# Pros and Cons living in the USA?



## Britboy4576 (Jul 18, 2018)

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd get an idea from people what life is REALLY like in the USA, my wife is Texan and we're planning on moving to the states (likely Texas, Fort Worth) in the next couple years.

As an accountant myself and my wife a qualified nurse I'd like to know your experiences of adjusting to life in America and in particular the adjustment from the UK in particular?

Thanks


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

A little bit off topic, perhaps, but one thing you should consider is what exactly are you (and more importantly, your wife) expecting from a move back to the US? OK, it depends on how long your wife has been living outside the country and lots of other things, but moving "back" home can often be a more difficult transition than moving to a "foreign" culture in the first place.

Places change over time and the changes may or may not be to her liking. Have you (or has she) been making regular trips back there to experience things for yourselves? 

I'm not endorsing or criticizing the idea of moving back. Just commenting that it may be two very different adjustment processes for the two of you.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Britboy4576 (Jul 18, 2018)

Bevdeforges said:


> A little bit off topic, perhaps, but one thing you should consider is what exactly are you (and more importantly, your wife) expecting from a move back to the US? OK, it depends on how long your wife has been living outside the country and lots of other things, but moving "back" home can often be a more difficult transition than moving to a "foreign" culture in the first place.
> 
> Places change over time and the changes may or may not be to her liking. Have you (or has she) been making regular trips back there to experience things for yourselves?
> 
> ...


That's a good point and not an angle I'd necessarily considered initially. We've been back to Texas every 12-18 months as her family are all still there but spending a few weeks at a time in vacation mode is obviously very different and I think that it'll be more an adjustment for me than her, the hope is that we'd get a better quality of life overall.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

DFW is a sprawling metro, growing like the proverbial weed, car oriented, no state income tax but real estate tax is crippling, very diverse, not inexpensive, hot summers, cold winters, very diverse, traffic beats Atlanta, jobs are available, everything is available - for a price, medical facilities galore as is entertainment.

As you visit on a regular basis you should get out at "go to work" hours and drive, look at utility cost and COL in general. Act like you live not visit. Not knowing your standard in UK and your needs/wishes it is not possible to even guess if DFW would be an improvement.

We enjoyed the five years we lived there. 

Daily life - get up, go to work, household/yard/social activities, kids if you have them - rinse and repeat.


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## paulmorgan1984 (May 11, 2018)

As you both have good careers you may find your standard of living may increase. Accountant salaries (depending on some factors) do tend to be a fair bit higher in the US. as A Financial Controller my salary increased about 50% (So.California). I'm back in the UK now for a few years but was in the US for past few. Great place, will likely go back for family reasons. I found Southern California very interchangeable from where I'm from (Brighton). Driving everywhere gets annoying, people constantly think I'm Australian, but people are much friendlier (outside the pub!) than back home. All in all I've found the US to be a very inviting place and people are legitimately happy to speak to you. Food options are everywhere, air conditioning is the norm. The weather can be strange after a while as we are just not used to continuous sun! I really dont think your average Brit would have too much trouble adapting to the US. The two places are a lot more interchangeable than I think many give them credit for - but obviously that depends on whereabouts you're coming from! 
Oh and if you're a man who likes to spend time down the boozer, you do eventually realize that while people drink, the pub/drinking culture just is not the same as back at home! 
Oh and doing your own tax filling each year is kinda weird, but hey you're an accountant you'll pick it up. Just make sure your US GAAP and SOX is up to date!


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## Britboy4576 (Jul 18, 2018)

twostep said:


> DFW is a sprawling metro, growing like the proverbial weed, car oriented, no state income tax but real estate tax is crippling, very diverse, not inexpensive, hot summers, cold winters, very diverse, traffic beats Atlanta, jobs are available, everything is available - for a price, medical facilities galore as is entertainment.
> 
> As you visit on a regular basis you should get out at "go to work" hours and drive, look at utility cost and COL in general. Act like you live not visit. Not knowing your standard in UK and your needs/wishes it is not possible to even guess if DFW would be an improvement.
> 
> ...


Thank you that's a big help! certainly a good idea to try next time we go over.


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## Britboy4576 (Jul 18, 2018)

paulmorgan1984 said:


> As you both have good careers you may find your standard of living may increase. Accountant salaries (depending on some factors) do tend to be a fair bit higher in the US. as A Financial Controller my salary increased about 50% (So.California). I'm back in the UK now for a few years but was in the US for past few. Great place, will likely go back for family reasons. I found Southern California very interchangeable from where I'm from (Brighton). Driving everywhere gets annoying, people constantly think I'm Australian, but people are much friendlier (outside the pub!) than back home. All in all I've found the US to be a very inviting place and people are legitimately happy to speak to you. Food options are everywhere, air conditioning is the norm. The weather can be strange after a while as we are just not used to continuous sun! I really dont think your average Brit would have too much trouble adapting to the US. The two places are a lot more interchangeable than I think many give them credit for - but obviously that depends on whereabouts you're coming from!
> Oh and if you're a man who likes to spend time down the boozer, you do eventually realize that while people drink, the pub/drinking culture just is not the same as back at home!
> Oh and doing your own tax filling each year is kinda weird, but hey you're an accountant you'll pick it up. Just make sure your US GAAP and SOX is up to date!


Appreciate that, as an FC yourself did you find the UK to US GAAP much different? I currently work for an american firm SOX is ok for me but haven't had enough exposure to US GAAP yet.

Whenever I've been over I've had the same issue of being confused for an Australian as well but found Texans incredibly warm and friendly plus the constant sunshine is one of the attractions for me personally.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Like the old saying goes, debits still go on the left and credits on the right.

As far as the accounting goes (i.e. GAAP) there may be some differences in the presentation, but the fundamentals are more or less the same. It's the tax rules, reporting and frequent changes to them that will throw you at first. It's pretty standard over there to have two sets of books - the GAAP books and the "tax" books - due to the differences in what's allowed. And then there is the art of reconciling the tax books to the GAAP books, which I suspect may still be required on corporate tax forms.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Britboy4576 (Jul 18, 2018)

Bevdeforges said:


> Like the old saying goes, debits still go on the left and credits on the right.
> 
> As far as the accounting goes (i.e. GAAP) there may be some differences in the presentation, but the fundamentals are more or less the same. It's the tax rules, reporting and frequent changes to them that will throw you at first. It's pretty standard over there to have two sets of books - the GAAP books and the "tax" books - due to the differences in what's allowed. And then there is the art of reconciling the tax books to the GAAP books, which I suspect may still be required on corporate tax forms.
> Cheers,
> Bev



Haha very true! That's really interesting to know actually not something i was aware of, thank you for that it's good to know.


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## paulmorgan1984 (May 11, 2018)

I think if you already have some experience in SOX then you will find exposure to GAAP pretty easy. As Bev rightly mentions, the fundamentals are pretty much the same and there has been a lot of push to reconcile GAAP to IFRS. The main differences are in inventory valuation and depreciation. But not difficult to get your head around. Also as Bev mentions the accounting and tax books can be a frustration in some firms I imagine, but my company uses outsourced CPA's for tax reconciliation to the accounting books and I think this is fast becoming the norm, similar to the YE tax packs that are done in the UK after audit. 
I've come to the conclusion that as A Brit I use the word 'Mate' too much and I think Americans see that as synonymous with Australia... kind of understandable I guess!


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