jimcheal

Hi all you wonderful dream fulfillers.

We are moving to the states in a few months. Can anyone give us
some information on what is expensive out there compared to the UK. Stuff that we can take with us. I'm not talking about tea bags. You know general things sucha s furniture, clothes etc



Jim

Pulaski

Everything is cheaper!

..... except bread and plasma screen TV's

Patrick

and beds, and car insurance, and house insurance, paint, lawnmowers, telephone bills, garden hoses, gardening tools, milk, veggies, fruit, ladders.......

in fact the only things cheaper are CD's, DVD's, cycles, white goods, cars, petrol, clothes and some food goods. Eating out is generally cheaper aswell.

Don't beleive the hype - at the end of the month you will spend the equivalent, the main difference is your pay is normally more over here (less deductions for medical insurance and you pay more income tax) so you have more disposable cash. I would try and take as much as possible and replace stuff gradually

Pulaski

No, maybe (difficult to compare), no, no, can't compare, no (I'm paying 3.9¢ a minute to the UK), who cares, no, yes (but British supermarkets almost give it away to attract customers), no, no, no idea (don't care - do you buy many ladders?) .....

A rag-bag of things if I ever saw one. Are you comparing like with like? I moved from London to New York (similar, large, cities) and found most things to be a similar price or cheaper, except housing). If you moved from a British back-water to California, Florida, or New York then you'll probably find many things more expensive. I left New York (it's not my kind of city) and moved south.

Many things are much cheaper - eating out, cars, housing (and they're much bigger too). Some groceries may be a little more expensive, but contrary to what Patrick said, I am paid less than I was in the UK, but I am hugely better off due to a combination of lower housing and motoring costs and getting much more for the money I spend too!

doctor scrumpy

I found that spices cost the earth in VA when I was getting them together for a vindaloo. My fiancée & I joked that in the USA you could afford to get to the shop, and in the UK you could afford to go into the shop. Found general food prices to be dearer in the DC area than in the UK.

It depends on where you are in the US I guess.

Cheers

Patrick

Yes - you try and find a decent mattress for under $500 whereas I could buy 2 for $500 in the UK, my car insurance in the UK was £200 fully comp a year - here it is $800, yes, yes, double, I pay $50 a month with bellsouth before I make a call (thats $150 a quarter where as it was £30 a quarter in the UK), people with gardens, yes - spades are about $20, agree, yes, yes, people who don't bring ladders with them from the UK.

I moved from a village outside Cambridge to a small town in NC and (not counting visa bills and car payments) our monthly outgoings are the same as in the UK, yes our house is bigger. Some things are more some things are less but its all much of a muchness month to month.

Of course that wasn't the question, the question was what should they ship over instead of buying new here.

frrussre

I have lived in NYC since mid 80's. Most expensive item in USA (Relative to UK) Must be a bed.

$1500 - $2000 (Kingsize) will still get you junk. All man-made fibre padding. Here in NYC, even local Congressman tried without success to find out why so expensive. Adverts, say beat any price. Trouble is manufactures make the same bed for different companies and give beds 50 different names. Hence can't compare prices.

Reg. Frank R.

Makes buying a used car seem easy. No offence to used car dealers.

Pulaski

I don't know where you are shopping Frank, but I bought a king size Stearns and Foster, which is the Rolls Royce of mattresses, in White Plains (just north if NYC) at the end of 2001 for $1,600.

NC Penguin

The thread has turned to the subject of beds. It's my understanding that bed sizes (and consequently bedding) are not the same size in the UK and US, despite similar or same names.


NC Penguin

frrussre

Yep, bed sizes are different.
Reg. Frank R.

Even 2 sizes of King, California & regular king

frrussre

some cheap beds

http://www.us-mattress.com/goldenelegance.html

http://www.us-mattress.com/bonnuiteurto.html

jimcheal

well,
I've got to agree after seeing some of the beds on these websites. Looks like we'll be shipping ours over. I suppose if your going to buy a bed the size of the UK's adverage living room your going to pay $5,000. In fact I might ship a few over and flog 'em.

Jim

frrussre

Jim, only problem with non USA beds the local bedding will not fit. Idid buy 2 Twin/single beds from IKEA couple of years ago. Seem very good quality & good price. Normally do not like IKEA stuff, but these have turned out to be great value.

Mens & womans, good quality business suits, I find at least double UK price. Ditto top of the line shoes & shirts.
Reg. Frank R.

Back to the original thread: Antiques, art, personal belongings, PC, clothes. Electrical give wide berth, don't bother.

Patrick

Remember to stuff your shipping with...

Tea bags
English Mustard
Crunchies
Marmite
Nestle's Golden Nuggets
Coloured toilet rolls (they only sell white bog roll - how bohemian)
Tizer
Irn Bru
Decent Beer

Patrick

Jan Alaska

the issue of coloured toilet rolls, when i first moved here i was suprised that i could only find white toilet rolls until someone explained that coloured toilet rolls play havoc with septic systems (like wot us folks out in the boonies have)
So i guess the nice green andrex my kids bought over for me will just have to remain fond reminders of my colour co-ordinated bathroom back in ole blighty

*sigh* Jan


OP ... remember lots of curry paste (if thats your thing) its nearly impossible to find out here (well in N Michigan it is anyways)