

E2 is a cool option I agree. I had friends who moved with that visa

Originally Posted by Pulaski

Similar to the post a few months ago about a new graduate who had been in the US on an F-1 who took a job as a "consultant" with a consultancy/ employer that paid his visa fees, but placed him to work for a client. The client paid the consultancy a reasonable hourly rate for his services, but the consultancy firm paid the new graduate/ employee a pittance to claw back the visa fees, and presumably a generous profit. As the employee didn't "pay" the visa fees, the end-employer did through the hourly billing, the law was technically not broken, even though the employee was paid far below market for his services.

It's surprising what someone would do to put themselves in a situation where they are "surcharged" $00's/mth for heath insurance that other countries hide in their progressive taxation rates, and if they fall ill or are injured, they are at permanent risk of being billed for non-covered medical expenses (deductibles) that could bankrupt them. I am not sure on what level you are considering what you have achieved to be a "success:

Originally Posted by Zoe Bell

it’s my understanding that someone has to be at least 18 ( 21?) to petition for a parent