# Brit and American wife moving to USA



## potentialexpat (Jan 1, 2019)

Hi all,

We are looking for some advice please. I'll try to make this as detailed as possible:

I'm a British national with an American wife. We have always planned on moving out there one day and are now considering doing it in the near future.

Her family is all out there, and California is where we would be headed (probably somewhere around Ventura/Moorpark which is about an hour outside LA). Our combined income in the UK is just under £60,000 - before tax. Question 1 is, what would be a comparable salary in America (basically, i'm not sure what costs and taxes to consider, and am aware that it's not going to be as simple as earning the same salary to have the same take-home pay)?

Her family have said we could stay with them initially, so that solves the potential issue of needing to find somewhere to live. However, would we need jobs before being able to go, or could we move out and then look for work?

Is there an average period of time for moving as a spouse, and a rough idea of total costs?

Lastly, if there's anything that I haven't considered but should know about, please say!


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Your wife (US citizen ) needs to sponsor you.

https://www.uscis.gov/family/family...pouses-live-united-states-permanent-residents

She will submit an I-130 to start the process. If you do direct application with the London Embassy, the process with take 5 to 6 months - if through the US then nearer 12 months.

Don't know what you will earn in the US (you should do some research regarding what field you are in). Taxes in the US are NOT much lower than in the UK and there is always the monthly premiums for health insurance to take into account. Anywhere decent around LA will be expensive (especially accommodation) so you should have a reserve of money to sustain you in the first few months, if you don't get jobs immediately.

If you wife does not have a job to go to prior to the application, then she will need to get a joint sponsor (parents/friends in the US).

Couple of thousand dollars for visa/application costs?


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## potentialexpat (Jan 1, 2019)

Crawford said:


> Your wife (US citizen ) needs to sponsor you.
> 
> https://www.uscis.gov/family/family...pouses-live-united-states-permanent-residents
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply. With regards to earnings, I need guidance on what would provide a decent lifestyle rather than help knowing what my potential earnings would be. So for example if I needed $80,000 to match my current lifestyle but could only earn $50,000, that’d be a good starting point to know that we probably wouldn’t be very happy. 

Are you able to give any more info about how the taxes aren’t lower? In the UK I’m aware of the 20% basic income tax, 12% national insurance, and 20% VAT. Healthcare costs in the US I don’t even know where to start finding out what we would pay (as a 30-something couple with no dependents).


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

potentialexpat said:


> Thanks for the reply. With regards to earnings, I need guidance on what would provide a decent lifestyle rather than help knowing what my potential earnings would be. So for example if I needed $80,000 to match my current lifestyle but could only earn $50,000, that’d be a good starting point to know that we probably wouldn’t be very happy.
> 
> Are you able to give any more info about how the taxes aren’t lower? In the UK I’m aware of the 20% basic income tax, 12% national insurance, and 20% VAT. Healthcare costs in the US I don’t even know where to start finding out what we would pay (as a 30-something couple with no dependents).


How can anyone tell you what you need to earn to match your current lifestyle? If you live in central London and spend lavishly, moving to LA would require an income of 200K or more. Living in rural Norfolk and moving to LA to live frugally you could probably manage on 100K

Research what someone in your field of work would earn in the LA area.

Go to Healthcare.gov and input a local post code for the Ventura area to get a quote for healthcare premium costs in that area

https://www.healthcare.gov/

From just experience of the healthcare field you should budget for around 500 bucks a month for premiums for any decent health cover.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-tax-calculator#YZHIiBP07U


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## potentialexpat (Jan 1, 2019)

Crawford said:


> How can anyone tell you what you need to earn to match your current lifestyle? If you live in central London and spend lavishly, moving to LA would require an income of 200K or more. Living in rural Norfolk and moving to LA to live frugally you could probably manage on 100K
> 
> .


As I said in my first post, I’m after guidance on comparisons because I know that there’s more to it than converting the currency of my current salary. Ultimately the question is what costs do I need to consider - for example in the U.K. we pay council tax, what costs do I need to consider in the US so I can work out how much money I need to earn


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## Cityflynn (Jul 9, 2018)

By my rough estimate, that's around $75,000 which is okay to get by, but remember that it's not a cheap area being 1. in california and 2. near the coast. That's pretty much the recipe for expensive in CA. I'm guessing rent alone would put you around $2,000 monthly so keep that in mind as you set a budget for food, health care and everything else. California is expensive!


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

potentialexpat said:


> As I said in my first post, I’m after guidance on comparisons because I know that there’s more to it than converting the currency of my current salary. Ultimately the question is what costs do I need to consider - for example in the U.K. we pay council tax, what costs do I need to consider in the US so I can work out how much money I need to earn


To get more specific information why not ask your wife's family who live in the Ventura area what expenses/taxes they pay?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

potentialexpat said:


> As I said in my first post, I’m after guidance on comparisons because I know that there’s more to it than converting the currency of my current salary. Ultimately the question is what costs do I need to consider - for example in the U.K. we pay council tax, what costs do I need to consider in the US so I can work out how much money I need to earn


A couple of issues here - first of all, the various levels of taxation: federal, state, county and sometimes, city. Then, too, there are services that are not covered by taxes in the US that are covered by your various taxes in the UK. Think health insurance, retirement, tertiary education for your kids (if you have them or may have them in the future), also far fewer public assistance type benefits, so you need to have personal savings for catastrophic events (unemployment, serious illness, natural disaster, etc.).

Basically, your American spouse would have to sponsor you - meaning that she would have to have a job or some other source of income, or get someone in her family to co-sponsor you for the visa application. It's a heavy responsibility (10 years, I think it is).

You may want to consider making an exploratory visit to the area first - to scout out living costs and take a look at what the employment market looks like for your respective professions.


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## potentialexpat (Jan 1, 2019)

Bevdeforges said:


> A couple of issues here - first of all, the various levels of taxation: federal, state, county and sometimes, city. Then, too, there are services that are not covered by taxes in the US that are covered by your various taxes in the UK. Think health insurance, retirement, tertiary education for your kids (if you have them or may have them in the future), also far fewer public assistance type benefits, so you need to have personal savings for catastrophic events (unemployment, serious illness, natural disaster, etc.).
> 
> Basically, your American spouse would have to sponsor you - meaning that she would have to have a job or some other source of income, or get someone in her family to co-sponsor you for the visa application. It's a heavy responsibility (10 years, I think it is).
> 
> You may want to consider making an exploratory visit to the area first - to scout out living costs and take a look at what the employment market looks like for your respective professions.


Thanks, this is all really helpful. Would unemployment in the US not be covered by any welfare, or could someone buy income protection? I currently pay for insurance for serious illness, presumably I could do the same in the US? 

I don’t think sponsorship would be an issue, unless it’s horrific money required - is that info available readily? I’ve looked at the US gov site but found the information scattered all over the place


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## potentialexpat (Jan 1, 2019)

Cityflynn said:


> By my rough estimate, that's around $75,000 which is okay to get by, but remember that it's not a cheap area being 1. in california and 2. near the coast. That's pretty much the recipe for expensive in CA. I'm guessing rent alone would put you around $2,000 monthly so keep that in mind as you set a budget for food, health care and everything else. California is expensive!


Thanks! We own a house in England, so we have a couple of options for housing - we could either sell it and buy in America, or rent it out and use the money to put towards our rent. I guess we would need to research property prices soon, we do love the Moorpark/Thousand Oaks area, but I’m not sure what associated costs there are like property taxes


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

potentialexpat said:


> Thanks, this is all really helpful. Would unemployment in the US not be covered by any welfare, or could someone buy income protection? I currently pay for insurance for serious illness, presumably I could do the same in the US?
> 
> I don’t think sponsorship would be an issue, unless it’s horrific money required - is that info available readily? I’ve looked at the US gov site but found the information scattered all over the place



Whoever sponsor's your husband would need to be earning 125% of the US poverty level. That is around 21K per annum for a two person family (i.e if you are sponsoring him, that's you and him).

No, unemployment is not automatically covered by welfare - this is the US. As new immigrants I would think you would not qualify. Yes, you could buy income protection insurance.

In the US there is no NHS so it is essential that you purchase health insurance cover - without it you are likely to go bankrupt if you had a serious illness.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

potentialexpat said:


> Thanks! We own a house in England, so we have a couple of options for housing - we could either sell it and buy in America, or rent it out and use the money to put towards our rent. I guess we would need to research property prices soon, we do love the Moorpark/Thousand Oaks area, but I’m not sure what associated costs there are like property taxes


Property taxes are 1% of purchase price for houses. PLUS whatever additional taxes the local authorities put on for bonds they raise for schools, infrastructure etc. e.g. my taxes are 1% of my house purchase but I pay an additional 1K per annum for local taxes.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Just a note about health cover in the US. Even with insurance, it's very possible to go broke if someone develops a long-term illness or has a serious accident. Almost any form of health insurance has "co-pays" (i.e. what the patient pays toward treatment) and that can run into several thousand $$ for hospitalization and /or surgery. The co-pay on regular doctor appointments can run several times what a doctor appointment would cost you uninsured in the UK or most European countries.

You may want to go slowly on buying a house. Until you have developed a credit rating in the US, you'll be considered a "sub-prime" candidate for a home loan, with all the difficulties of a sub-prime mortgage. 

But you can take a look at housing prices and employment opportunities by searching online in area newspapers and/or real estate and employment sites. If you've got the right skills set, your employer can help you get settled in various ways.


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## potentialexpat (Jan 1, 2019)

Crawford said:


> In the US there is no NHS so it is essential that you purchase health insurance cover - without it you are likely to go bankrupt if you had a serious illness.


Sorry i wasn’t referring to regular health insurance, I pay for critical illness cover here which is different to health insurance. It means if one of us gets hit by a certain illness - say a heart attack or cancer - the insurance will pay out a lump sum to cover outgoings or the mortgage. It’s usually linked to a life insurance policy. I assume a similar policy is available in the US?



Bevdeforges said:


> Just a note about health cover in the US. Even with insurance, it's very possible to go broke if someone develops a long-term illness or has a serious accident. Almost any form of health insurance has "co-pays" (i.e. what the patient pays toward treatment) and that can run into several thousand $$ for hospitalization and /or surgery. The co-pay on regular doctor appointments can run several times what a doctor appointment would cost you uninsured in the UK or most European countries.
> 
> You may want to go slowly on buying a house. Until you have developed a credit rating in the US, you'll be considered a "sub-prime" candidate for a home loan, with all the difficulties of a sub-prime mortgage.


Doctor appointments are completely free in the U.K., and I’ll certainly miss that if we do make the move. Definitely wasn’t aware you could still go broke even with insurance - wow! Am I right in thinking that a higher monthly premium would help to lower the co-pays? 

What are the difficulties of a sub-prime mortgage?


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

potentialexpat said:


> Sorry i wasn’t referring to regular health insurance, I pay for critical illness cover here which is different to health insurance. It means if one of us gets hit by a certain illness - say a heart attack or cancer - the insurance will pay out a lump sum to cover outgoings or the mortgage. It’s usually linked to a life insurance policy. I assume a similar policy is available in the US?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, critical illness to cover outgoings or mortgage when long term illness is available in the US.

Yes, higher monthly premiums would help to lower co-pays - however, as most insurance is already expensive one has to consider how many times one might need to go to the doctor or require treatment as compared to paying a few hundred dollars more a month to cover something which might not happen.


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