Europeans - No longer Immigrating to US? (green card, Mexico, migrate)

[Dilo]

Just having lunch with my iPad

[Threestep]

LOL - how bored does one have to be to figure out what a "friend" pays for utilities or that he cannot remember UK traffic laws.

[Dane_in_LA]

Originally Posted by Threestep

LOL - how bored does one have to be to figure out what a "friend" pays for utilities or that he cannot remember UK traffic laws.

But he paid for having his car towed! Paid! Truly, the UK is the land of repression. Besides, they appear to penalize for overdrafts, and that's just not right. None of that would have happened in Indiana. (What actually does happen in Indiana?)

[STT Resident]

[quote=Dane_in_LA;24610543]But he paid for having his car towed! Paid! Truly, the UK is the land of repression. Besides, they appear to penalize for overdrafts, and that's just not right. None of that would have happened in Indiana. (What actually does happen in Indiana?)[/QUOTE]

Well obviously you don't pay any penalties for overdrafts there, nor do you have to pay to get your car out of impound if you're towed when illegally parked. Sheer Nirvana.

[Grim Reader]

Originally Posted by Dilo

My friend in uk is angry even though he is a software engineer who has a job with the govt working for the security engineering dept. he is paid 45000 pounds and his tax is 30 percent, his ni contribution is 11percent of his gross for the free healthcare, his compulsory pension contribution is 9 percent and his other contribution he cannot explain is 5 percent which lives him with 45percent of his salary which comes to 20500 pounds.

Taxes don't work like that. Anywhere. Have you ever paid taxes? In the UK, you start off with about 8000 £ you don't pay any taxes for, then you pay a few % for the next band and so on, up to 50 % paid on everything above 150 000 £. Your "friend" would pay 7 880 £ tax on his 45 000 and an additional £ 4200 on his National Insurance. That is without any deductions.

His national insurance also covers his pension scheme, unemplyment benefits, paternity benefits, incapacity insurance and bereavement contributions.

Originally Posted by Dilo

He pays 1000 pounds in rent in a 1 bedroom apartment.

Sounds like London. I don't know anywhere else in the UK with that kind of prices. So your theoretical friend has chosen to live in the most expensive place in the UK.

Originally Posted by Dilo

Just on expenses he spends 19920 pounds on basic needs which lives him with just 1-2 thousand pounds left from his yearly salary.

Even assuming you are right about the other expenses -on which I am not hopeful- your friend started out with 33 000 pounds left out of his wages. So he'd be left with 13 000 pounds.

Originally Posted by Dilo

From there he has to feed which usually cost him 5 to 10 pounds a day or 2000 to 3000 a yr because he buys food at lunch time. He pays his electricity, water and Internet which comes to an average of 35 pounds a month for water, 60 pounds a month for gas and electricity, and 20 pounds a month for Internet and broadband or 1400 a yr.

So you are looking at roughly 10 000 pounds left out of his salary. Now this is with the fellow chosing to live in the most expensive location in the UK, keep a car AND a years train travelpass. Also, he seems to have his car towed inordinatly often. As well as chosing to ring his parents on another continent frequenlty, using his cellphone. All of which tells me he is spending money like water.

Originally Posted by Dilo

Even though this guy has one of the hottest job in uk like I used to have when I came out of Oxford...

You know, they teach you a lot of stuff at oxford. But one thing they tend to drill into everyone is the importance of presenting yourself well. How to be taken seriously. You are not doing that, and you don't come across like you realize the impression you are making.

And my first degree was engineering. Somehow I am still not illiterate.

However, I'd like to compare your hypothetical fellows situation to a recent graduate in New York. Anyone got bills and college information for New York?

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by Dane_in_LA

But he paid for having his car towed! Paid! Truly, the UK is the land of repression. Besides, they appear to penalize for overdrafts, and that's just not right. None of that would have happened in Indiana. (What actually does happen in Indiana?)

I was under the impression that New York City, CA and FL are the only US states open to immigration. Indiana? You get your car towed, detailed and returned to your driveway unless I am mistaken. Overdraft fees are not only waived but credited to your account. Maybe I moved to the wrong state as TX in my area takes 3% property tax and traffic tickets are an investment.

[dragonborn]

Originally Posted by Dilo

My friend in uk is angry even though he is a software engineer who has a job with the govt working for the security engineering dept. he is paid 45000 pounds and his tax is 30 percent, his ni contribution is 11percent of his gross for the free healthcare, his compulsory pension contribution is 9 percent and his other contribution he cannot explain is 5 percent which lives him with 45percent of his salary which comes to 20500 pounds. He pays 1000 pounds in rent in a 1 bedroom apartment. Which comes to 12000 a yr. he bought home insurance for 40 pounds a month and found out he has to pay council tax of 150 pounds a month. He also pays tv tax for having tv in his home which is 10 pounds a month. They use the tv tax to pay bbc workers and the bbc CEO is the highest paid worker in uk and his father is one of the dukes. They pay him a million pounds a year.All that came to 2000 a yr. he bought a small car to move around and go to work in case there is a strike by train workers so he can make it to work. He pays 200 pounds a month on the car and insurance of 50 pounds a month which is 3000 a yr. The mistake he made was he does not know people in uk do not drive new cars. He commutes true train most of the time to London as he lives in zone 4 and work in zone 1 he has to pay 160 pounds every month for travel pass. This comes to 1920 a yr or approx 2000 pounds. Now this guy has to pay for his cell phone which is 1000 talking minutes a month. He usually calls states because his parents live in California but are uk citizens. He went to school in Cambridge and this was one of the best job you can get and he chose it after graduation. He spends 50 pounds a month on mobile phone which comes to 600 pounds a yr and he occasionally had to talk more than 1000 minutes a month. Just on expenses he spends 19920 pounds on basic needs which lives him with just 1-2 thousand pounds left from his yearly salary. From there he has to feed which usually cost him 5 to 10 pounds a day or 2000 to 3000 a yr because he buys food at lunch time. He pays his electricity, water and Internet which comes to an average of 35 pounds a month for water, 60 pounds a month for gas and electricity, and 20 pounds a month for Internet and broadband or 1400 a yr. Even though this guy has one of the hottest job in uk like I used to have when I came out of Oxford he was always broke. And like always penalized for overdraft and do not get tax return at the end of the yr. because you have a car and do not drive much sometimes you forget the rules and every now and then your car is towed for parking in the wrong spot. They expect you to pay 500 pounds to rescue your car. This guy was in debt of 30000 pounds after graduation and because he got a job of more than 20000 pounds a yr he has to pay back his school loan. Well after 2 yrs his dept increased from 30000 pounds a yr to 50000 pounds a yr. now he is looking for a job in states,Canada or Australia so he can be like me who is dept free. I work for a software company in Indiana for 120000 dollars a yr and my wife is a bank manager with chase bank and we have 3 kids.

Either your friend is trolling you or you're trolling us. Which is it?

[mr&mrssunshine]

Originally Posted by Dilo

My friend in uk is angry even though he is a software engineer who has a job with the govt working for the security engineering dept. he is paid 45000 pounds and his tax is 30 percent, his ni contribution is 11percent of his gross for the free healthcare, his compulsory pension contribution is 9 percent and his other contribution he cannot explain is 5 percent which lives him with 45percent of his salary which comes to 20500 pounds. He pays 1000 pounds in rent in a 1 bedroom apartment. Which comes to 12000 a yr. he bought home insurance for 40 pounds a month and found out he has to pay council tax of 150 pounds a month. He also pays tv tax for having tv in his home which is 10 pounds a month. They use the tv tax to pay bbc workers and the bbc CEO is the highest paid worker in uk and his father is one of the dukes. They pay him a million pounds a year.All that came to 2000 a yr. he bought a small car to move around and go to work in case there is a strike by train workers so he can make it to work. He pays 200 pounds a month on the car and insurance of 50 pounds a month which is 3000 a yr. The mistake he made was he does not know people in uk do not drive new cars. He commutes true train most of the time to London as he lives in zone 4 and work in zone 1 he has to pay 160 pounds every month for travel pass. This comes to 1920 a yr or approx 2000 pounds. Now this guy has to pay for his cell phone which is 1000 talking minutes a month. He usually calls states because his parents live in California but are uk citizens. He went to school in Cambridge and this was one of the best job you can get and he chose it after graduation. He spends 50 pounds a month on mobile phone which comes to 600 pounds a yr and he occasionally had to talk more than 1000 minutes a month. Just on expenses he spends 19920 pounds on basic needs which lives him with just 1-2 thousand pounds left from his yearly salary. From there he has to feed which usually cost him 5 to 10 pounds a day or 2000 to 3000 a yr because he buys food at lunch time. He pays his electricity, water and Internet which comes to an average of 35 pounds a month for water, 60 pounds a month for gas and electricity, and 20 pounds a month for Internet and broadband or 1400 a yr. Even though this guy has one of the hottest job in uk like I used to have when I came out of Oxford he was always broke. And like always penalized for overdraft and do not get tax return at the end of the yr. because you have a car and do not drive much sometimes you forget the rules and every now and then your car is towed for parking in the wrong spot. They expect you to pay 500 pounds to rescue your car. This guy was in debt of 30000 pounds after graduation and because he got a job of more than 20000 pounds a yr he has to pay back his school loan. Well after 2 yrs his dept increased from 30000 pounds a yr to 50000 pounds a yr. now he is looking for a job in states,Canada or Australia so he can be like me who is dept free. I work for a software company in Indiana for 120000 dollars a yr and my wife is a bank manager with chase bank and we have 3 kids.

if you graduated from Oxford then I'm a rocket scientist and your friend from Cambridge who has one of the best jobs in the UK yet didnt know he would have to pay council tax ............must be the stupidest person to graduate

[munna21977]

There are some ways your friend can reduce his expenses. How about a cheap phone calling card-Try IDT europe- he will get 2500 minutes to USA for 5 pounds. he should get BT landline which will give him unlimited talktime and use cellphone only for emergency/pay as you go. Life in USA is also not a bed of roses. one pain in appendix or a pain in tooth will make him remember UK. What about cabel TV charges in USA, car insurance, medical insurance etc. Just like BBC CEOs, there are hundreds of cEOs in USA taking away part of his salary. The way your friend is spending money, I would say he will be in debt here also in US.

Originally Posted by Dilo

My friend in uk is angry even though he is a software engineer who has a job with the govt working for the security engineering dept. he is paid 45000 pounds and his tax is 30 percent, his ni contribution is 11percent of his gross for the free healthcare, his compulsory pension contribution is 9 percent and his other contribution he cannot explain is 5 percent which lives him with 45percent of his salary which comes to 20500 pounds. He pays 1000 pounds in rent in a 1 bedroom apartment. Which comes to 12000 a yr. he bought home insurance for 40 pounds a month and found out he has to pay council tax of 150 pounds a month. He also pays tv tax for having tv in his home which is 10 pounds a month. They use the tv tax to pay bbc workers and the bbc CEO is the highest paid worker in uk and his father is one of the dukes. They pay him a million pounds a year.All that came to 2000 a yr. he bought a small car to move around and go to work in case there is a strike by train workers so he can make it to work. He pays 200 pounds a month on the car and insurance of 50 pounds a month which is 3000 a yr. The mistake he made was he does not know people in uk do not drive new cars. He commutes true train most of the time to London as he lives in zone 4 and work in zone 1 he has to pay 160 pounds every month for travel pass. This comes to 1920 a yr or approx 2000 pounds. Now this guy has to pay for his cell phone which is 1000 talking minutes a month. He usually calls states because his parents live in California but are uk citizens. He went to school in Cambridge and this was one of the best job you can get and he chose it after graduation. He spends 50 pounds a month on mobile phone which comes to 600 pounds a yr and he occasionally had to talk more than 1000 minutes a month. Just on expenses he spends 19920 pounds on basic needs which lives him with just 1-2 thousand pounds left from his yearly salary. From there he has to feed which usually cost him 5 to 10 pounds a day or 2000 to 3000 a yr because he buys food at lunch time. He pays his electricity, water and Internet which comes to an average of 35 pounds a month for water, 60 pounds a month for gas and electricity, and 20 pounds a month for Internet and broadband or 1400 a yr. Even though this guy has one of the hottest job in uk like I used to have when I came out of Oxford he was always broke. And like always penalized for overdraft and do not get tax return at the end of the yr. because you have a car and do not drive much sometimes you forget the rules and every now and then your car is towed for parking in the wrong spot. They expect you to pay 500 pounds to rescue your car. This guy was in debt of 30000 pounds after graduation and because he got a job of more than 20000 pounds a yr he has to pay back his school loan. Well after 2 yrs his dept increased from 30000 pounds a yr to 50000 pounds a yr. now he is looking for a job in states,Canada or Australia so he can be like me who is dept free. I work for a software company in Indiana for 120000 dollars a yr and my wife is a bank manager with chase bank and we have 3 kids.

[Whatsthenews]

Originally Posted by Threestep

I was under the impression that New York City, CA and FL are the only US states open to immigration. Indiana? You get your car towed, detailed and returned to your driveway unless I am mistaken. Overdraft fees are not only waived but credited to your account. Maybe I moved to the wrong state as TX in my area takes 3% property tax and traffic tickets are an investment.

What do you mean?