# Moving to Houston Cost Analysis



## Highpips (Sep 29, 2013)

Hello everyone,

This is my first post on here. 

I have been reading a lot of the posts on here and now it my time to ask a question. 

I am married with 3 kids and living in Malta. I am currently working as a virtual assistant and I am paid well and my wife works as a teacher.

I have been offered a contract to work in Houston with a $40 starting salary however I know the employer very well as he has been one of my clients for the past 3 years. Very trustworthy etc so I have no issues there. My wife can find a job as a teacher with a starting salary of $20 and then moving to $40k after she goes through another degree as the qualification requirements are different there. 

My main problem is that I have gone through an extensive cost analysis to see if we will be better off in Malta as we are or selling everything and moving over. 

In order to move we need to go through a very long process which will be very costly and stressful. When I worked out all the figures I worked out it was goign to cost me $37,005 to move. 

This includes 

Passport	1 $70.00
Passport 2 $70.00
Passport 3 $70.00
Passport 4 $70.00
Luggages $200.00

*Housing* 
Housing Deposit $1,100.00
First Three Months Rent $3,300.00
Application Fees $25 per person$125.00
House Deposit @ 10% $15,000.00
Purchase Legal Fees $3,000.00


*Vehicle* 
Car Purchase 1 $3,000.00
Car Purchase 2 $3,000.00
Car Insurance 1 $1,000.00
Car Insurance 2 $1,000.00


Flights $5,000.00
Naples Interviews $1,000.00

That part I can deal with. However when I go to the living costs they seem really high. I must be working something out wrong. 

We are a family of 5. 2 adults and three young kids. As you can see from my list below the costs are really high so I am either over
costing things or I'm doing something wrong. I worked out that with $60k we would just be scrapping by. For my figures
below I phoned up schools, car companies, insurance brokers and many other places. I really would appreciate some help on this
as I would love to go but the cost seems too high at the moment. I have a huge spreadsheet that links to these figures so i have done the research properly. The only thing that I am looking at is the healthcare as the employer might pay part of this.

Monthly Costs

Healthcare Total	$1,800.00
Life Insurance	$100.00
Medicines	

*Vehicle* 

Car Insurance 1	$83.33
Car Insurance 2	$83.33
Water	$100.00
Electric	$100.00
Gas $50.00

Monthly Shopping	$400.00

Entertainment	$100.00
Clothing	$100.00

Internet	$50.00
Phone	$50.00
TV Lisence	$40.00

*Housing* 
Property Value 135K
Mortgage	$652.00
Home insurance	
Property Tax	$253.33
Mortgage Term 30yrs
Buildings Insurance	
Contents Insurance	


Total Monthly Expenses	$3,662.00


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

When I add up your monthly figures I get 3,961 per month. 

There is no TV licence in the US but you are likely to be paying nearer 100 per month for cable service.

You can't guarantee that your wife will get a job and yours at 40k per year is on the low end.

I agree, you can't afford to move.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Where are you getting that $1800/month for healthcare? That's _way_ too high. Check Healthcare.gov starting on October 1 or 2. At your projected income level with 3 children you would easily qualify for health insurance subsidies under the PPACA, but even without subsidies a "silver" plan plus out-of-pocket expenses would be much less expensive than $1800/month. (This is all assuming your employer does not provide health insurance, and your employer should.)

No, you wouldn't be paying $100/month for cable TV service (with all due respect). You'd either be watching over-the-air television for free, not watching television (now there's an idea!), watching TV via a $49 (one time) Roku Internet TV box (and perhaps Amazon Prime or Netflix at $7 or $8 per month), or getting Dish Network or DirecTV satellite television with the basic ~50 channels for $30/month or less. People who spend $100/month for TV service do it because they want to as a luxury, not because they need to. With respect to Internet service, you'll be getting the lowest cost DSL service (which is just fine). With respect to phone service, you'd be getting prepaid mobile phone service on an inexpensive unlocked phone (perhaps one you already have) via a T-Mobile MVNO at about $30 or less per line, and you wouldn't even bother with a wired phone line.

You might not be getting a second car -- preferably not. (Your wife with the shorter work day may be dropping you off at work and picking you up. Or, better yet, you find a home where one of you can walk to work or take the bus.) Instead, you'd be getting one better car (for maybe $4000 or $5000) that isn't going to break down as often as a $3000 car. That'd cost less initially and less per month. And do you mean that gasoline is $83.33/month? I also don't see USCIS fees in your budget.

You shouldn't be buying a home on that budget in these circumstances, in my view. Nor are you likely to be able to do it on 10% down unless the banks/credit unions have gotten crazy again, which I suppose is possible. The traditional mortgage is with 20% down. It's far smarter to make sure you arrive with at least a 6 month savings cushion and keep at least 6 months, and your 10% down payment isn't even that much. So you're going to be renting for some time at least, and you should.

In short, you'd be careful to control expenses and shop wisely. A $60K/year income is doable -- it's above U.S. household median (but so is your household size) -- but that also means you have to live like the median American (preferably more frugally than the median American) and keep your expenses in check. That's especially true when you first arrive. If/as your household income improves you might cautiously improve your standard of living -- but not until then, and cautiously. You've got 3 kids with educational needs -- have you looked at university costs? -- and retirement savings to worry about.

I don't know your present situation in Malta, but I can say that you have to be more prudent if you move to the U.S. It's doable, but you have to be sensible.

On edit: $100/month is a lot of life insurance by the way. Often employers provide some life insurance -- a $50,000 life insurance policy is tax free. Adding $250,000 worth of term life insurance (30 year guaranteed premium term) from a high quality insurer for a nonsmoking male in good health born in 1975 would be about $30/month, for example.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Wife employment
It depends on your visa if your wife will be able to apply for EAD (employment authorization paper). It is highly unlikely that she will find employment in the public school system which cuts down on her options.

3 Kids
With wife potentially working as teacher - will that income offset after school programs/day care for three?

2 Cars
In Houston a must especially with children

Gasoline
At 3.50+/gallon 83$ does not go far considering that Houston is a sprawling city 

10% deposit on house purchase
If OP can get a mortgage under 20% down will add PMI to the principal 

Mortgage closing
OP did not consider that real estate tax has to be pre-paid at closing

3k Car
Good luck

Start up costs
I do not see deposits for utilities, stocking pantry, necessities for new house, fees for events/activities/materials for 3 children

TV
50 channels for 30$ is great if you like commercials

Life insurance
Letting an existing policy laps means premiums will be gone. Employers often offer cheap coverage but it is term. Employment gone, coverage gone. Recently the unexpected passing of the breadwinner turned into tragedy for his family in another expat forum.

400$ groceries
It would be impossible for me to feed a family of five on $400 considering the cost of fruit/vegetables/dairy.

100$ clothing
Kids need shoes


BBCwatcher - are temporary residents eligible for Obamacare?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

twostep said:


> BBCwatcher - are temporary residents eligible for Obamacare?


Legal U.S. residents (i.e. green card holders) are eligible (and subject to the IRS penalties if applicable), yes.

The key point is there will have to be compromises at this projected level of income in Houston: one car instead of two, renting instead of buying a house (and renting something smaller instead of bigger in a more affordable neighborhood instead of an expensive one), 50 (or fewer) TV channels with commercials (or no paid TV), or all of the above. And that's how _most_ Americans live: they don't have every luxury or even in many cases all the necessities.

You live within your means as best you can. For example, there are wonderful institutions called public libraries where you can borrow books and (often) DVDs free of charge (as long as you return them on time and undamaged). Books...remember those?  TV (for example) is a choice, not a necessity.

There's another major item that doesn't seem to be in the budget: income and payroll taxes. I assume the projected salaries are gross incomes not net. Although the income taxes will probably be low (or even perhaps negative, especially with PPACA subsidies), payroll taxes will take away 7.65% of those income figures. The good news is that disability and survivors benefits will kick in after a certain period of time paying those Social Security payroll taxes. The bad news is it's a 7.65% tax (paid by the employee, with the employer paying another 7.65%, though I assume the salary figures are net of the employer contribution since that's typical).

Yes, it's important to maintain life insurance coverage. Appropriate levels of quality, competitively priced term life insurance (with automatic premium payments) are prudent, but other types of life insurance _generally_ are not in these circumstances especially. Disability coverage is also important -- something also to discuss with the employer since that's sometimes/often an employer-provided benefit. Yes, losing a job (and the insurance coverage) is a problem, but the U.S. has something called COBRA which at least allows continuing insurance coverages for a period of time after losing a job. It's far better to get workplace-provided insurance if possible than to try and buy it on your own. If you then have to buy it on your own later (with a COBRA bridge), OK, but it's smart for both employer and employee to have workplace-provided insurance coverage for tax reasons and for large group reasons.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Please answer my question BBCwatcher - OP will not be a Green Card holder! Thank you.

OP 's and the family's stay will be tied to his visa. I have never heard of Cobra covering non-residents.

60k gross for a family of five with no network and being tied to a visa? Doable but why do it?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

twostep said:


> Please answer my question BBCwatcher - OP will not be a Green Card holder! Thank you.


The PPACA legislation itself says it applies to aliens who are "lawfully present in the United States." In particular that covers both permanent residents and aliens (legally) resident long enough in the United States to be subject to federal income tax.

Medicaid eligibility is a separate question and somewhat more narrowly drawn. However, Texas has chosen not to expand its Medicaid program, so it's a moot issue (and also moot at the original poster's income level).

To net it out, yes, the original poster would be eligible for PPACA subsidies to purchase health insurance through the HHS-run Texas exchange. The IRS has more information. Of course employer-provided quality health insurance would likely be even better.



> OP 's and the family's stay will be tied to his visa. I have never heard of Cobra covering non-residents.


The original poster will be a resident alien, just not necessarily a permanent resident alien. All legal resident alien employees have COBRA rights. Yes, that might be slightly counterintuitive, but that's the law -- and it's helpful to the original poster. For example, he could maintain employer-provided life and disability insurance coverages via COBRA rights as a bridge to some other type of coverage with subsequent employment/residence.

COBRA means that an employee who leaves an employer can continue any employer-provided insurance coverages (medical, disability, life, etc.) by paying the employer's group rate plus an administrative fee. This isn't necessarily "cheap" to do, but it's better than nothing, especially when non-group rates are more expensive. Medical coverage isn't so important if immediately moving back to Malta, but continuing life and disability coverages for a period of time might be more interesting. One ought to read the fine print, though -- I think a consistent theme in all of these replies to the original poster is to fully understand the employment offer and any benefits offered. There's a big difference between $40,000 per annum with zero benefits and $40,000 per annum with full family medical insurance, at least $50,000 in employer-provided life insurance (hopefully more even if taxable), and something like employer-provided 67% disability insurance coverage. There are many U.S. employers that don't pay a lot of salary but do have good benefits packages, and hopefully that's the case here.



> 60k gross for a family of five with no network and being tied to a visa? Doable but why do it?


That opinion has already been expressed a few times, but really only the original poster can make that determination. We can only characterize the probable lifestyle in Houston (and only to a degree). The original poster's lifestyle might be much less attractive in Malta -- we just don't know.

At the projected initial income levels described the original poster would actually be roughly 20% above U.S. median household income (and even higher above the Texas median). His household is also a bit larger than U.S. median. Obviously with roughly half of American households getting by (or "getting by") at these income levels it's "doable." Is it doable enough? We really can't make that determination for the original poster, nor can we really make a determination for him about what levels of risk are acceptable.

Regardless of projected income level I would offer advice on how not to waste money unnecessarily in the U.S., especially if asked.


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## Highpips (Sep 29, 2013)

Hi Everyone. 

Thanks for the swift replies. 

I actually types a long answer earlier however I got timed out and I lost the lot so I shall have another go. 

Basically when it comes to the Income, yes I know that it is tight. I just wanted to know how tight it really was and I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss much out of my costings. 

With regards to the wife my wife should be able to work. She is very well qualified in Malta however she found need a different set of qualification in the USA however she is currently enquiring into taking another degree to eventually be able to double her expected income. 

For my income I reckon that if I go for a cheaper house 90-100k then we will be fine even just on the one way of $40k. The reason being is that we don't drink, smoke etc and my wife is exceptionally good with money. She can make it go a long way. Also I have worked in the real estate business for many years and my employer is a very intelligent individual who is always more than willing to help. Due to my business background in other sectors I am sure that after the first two years of getting that we would start to see the benefits and we could open many more doors.

For the Healthcare, I actually contacted some companies and they all said between 1.5k to 1.8k so I went for the higher figure, that is before any employer deductions etc. 

As for the cars, Houston is a big place so I think that we would need 2 cars. Remember a 3k car to you might be a heap of junk, however the 3k cars that I saw would be 15k in Malta. 

When it comes to the property. I have been looking through the realtor sites and there really isn't much to rent below $800 a month. Personally with the strong economy that there is in Houston and the housing market as it is, i would rather put the 4k of rent into a house from day one. This honestly wouldn't bother me one bit. I used to purchase homes in niagara a good few years ago so I've got a good idea about property values, crime areas, school zones etc. For me as long as I purchase in a good School zone then I should be fine in that respect.

Also I didn't mention it as I wanted Houston to be a stand a lone gig, however I do have money set aside to last me 2 years along with my wage and I have another small income stream that I am working on in order to increase that if we come to leave. 

As for the hassle. My god you're right. The hassle that we will go through is tremendous. However you'll only do that once. Malta is a lovely place to live as long as you don't need to earn an income here. My wife and I earn a good living here, however I firmly believe that we can make a really good living in houston after the first couple of years pass. 

the $83 was for car insurance. Admittedly I had worked out the insurance but I was still working on the fuel consumption. 

It's far from an easy decision to make and we are still going through our options at the moment however I know how hard my wife and I work and I am sure that it will be very hard in the beginning, however I'm not one to give up either as long as i have worked out my figures right. 

Let's see if we decide for or against in the coming weeks. At the moment it's 50/50. The cars are great, the homes are lovely, there is plenty to do. Not so keen on the crime stats however the monthly overheads are what is the stumbling block at the moment. In Malta we don't pay, heating, property taxes and healthcare and university/college so there are a lot of pros and cons.

Thanks everyone for all the replies and I'll keep you posted.


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## Newyorkaise (Nov 30, 2010)

Highpips, the advice about your wife doesn't relate solely to her qualifications and competence: it's a question of whether she will be be issued a visa that permits her to work in the US. The fact that you have the right to work does not automatically entitle her to do so.

Others on this site are more qualified than I to explain the details of this, but if you are counting on her being able to work, you should be certain your employer and you are seeking the appropriate visas. If you are counting on her being able to continue her career in the US, this is vitally important.

Good luck with your decision-making.


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## Highpips (Sep 29, 2013)

Hi Newyorkaise,

I actually checked with the person who would be dealing with my visa as I had specifically asked.

Thanks


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Highpips said:


> Hi Newyorkaise,
> 
> I actually checked with the person who would be dealing with my visa as I had specifically asked.
> 
> Thanks


Which visa are you (your employer) applying for?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

And do take the health insurance advice: you're doing it wrong. You're looking at the private individual market in Texas which is a complete mess. First is that you should insist that your employer provide at least decent health insurance, then, failing that, you shop at Healthcare.gov which opens...well, in a few hours as I write this.

I think you're really not well advised to take on house debt in the U.S. any time soon for multiple reasons. I would strongly urge you not to do that until at least a year has passed and you have a high probability of staying in a specific home for 5 years or more.


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## blindELATION (Sep 30, 2013)

Houstonian here.

Your mortgage is going to really be about twice that much after your home owners insurance is added to it.


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## jsharbuck (Jul 26, 2012)

Yes you might be looking at only the principal and interest payment. You need to figure what the escrow portion will be. That is 14 months of insurance, private mortgage insurance( insurance banks demand to protect them against you defaulting) and taxes. The bank will collect 14 months worth of these costs per year to keep a minimum of 2 months of costs in your acct. 
Example if your escrow costs are 500 a month you would need $7,000 a yr or $583 month added to your mortgage payment.

It is really better to wait a year to fully understand the system and see where you want to settle.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

And, if all that's not enough, do immigrants to the United States with ~3 months of credit history and (one assumes) legal but not permanent U.S. residency get a mortgage rate that's even close to reasonable? No, not likely.

I think I'm prepared to say that taking on real estate debt in these circumstances so quickly after arrival is an exceedingly bad idea.


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## Highpips (Sep 29, 2013)

Thanks for the replies everyone. I didn't reply sooner as i was waiting for some confirmation on the mortgage etc. 

I have received confirmation that I will be able to get a mortgage as long a I produce a letter of employment which wont be an issue. 

It was 20% down however I had reworked my figures and I would be fine with that. With regards to the taxes. I have bought property in NY before and I see a number of transactions per month and I've never seen the requirement to pay the taxes in advance like that. Even when I had bought a property a couple of years ago in NY I didn't have the requirement however it might be state specific. 

I will look at my old contract again when I have a moment. I asked the question with regards to the wife working however it would appear to be fine however i didn't receive confirmation of the type of visa. Infact I wanted to contact the local Embassy today however I will have to do that tomorrow. 

I totally understand your points about renting first as apposed to buying straight out. I have taken the comments on board and I will look at it again if we do decide to go ahead.

For now that is all the info I have to hand. 

The only thing that did really worry me if I'm not mistaken, is that if we can go and we settle down etc and then something happens to me, I believe that the wife would need to come back as she wouldn't be allowed to stay unless we get through the 5 years first. That's just something that I will need to confirm.


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## AbdulBaqi (Sep 19, 2013)

I could say a lot in reply to what others have already said and then some, but I'll cut it short: 40k a year for a family a five anywhere in America outside of the country rural areas is going to be hard on anyone. If your wife is lucky to get a job and make around 30k you guys would still be cutting it close due to taxes and other factors. Is your wife going to go to school in America for that other certification? Then prepare for another huge cost: international student debt. You need to remember that when you say 40k you will never actually see 40k ever, it would be more like 30k (I'm taking a stab in the dark because I have no idea how Texas's tax system is, it could be 35k, but still, that 5k less than you had before). Apply the same idea to your wife's salary and you see what I mean. Here's the end advice:

Stay in Malta. Wait for a better job opportunity. Have your wife do the other degree in Malta, then that way you both can have a job at the same time in America (I'm a teacher and I only worked one year in the public school system in the US before I got laid off and just went to private schools because if I wanted to stay in the public school system I would most likely have had to move far away to find a good public school to work at that would keep me). Accept the possibility that she will not work or at least not work anywhere near where you live if does get a job in America. If I were you, it's not worth the stress. I'm sure Malta's much better off, or even a neighboring country would be better.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

The five year rule is issue of Green Card to eligibility to apply for US citizenship. If you are in the US on an employment based visa the legal status of you and your family is tied to your job. 

Texas Real Estate Property Taxes and Assessments

Your potential employer has to apply for your visa. There is nothing the US Embassy in Malta can or will do for you.


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