# Living costs and salary advice in Houston



## SAtoHouston (Jul 23, 2015)

Hi all, 

New to the forum, and need to get some information urgently.

I have just been made an offer for an inter company transfer from South Africa to Houston, could anyone with experience in Houston and on relocations advise on the below package.

Relocation offered
20 ft container maximum weight of 9 tons paid in full by company
All visa's work permits will be arranged and paid for by company for whole family.
Flights paid in full
$5000 once off for miscellaneous 
$2500 per month for first two months in addition to salary
Car provided for two months after arrival

Package details
Salary: 85K per annum
Car allowances: 8K per annum
Medical my contribution would be $300 per month company contributes the rest
401K, mobile phone, petrol re-imbursed
annual bonus 5-15% of annual salary

I have a wife and two kids ages 2 and 4, my wife will not be working although the company will arrange for work permit she would prefer to stay at home with the kids.

My questions is what is the above package like, will we be able to live a decent life eat, we are looking at renting in the Katy or Cinco Ranch area.

Will we be able to save money on the above salary for flights back to SA etc.

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## jrendon (Jul 17, 2015)

Living in Seattle but born in San Antonio, I can say that it will be tight at 85k a year. You'd want to keep your bonuses and 401k for emergencies later. That salary is pretty good, I don't know what you do but you can live a decent life. Be sure to have a good budget and watch your expenses or a better way is don't live above your means. My opinion is don't live in central Houston but in the burbs in a decent size home. You get 8k a year for car which is excellent in getting a new/used car. Again my opinion, save that 10k for incidentals and until you get into the living rhythm. I'd also say, there are no get rich quick schemes that work. When in doubt become friends with a lawyer (best money spent). I'm not trying to say gloom and doom but watch your back. Being a visitor to America make sure you google youtube for what to do when you're stopped by the police in the States. 

And if you can travel, do! Port Aransas, Corpus Cristi are excellent towns to visit and are close by. Get over to Austin for some excellent jazz music and if you can San Antonio for some good food. 

Welcome to the States! 

Jason


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

How will the four extra payments be paid and taxed?
How will your car allowance be paid and taxed?
How will your bonus be paid and taxed and how realistic are the goals you have to meet?
Does gas reimbursement cover business trips only or personal useage as well?

What copayments, deductibles for a family of four will you pay on top of your monthly 300$ contribution? Does it include dental and vision?

Your wife will need a reliable vehicle.

Have you factored start-up costs, insurances, utilities, TV/phones/Internet, daycare, preschool ... into your budget. Hair cut and highlights will set your wife back anywhere from 100$ up. Considering the hot and humid summers A/C is a must.

I am not up to date on prices for commercial flights. What do you have to factor in for spending money?

85k plus your perks is doable but depending on your needs and wants it will be tight.

Welcome to Texas!


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## SAtoHouston (Jul 23, 2015)

as far as the tax on the allowances goes I am not 100% certain yet but will investigate.

The car allowance will be taxed along with my salary so essentially salary of $93k per year.
Gas is only for business trips
Medical, includedes dental and vision, the co payments are extremely small as this is the top plan the company offers, kids to not pay co payments to see a doctor.

I am budgeting on around $12 k for a decent second hand vehicle for my wife.

My take home pay would be in the region of $5600'per month and after factoring in the monthly expenses rent$2200, utilities $310, insurance $200, groceries $800, fuel $180 and mobile $100 for my wife, we are left with around $1300 for anything over and above. I am concerned that this is marginal and will not allow us to save anything.

I have quested another $1500 take home at the moment and am waiting on a response.

Any thoughts


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

You under budget for insurance. Where is day care and preschool and the associated activities which are a vital part in daily life here? Where are clothes, haircuts, mommy day out, birthday parties (throw and go to), activities, ....
Our household is two adults and two cats - your utility budget covers our power.
How are you covered financially in case of short/long term disability considering that you are the sole breadwinner?


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## SAtoHouston (Jul 23, 2015)

Kids will not be going to daycare they will be home with my wife until she decides that she would like to work.
I have been told that power, gas, water runs at between around $100 in winter to $250 in summer per month.

This was my worry that after all the above expenses we only had $ 1300 left to cover entertainment, clothes and all that you mentioned above, as well as to try and save.

What would be considered a good household income taking all the above into account?


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## Nursemanit (Jul 10, 2015)

Houston is a strange city - I agree with the above posters 85K is not going to be a good salary if you want to actually live in Houston. Houston is a city of many areas and although 85K seems well above the mean for the city, the safe and pleasant areas require a higher salary. I have friends who claim it is hard to live in the medical district on 120K a year. If you are willing to live in the outskirts and drive though traffic each day you can make it on 85 K.


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## MarylandNed (May 11, 2010)

twostep said:


> What copayments, deductibles for a family of four will you pay on top of your monthly 300$ contribution? Does it include dental and vision?


These are key questions. 

Many employers are moving to high deductible health plans (HDHPs). If you have a HDHP, your monthly premium may be only the tip of a financial iceberg. You might also be responsible for 100% of a hefty deductible of medical costs up to a certain amount (mine is 100% of the first $2000) and then a percentage of another amount (copays; after the first $2000, I pay 10% of costs until I've personally spent $5000 total out of pocket) before you finally hit the point where you pay no more (apart from your monthly premium which is constant). And with kids, you get to run to the doctor quite often. 

And dental and vision is usually treated separately (so that could be more monthly premiums, deductibles and co-pays). 

You also have some options for offsetting the cost of heathcare in terms of health savings plans (e.g. HSA, FSA, etc) so you might want to look into those as well.

I can tell you that, although the healthcare system itself is generally first-class, the health insurance aspect can be a bit of a nightmare. You can spend a lot of your own time on coverage and billing issues. It's a huge bureaucracy that wastes time and money.


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## SAtoHouston (Jul 23, 2015)

We will be living on the outskirts, Katy, cinco ranch or spring cypress is we we are aiming to be


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

SAtoHouston said:


> Kids will not be going to daycare they will be home with my wife until she decides that she would like to work.
> I have been told that power, gas, water runs at between around $100 in winter to $250 in summer per month.
> 
> This was my worry that after all the above expenses we only had $ 1300 left to cover entertainment, clothes and all that you mentioned above, as well as to try and save.
> ...


You can always contact the respective utilities or go on their sites to find delivery and useage rates. 

Yiu may want to do some research on USA school and pre school.


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## tjunction (Oct 20, 2015)

RE Health Insurance;
What are the limitations of simply getting travel insurance in 12+ month blocks?

Quotes for Health Insurance (Family of 3 covering Medical, Dental, Optical, $1000 copay) have come in at around $1550 per month. 

Quotes for equivalent Travel Insurance are less than $330 per month. I note that mums are covered up to 26 weeks pregnancy, and are not covered for delivery of baby.

If not having a baby, Travel insurance seems way cheaper for expats. What am I missing here?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

tjunction said:


> What am I missing here?


A lot.

1. If you choose the travel medical "insurance," the household will most likely pay a 2.5% higher income tax rate or $695 per adult ($347.50 per child), whichever is higher, because you will be a U.S. resident without Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) compliant medical insurance for every member of the household (or a valid exception). Travel medical "insurance," particularly if issued outside the United States (but not only), is not PPACA compliant. This higher tax is called the "Shared Responsibility Payment," and it was introduced starting in tax year 2014. You are not _required_ to carry PPACA compliant medical insurance in the U.S., but your household will typically pay a higher tax rate if you don't.

2. You're comparing the cost of comprehensive low deductible/low co-pay medical insurance with no lifetime or annual limits, direct provider payment (and probably a wide network of providers with negotiated rates), probably generous prescription drug coverage, coverage for preventive care services, and no preexisting condition limitations with "insurance" that only partially (most likely) covers only emergency medical care, and then only if you don't get too expensively sick. _Obviously_ the former will be more expensive than the latter. A BMW automobile is different than a mule in many respects.

3. You may not have shopped at Healthcare.gov, the only official government portal to find PPACA-compliant medical insurance inclusive of federal government subsidies to purchase that insurance if you're eligible.

4. You most likely picked inappropriately expensive medical insurance for your situation. Do you need comprehensive medical insurance, or do you need legally compliant _catastrophic_ medical insurance -- insurance that covers preventive services and that covers most medical expenses above a few thousand dollars per year? In essence, do you buy insurance to pay for your weekly groceries? Do you really need insurance that will pay for your eyeglasses and dental cleanings, or couldn't you just pay for those services out of pocket and let insurance cover the things that would seriously impact your finances or be impossible to pay?

If you think insurance is for protecting against calamities (according to your household's definition of calamities which is in part based on your income and wealth), then purchase that type of insurance (in legally compliant form). If you think insurance ought to be like prepaying for an all-you-can-eat "medical buffet" where you can consume unlimited medical services and pay very little in the process, then purchase that more expensive (but still legally compliant) insurance.


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## tjunction (Oct 20, 2015)

Many thanks BBCWatcher. That's very useful information, and clarifies a lot for me.
After posting here, I considered that my post might hijack the OP's question, so you'll see that I've literally just created a new thread for anything further on this. Thanks again.


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## StellaJefferson (Sep 8, 2015)

SAtoHouston said:


> Hi all,
> 
> New to the forum, and need to get some information urgently.
> 
> ...


Hello, 

You can compare cost of living in Houston with the aforementioned factors using the link below (researched on Google):
Houston Cost of Living - Texas Cost of Living - PayScale


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