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Old 04-16-2011, 09:20 AM
 
13 posts, read 30,674 times
Reputation: 30

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Hi everyone,

I may have the opportunity to immigrate to the US in approximately 10 months. I know it's a long time - but if it does become a reality I want to have planned properly. I have always loved the idea of Denver (camping, hiking, hunting, fishing all in a reasonably sized city). I visited there in June last year, but I was only able to stay for two days and unfortunately didn't see too much because the weather was terrible. It rained for just about the entire time.

A job prospect may be coming up early next year and I have some questions about costs of living and areas. I did a reasonable amount of research before this post - I just have a few specific things to clarify.

I know nothing about taxes in the US. I've done some simple calculations according to Wikipedia - are my calculations for my nett salary and living expenses reasonably accurate?

- $75 000 gross salary
- $14 932 federal taxes [$837.5(10% bracket) + $3844 (15% bracket) + 10250(25% bracket)
- $3473 state taxes (4.63% of gross salary)

which leaves me with $56 595 nett salary. Approx $4716/month.

Expenses:

$1500 savings
$1050 rent
$500 food
$220 internet, tv, phone and cell-phone
$450 car
$100 insurance
$100 gas
$150 dental + health insurance
$100 utilities
$50 gym

~$500 left over for misc. items and general shopping.

I want to rent for the first year to get a proper idea of what areas I would like to live in and so that I can be close to downtown without buying anything in Denver proper. I'm in my early 20's so I would like to have relatively close access to downtown nightlife to meet as many people as I can - for the first year at least. From the research I've done I think I would like to eventually be in or near Golden/Arvada. I have saved almost enough for the down payment on a ~$400k house. I have a car that I will sell before I come - so I'll either put this money towards the house after a few years or use it to buy a car - eliminating the $450 monthly cost. I like what has been said about Littleton as well, but I will be working downtown and the commute might be a bit far (travel times from Google Maps). I would also assume that traffic is much worse on the I-25 than the I-70?

Two apartments I'm considering are Carmel Aero Flats and Solera apartments. Solera seems to be much closer to downtown but is almost twice the price of Carmel Aero. Any opinions on these apartments or areas?

Thanks in advance for any help and sorry about the long post.

Last edited by SA_Alex; 04-16-2011 at 09:29 AM..
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Old 04-16-2011, 06:49 PM
 
34 posts, read 95,958 times
Reputation: 19
Welcome (in advance) to the US. I hope it all works out for you. If you are able to take advantage of US pretax savings, that $1500/month savings that you have planned to set aside might be able to save you from paying some taxes. Don't forget to factor in the cost of registering your car and paying every year. I always figure $300/month for a car even though we own them outright because eventually we will have to replace it. We generally pay about $16,000 for a newer used car and they last about 7 years and general maintance and taxes/tags seems to average about $800-1000/yr. If you are single and thrifty, I would average $100/week for food and maybe even less. If you like to go out a lot, and plan on doing a lot of skiing, $500/month for your misc. might not be enough.

Regardless, $75k is plenty for a single person to save and to enjoy Denver living at the same time.
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Old 04-17-2011, 12:54 AM
 
Location: Colorado, Denver Metro Area
1,048 posts, read 4,335,863 times
Reputation: 404
From tax standpoint, it depends on if you are single, married, and if you have kids. For single your figures seem to be right on (25% bracket on income over 34K). Once you are a homeowner, you can have further deductions that should reduce this further among other deductions.

As for expanses:

Rent - the closer to downtown the more expensive that is.

Food - this is based on your preferences and how often you go out etc. 500 seem way too much but that is just me but if you out a lot then that's a different story.

Gas - Given the current gas prices $100 will not be enough. And by the time you move here it will be even higher. Again, depends on how far away you live from work.

Health insurance - hopefully with that type of salary form the employer they will have health insurance coverage and, if so, it should be cheaper than this.

utilities (gas heating)- Depends on how big of a place you have. For apparent should be ok. If you get a house it will be higher.

Where are you moving from? Are you planing to visit the USA / Denver again prior to your move?
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Old 04-17-2011, 06:11 AM
 
13 posts, read 30,674 times
Reputation: 30
Thanks for the response's so far. I realised that I forgot to add SS and Medicare taxes, but I also forgot to include the standard deductions - so nett salary would be almost the same. I just wanted a rough idea anyway. I forgot to add - I live in South Africa.

@KCtoDenver: Thanks for the welcome - I hope it all works out .

Cars are extremely cheap in the US relative to what we pay. I have a 2007 VW Golf TDi that I could quite easily sell for ~$20 000 before I come. I was planning on putting in around $5000 and getting a new Golf GTi, but after watching some winter driving videos in Denver I think I'm leaning more towards a small SUV - something along the lines of an Audi Q5 or Mercedes GLK. Are there generally times during the year that a normal 2WD sedan/hatch is just too dangerous to drive?

I used the $500 figure for food because I'm quite healthy (I was addicted to Whole Foods Market when I was there) and I also expect it to cover a meal out here and there. I didn't realise that gas prices had gone up so much - when I was there I think it was around $2.50/gallon. I'll double the figure for gas as I would like to drive around exploring the place a bit.

I think I've done most of the research that I can from over here regarding food, cars, prices etc. The rest I will have to figure out when I'm there. I would just like to find some more info on the apartments. Solera seems really nice (and expensive ) but it's new so I can't really get any reviews on it. Is 1956 Lawrence Street "in the heart" of Denver? I'm having a hard time remembering the areas around downtown. I stayed at the Sheraton on 16th Street so I obviously remember that - but I can't seem to figure out where the other areas are in relation to it.

I would love to visit again before I make a decision to move permanently - I'm just going to be very pushed for time until next year. I'm also trying to save every cent for the possibility of this move, so spending ~$2000 just on getting there and back might be better spent on camping/ski gear once I'm there . It would probably be a good idea to visit in the winter just to make sure I can handle a proper winter. I've never experienced anything that I expect to see in Colorado in the winter.
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Old 04-17-2011, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
3,158 posts, read 6,092,091 times
Reputation: 5619
If your medical insurance is paid through your employer that amount of money can be used to reduce the amount of taxes you owe. If your employer deducts $150 for medical insurance each month, then your income ($75000) will be reduced by $1800 and your taxes will go down accordingly.

Additionally if your income taxes can be reduced if you contribute to a qualified retirement plan in the same manner as above.

If you wonder if you can live comfortably on $4700 a month, trust me, you'll be okay. I know families who live on that much per month.

Also, if you know how to drive in the snow, you do not need an SUV. The number of days you might need an SUV is far less than the number of days that you will appreciate having a fuel efficient car.
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Old 04-17-2011, 11:23 AM
 
34 posts, read 95,958 times
Reputation: 19
RE: healthy food. You can eat quite a healthy diet without going to Whole Paycheck. Sunflower Farmers Market and Sprouts may not have the "bling," but their selection and quality are just fine and their prices are generally much less. We have a number of other grocerers, so the competition and sales are quite nice from a consumer's perspective.

As for a car - I drive a BMW X3 and am quite happy. 24 mpg. We really don't drive a lot in town because we live close to the light rail and my office is 1.5 miles away. We do drive to the mountains and like the size for our toys and the snow performance. I-70 to Kansas was closed due to snow last week and it is still snowing in the mountains. I expect to deal with snow/ice of some sort for 8 months of the year. If you won't be going to the mountains or driving the Plains, any car will most likely do. Denver is flat and they clear the streets pretty well. The sun is quite effective melting everything once the clouds go away. It really doesn't snow much in Denver and the sun warms us up. Although I always keep a coat/gloves/hat and shovel in the car, there were only a few weeks this year that I felt the need to wear them. We had a very cold spell that lasted about a week. Except for a few weeks, I am able to ride my bike outdoors throughout the year.

Last edited by KCtoDenver; 04-17-2011 at 11:32 AM..
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Old 04-18-2011, 11:00 AM
 
331 posts, read 987,707 times
Reputation: 339
Quote:
Originally Posted by SA_Alex View Post
- $75 000 gross salary
- $14 932 federal taxes [$837.5(10% bracket) + $3844 (15% bracket) + 10250(25% bracket)
- $3473 state taxes (4.63% of gross salary)

which leaves me with $56 595 nett salary. Approx $4716/month.

Expenses:

$1500 savings
$1050 rent
$500 food
$220 internet, tv, phone and cell-phone
$450 car
$100 insurance
$100 gas
$150 dental + health insurance
$100 utilities
$50 gym

~$500 left over for misc. items and general shopping.
Let us know when you get here; I'd love to rob you!

(totally kidding)
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Old 04-18-2011, 11:06 AM
 
5,139 posts, read 8,814,568 times
Reputation: 5248
don't forget these other "taxes"

Medicare
Social Security
State Disability

these are the main ones but there might be a few others (fed and state).

If you are single, no kids, no mortage interest...you will get killed in taxes (take it from one who knows).
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