# Hoping to move from Brighton, UK to Washington DC



## jake1974 (Jun 15, 2014)

Hello all. I am completely new to this forum and have joined in the hope of gaining some insight into making the big move to the US with my family. I am American and have been living in England for the last 13 years with my British wife and 3 kids.
My wife works as an area manager for a large restaurant chain here in the UK, and recently,the opportunity to move to the US has arisen to help it grow in the US. The
job offered would be in the Washinton DC area.
We have alot of things to consider, obviously, like Pay/standard of living differences,
areas to live, schools,etc. ect. It all seems very daunting at the minute to separate and digest all the info I've been finding. We do really want to give it a shot because we feel like we could have a better quality of life for our family.
We are expecting a salary offer (compensation package?) from the U.S. branch of her company soon, and we're not to sure what to expect. As she iniated the interest to transfer, I don't know much they are willing to cover in terms of relocation. We will handle immigration ourselves thru my status as a US citizen, and we've been informed we must pay the related costs. She has also been told that as it is a lateralmove in terms of position, her salary will be based on her current base salary of £60,000. She is currently in a partnership scheme here but at the moment there is no such scheme in the US. 
Does anyone have any sort of relavent comparables from personal experience?
I would appreciate any advice whatsoever from people who've dealt or are dealing with similar circumstances.
Thanks


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

I moved your post as you may get more exposure here.

DC is a great place! DC is an expensive place! DC area is very vague. 

60k translates to 100-105k $. Will she be the sole bread winner?


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

When I moved from the UK (south east region) to Silicon Valley in 2000, my salary was increased by 10% to take into account higher costs in the Bay area.

Washington DC is an expensive area (especially city centre),but its difficult to give you any definite comparables since we don't know what your current lifestyle is like.

Plenty of websites that would give you costs for rentals/accommodation. Utilities are usually higher than the UK, cable/phone plans higher too, and there is always the cost of health insurance - even if the company has a group plan you will have out pocket expenses.

Would YOU be able to get a job quickly? Presume you are working in the UK so if you won't have a salary coming in then that has to be taken into consideration.

So you would be moving based on you getting your wife a spouse visa and not based on the company getting her an L1 intra company transfer?


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## jake1974 (Jun 15, 2014)

twostep said:


> I moved your post as you may get more exposure here.
> 
> DC is a great place! DC is an expensive place! DC area is very vague.
> 
> 60k translates to 100-105k $. Will she be the sole bread winner?


 Hi twostep. Thanks for reply, and moving post. Well I've not had the chance to explore the area first hand , but based on some research I think we would look to rent a house in the NOVA area. Somewhere commutable (car/metro) to DC and greater DC, as that will be the region she will look after. Looking at areas like Falls Church, Vienna, Oakton or even further out like Ashburn (Loudon Co.) way, but not sure if that would be to far for commuting daily.
I am a self-employed carpenter/cabinetmaker and currently bring home about £25-35k/year. As I operate from a workshop, and most of my tools and machinery will be of no use in the US (240 volt not 110) I will probably have to sell them and just bring hand tools. In the short term I expect I'll have to go back to working on sites in residential building, possibly finish carpentry. In the long term, depending on the market demand, I would look to set up my own business again making bespoke furniture.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

jake1974 said:


> Hi twostep. Thanks for reply, and moving post. Well I've not had the chance to explore the area first hand , but based on some research I think we would look to rent a house in the NOVA area. Somewhere commutable (car/metro) to DC and greater DC, as that will be the region she will look after. Looking at areas like Falls Church, Vienna, Oakton or even further out like Ashburn (Loudon Co.) way, but not sure if that would be to far for commuting daily..


You are looking at 1 hr and more commute one way in good conditions. I commuted from the DC side of Alexandria to Vermont Ave - bus stop at the apartment/subway station at the office - at least an hour. It is not cheap either.




jake1974 said:


> I am a self-employed carpenter/cabinetmaker and currently bring home about £25-35k/year. As I operate from a workshop, and most of my tools and machinery will be of no use in the US (240 volt not 110) I will probably have to sell them and just bring hand tools. In the short term I expect I'll have to go back to working on sites in residential building, possibly finish carpentry. In the long term, depending on the market demand, I would look to set up my own business again making bespoke furniture.


You are looking at 15-20$/hr. There is a market for quality furniture. It will take time to build your client base. Word of mouth is it! 

Your residence is the deciding factor which public school your kids go to. Check the site of the respective school district. Generally fever, anything out of the ordinary means teacher/school nurse contacts parent to pick up the child. 

Start your biz plan:

visa
5 plane tickets
shipment of tools/household items/furniture
temporary housing
deposits for rental/utilities/call phones/tv/...
bus/subway plan
1-2 vehicles plus adequate insurance
medical coverage covering period leaving UK to wife's employer/other plans
physicals/vaccinations/required school items 
day care/after school care
household start up salt/pepper/laundry soap/..... an endless list
clothing (DC summers are hot and humid)


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## jake1974 (Jun 15, 2014)

Crawford said:


> When I moved from the UK (south east region) to Silicon Valley in 2000, my salary was increased by 10% to take into account higher costs in the Bay area.
> 
> Washington DC is an expensive area (especially city centre),but its difficult to give you any definite comparables since we don't know what your current lifestyle is like.
> 
> ...


 Hi Crawford. Having looked at some costs of living sites comparing Brighton to DC,
it's showing DC is 1% cheaper to live in, which means roughly the same. Some things are cheaper, some more expensive but it balances out overall. We currently
enjoy a modest to decent lifestyle, meaning - 3 bed terraced house central to lots of good amenities, some meals/drinks out, classes/activities for kids, walking kids to good school, good public transport, lots of things to do ect.
What I'm hoping we can get in say, the Northern VA area is- A larger house (eg. 4 beds with a basement 1800 sq ft plus) with a driveway(yaaay!), in a nice-ish neighborhood close to good schools for the kids. The only other real criteria is the commuting times to DC which hopefully can keep to 1 1/2 hrs max one way.
I don't want to be right out in the sticks nor in sprawling suburbia, but I'm more than happy to trade our town center convenience for more living space and a more child friendly environment for the fam.
In terms of salary/compensation expectations I'm not sure what she should be looking for. The HR dept in the US has provided some cost of living and salary comparisons from web calculators which are kind of irrelevant as they compared
data from London and DC. The costs of living and relavent salaries that are true for London are not as high here in brighton. So comparing London to DC would make it seem cheaper in DC and relative salary better. Not sure if it's a sneaky ploy from HR or not.
What I want to establish is a competant counter offer, should they come up with a slim figure. If for instance, her £60k UK salary translates to $100-$105k, should we be also looking for a full health package? Her partnership payout in the UK is roughly £20k a year, and there is no partnership scheme in the US, so not sure if that will be considered. Overall with salary,bonus, and partnership she grossed about £105k last year. She does't want to take a massive pay cut, but we just want to stay somewhere near. Sorry about all the talk of earnings, whether it seems inappropriate to some people or not, we need to get down to the brass tacks of salary so we can form a realistic idea of what sort of budget we will be living on.
I would be getting the relavent spouse visa for my wife, and applying for US passports for the kids for dual-nationality. We've been told L1 visa is not an option.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

You are looking at 2-6k rent plus utilities and a 3-hour daily commute for your wife for 100k? US work days are not 9-5 especially for management. 

Houses with basements are not common in that market.

It sounds like the employer is in the driver seat - move an experienced employee at no cost. Bonus is not a guaranteed income. If you do not get a medical package through the employer you will have to purchase your own.


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## jake1974 (Jun 15, 2014)

twostep said:


> You are looking at 2-6k rent plus utilities and a 3-hour daily commute for your wife for 100k? US work days are not 9-5 especially for management.
> 
> Houses with basements are not common in that market.
> 
> It sounds like the employer is in the driver seat - move an experienced employee at no cost. Bonus is not a guaranteed income. If you do not get a medical package through the employer you will have to purchase your own.


 Thanks twostep. Very good pointers and info.
Ideally we'd rather the commute was much less of course. Her average commute is about 3 hours/day here,and also involves alot of visits to stores in her region. We gave up on the concept of 9-5 a long time ago, as it does'nt work for us with trying to juggle 3 kids. For me being self employed and workshop based, I can do odd/long hours when I need to. She also sets her own work schedule and together we sort of alternate dropping/picking up kids and looking after them. She looks after 13 stores(restaurants) from Brighton to London and often works long or odd hrs weekdays, weekends,whatever the job requires. We're hoping her workload will reduce signicantly as her area in the US would likely only be about 5 stores.
Hopefully that will translate into a bit more time at home as a family,and less stress with family logistics. Ultimately we are hoping for a more balanced family life and realize more in terms of quality of life for slaving our tits off day after day.
Yes I guess they are in the drivers seat, and I really hope they're not going to try to get her on the cheap because it may end up too far away from her expectations and be a killjoy for making the move.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Take a trip to DC and look at things in real life. Traffic, real cost of living (google local grocery stores, some restaurants have prices on line). We would love to return to DC but our life was different then. I just came back from a trip to the infamous WalMart, a brand new store in an upscale area. 12 pack BlueMoon Beer 15, 10 oz Doritos chips 2.98, 1 pound fresh garlic 3.98, corn .25/ear, local watermelon 5.00, local peaches 2/US pound, 16 oz solala mozzarella 5. 

Factor in the Doctrine of Employment at Will as it is called.


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## jake1974 (Jun 15, 2014)

Yes we're looking to take a family trip to the area possibly in Aug to get a firm idea of costs,places to live,schools, general vibes, and perhaps get lost in Walmart. I did live in southern VA from age 15-22 and still have some friends and family there, so that's a big bonus. Although I haven't told anyone there yet, because they'd be too
heartbroken if for some reason we didn't end up moving. It will definitely be a task, but I think it'll be well worth it in the end.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

..... if the company does not offer a Group health insurance policy, even with the Affordable Care Act,you will be looking at hundreds of dollars a month premiums for a family of 5. (even with a Group health plan you will probably be looking at hundreds of dollars a month premiums!)

You should look carefully into this aspect of the job offer.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Your US tax returns are current and your children hold US passports?


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## mtlve (Oct 3, 2013)

I lived on the Maryland side of DC for a few years. I left around 5 years ago. I did not care that much for it while I was there but it is a place that I miss now. 

Lots to do for free: THERE IS TONS TO DO THERE AND LOTS OF IT IS FREE! This is one of the biggest benefits of a place like DC. You can take your kids to the zoo for free or you can go see a bunch of rockets for free. There is so much there to do. 

Diff atmosphere: DC is just very different. No one is from DC, so you get to meet a huge mix of people. It is more political than most of the US. The atmosphere is just different. You do have to live with LOTS AND LOTS of tourists around though...even the locals are kind of tourists since they not from dc lol

Expensive: Beyond the free events/museums, things are super expensive there. My 3bedroom apartment in Rockville cost around 2400/month over 5years ago. It is probably over 3k/month now. I would not get a car there. Cars, food, etc are all expensive

places to live: Maryland side is in general more safe and Virginia less. Virginia side is cheaper. I am not so sure about schools. Bethesda may be okay? I always recommend living along the red line. There are areas that you do not want to go alone or with kids. Parts of DC is very poor and had lots of gangs. Around the time I moved there they had just dropped out of the top10 cities for murder rate. I did not see much crime there myself (robbery of store main thing I witnessed), but you do have to be careful. 

west coast americans tended to hate DC, and I was one of them while I was there. However it has now became one of my most favorite cities, and I would totally move back there. A lot of coworkers back then wanted to get their kids out of dc though, as it was not the most safe city.


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## jake1974 (Jun 15, 2014)

Thought I'd update our current status since I haven't been back for a while. We ARE moving to the US! Vienna, VA to be precise. About 2 months ago, my wife's employer flew us over to have a look for ourselves, and we liked DC and the surrounding area.
We focused on Vienna, and had a good look around, going into schools, checking out local amenities (perhaps more bars than necessary), viewing houses,walking/driving around, taking the metro, testing commute times,etc. etc. We even had a chance to relax and enjoy each other's company as it was the first time in 9 years we'd gone anywhere without the kids. WE were really impressed with the area and what it has to offer. It lived up to my expectations after researching for a while on where to live. I have to say it definitely helped that we focused on Vienna primarily, so managed to find out alot of info and get a good feel for the place. Also got to experience DC, as that's where we stayed in hotel and spent most evenings.
After a bit of to and fro-ing, my wife's employers have agreed to handle and pay for an L-1 visa for her, as well as extend full medical,dental,eye coverage to myself and the children for a low subsidy. They've also agreed to pay relocation costs and accommodation for the first 3 months. So a good result in my view.
We are now weighing up the rent or buy house issue but likely will try to buy something for me to remodel soon as poss. The only major thing we're leaving behind, aside from friends and family is our good credit standing, which is a difficult pill to swallow. Hopefully we can build a good credit score in the US fairly quickly. We'll be changing or UK AMEX cards for US ones, and will likely switch our bank accounts and cards over to HSBC here in the UK so we can port some bank credit history to HSBC America. We've also applied for a mortgage pre-approval with HSBC recently, and are waiting for the outcome.
So anyway, the clock is ticking...lots to do! By the way, If anyone has any info or personal experience with international/expat mortgages and porting credit/climbling the credit score ladder, I'd very much appreciate advice (although, maybe I should ask in a new thread) Thanks for the comments so far :usa::


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

Good move! My wife and I are now living in DC (near Logan Circle) and are more than happy with the environment, shopping, restaurants, night life, libraries (I've joined the Library of Congress Law Library) and other activities. We might meet up some time. Bought our car from a dealer at Vienna.


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## koppazee (Mar 11, 2011)

Bellthorpe said:


> Good move! My wife and I are now living in DC (near Logan Circle) and are more than happy with the environment, shopping, restaurants, night life, libraries (I've joined the Library of Congress Law Library) and other activities. We might meet up some time. Bought our car from a dealer at Vienna.


Bellthorpe, Best of luck to you and your wife on your new adventure! May it be everything and more than you two ever expected! Be happy and healthy! Warm regards!


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

Bellthorpe said:


> Good move! My wife and I are now living in DC (near Logan Circle) and are more than happy with the environment, shopping, restaurants, night life, libraries (I've joined the Library of Congress Law Library) and other activities. We might meet up some time. Bought our car from a dealer at Vienna.


Congratulations and best to you and your family. Since you moved into DC itself rather than into Virginia as you first intended, partially for its schools, it might help other people who plan to move to the U.S. to explain in some detail where and how you placed your young children educationally. DC public schools are controversial, to say the least, and private schools very expensive. Thanks.


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

Thanks, but I'm not the OP, and have no kids.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

Bellthorpe said:


> Thanks, but I'm not the OP, and have no kids.



Sorry, I can't remember back to July or whenever this thread began. Well, glad you're settling in. Now get to it on the kids.


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

Haha. At our age, that ain't gonna happen!


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