Moving from UK, considering PA, Philly and Pitsburgh. (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: apartment, house)

[BR Valentine]

Originally Posted by escilade18

For those who do not know, ~ means approximately, not exact

So being off by ~200k (1.53 vs 1.36) is reasonably precise, but giving an estimate (250 - 300K) where the high end is 7k short of exact is rant worthy. Makes sense to me.

[Summersm343]

Originally Posted by br valentine

so being off by ~200k (1.53 vs 1.36) is reasonably precise, but giving an estimate (250 - 300k) where the high end is 7k short of exact is rant worthy. Makes sense to me.

lawl

[BTA88]

Wow, I was not at all trying to inflate Philadelphia or disparage Pittsburgh. My point, a fair one I think, is the OP should decide whether he wants to live in a great small-mid sized city or a great large city. I'm not going to defend my position, I think it stands on its own.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by BTA88

Wow, I was not at all trying to inflate Philadelphia or disparage Pittsburgh. My point, a fair one I think, is the OP should decide whether he wants to live in a great small-mid sized city or a great large city. I'm not going to defend my position, I think it stands on its own.

I apologize as well since my post seemed to start a small flame war. You are right, I think this thread should be explaining to the OP what both Pittsburgh and Philly can offer over Raleigh over anything (in my opinion you have two older established cities with beautiful walkable neighborhoods with tons of soul everywhere.)

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by BTA88

1. I wasn't talking to you.
2. I didn't realize Pittsburgh snook in a Basketball and MLS team while I wasn't looking.
3.

Why you take things so defensively is beyond me, but I imagine it has to do with your age. No one is attacking you here, I tried to highlight the virtues of both cities, and never once commented toward you.

Its not declining economically anymore. Pittsburgh is carrying the state in jobs growth now and the size of the labor force is now at an all time high in Allegheny county which could lead to a higher population than was thought.

[shibby!]

Thanks for the information guys

To be honest, as far as hussle and bustle go, i live in Scotland, just outside of Edinburgh, in a town with a population of around 44k (which is pretty much what all the towns have) Then we have 2-3 cities in the country with a population of around 400k. So i have a feeilng even though Pittsburgh is supposed to be smaller, i think we will still find it MUCH bigger!

I have done a fair bit of research, but there is only so much you can get from looking at average incomes, house prices, and crime rates etc.

We are at a stage where it will be around 6 months minimum, we are trying to sort out early where we would like to live, of course all depending on my wife and the pharmaceutical areas.
Taxes were a bit of a factor, i obviously dont want to be paying as much as we do in the UK! its not called rip-off Britain for nothing. Also life for my children (that i dont have yet).

[pman]

Originally Posted by shibby!

Hello!

So me and my wife will be hopefully moving to the US in the new year, i am a citizen but have lived in the UK since i was around 5 (so remember nothing) my wife is UK (aiming for a visa)

My job is fairly non location specific, im a chartered accountant, my wife however is an analytical chemist in pharmaceuticals, which can be quite specific to an area.

We have looked in a few different areas and states, one of which is the Raleigh/Durham area, along with Philly in PA, Ft Lauderdale in FL and Boston MA.

From what we have read up, and checked out property prices, job markets, just general life (quite like it quiet-ish) but also close to a city to enjoy. We keep coming back to around Philadelphia or Pittsburgh and Raleigh area.

What i dont understand right now is taxes in the US!!!!

Im looking at sales tax, vehicle tax, property tax, income tax (state and federal). How do these tie in together? i have heard they can be offset against each other? i am quite unsure. Can anyone give me an example of how much i would pay?

Also, i love Icehockey and Basketball both seem good areas for both!! Are they really?

We are just trying to get an idea of states/cities and life in general in them, want an easy friendly life!



Talk to me! tell me a story!
Thanks
Nick

you will find good hockey in both philly and Pittsburgh (but not raleigh or ft lauderdale). basketball professionally only in philly. I suspect if you chose philly you might want to find a town such as a west chester, doylestown, or perhaps chestnut hill...or something further out such as kennett sq. philadelphia has a large contingent of pharmaceutical companies.
Pittsburgh, I believe, seems to be growing jobs at a healthy clip and generally has lower crime and home prices in the city itself. PA state taxes are flat at 3.07%, philadelphia taxes wages and profits if you live or work in the city, Pittsburgh only taxes you if you live in the city. Obviously if you live in the suburbs and work there (most pharma is in the suburbs in PHilly) that won't be an issue. taxes vary from municipality to municipality (widely I might add). you'll want to rent before you buy wherever you land.
Personally I prefer both PA cities to raleigh and esp florida. best of luck

[barneyg]

Originally Posted by shibby!

From what we have read up, and checked out property prices, job markets, just general life (quite like it quiet-ish) but also close to a city to enjoy. We keep coming back to around Philadelphia or Pittsburgh and Raleigh area.

What i dont understand right now is taxes in the US!!!!

Im looking at sales tax, vehicle tax, property tax, income tax (state and federal). How do these tie in together? i have heard they can be offset against each other? i am quite unsure. Can anyone give me an example of how much i would pay?

Also, i love Icehockey and Basketball both seem good areas for both!! Are they really?

Philly has an NBA (basketball) team but Pittsburgh doesn't; the closest is in Cleveland (1.5-2 hours away). Both cities have a bunch of college basketball options (esp. Pitt in Pittsburgh and Villanova in Philly). Both cities have NHL (hockey) teams. By the way, nobody says "ice hockey" here -- it's just hockey.

Taxes in the US can be fairly complicated indeed because of the multiple levels of government that can tax you: federal, state, county, municipality (in PA, one of: city/borough/township). Typically, you'll pay:

- Federal income tax (brackets depend on your income as in the UK), see a calculator here. Compared to the UK and many other countries, you can deduct a lot of things from your income: mortgage interest, property taxes, state and local taxes paid (sales tax or income tax - your choice). Another feature is that if you're married, you and your wife are allowed to file just one return ("married filing jointly"); income brackets are obviously adjusted if you choose to do so.

- State income tax. In PA it's a fixed 3.07% rate and the deductions are similar to what you have in the UK: some employment-related expenses and retirement account contributions.

- State sales tax (VAT). In PA it's 6%. Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) adds 1%, Philadelphia County (Philly) adds 2%. Grocery food, clothes and electricity/natural gas/etc are exempt. When shopping, prices typically don't include VAT.

- Local wage tax. Varies according to where you live/work, typically 1-3% with similar deductions to the state income tax.

- Local property taxes. Typically includes one part for the municipality and a (usually much larger) one for the school district. Public school funding is typically much more heavily reliant on property taxes in the US than Canada or Europe, explaining the lower income tax and VAT and higher school property taxes.

Originally Posted by BTA88

One other thing to consider is Philadelphia is currently on an up swing, gaining population, diversifying and improving infrastructure. Taxes are very high there. Pittsburgh is on a somewhat of a stabilized decline. It isn't really a model for urban blight, as some parts of Philly are, but it is smaller and has had a noticeable economic and population decline.

I think you're wrong to differentiate Philly and Pittsburgh there. Both cities have been on the upswing for a few years after a couple of pretty bad decades.

[BTA88]

Originally Posted by barneyg

I think you're wrong to differentiate Philly and Pittsburgh there. Both cities have been on the upswing for a few years after a couple of pretty bad decades.

Yeah, I didn't realize Pittsburgh was leveling. Both cities had 50+ years of population loss, I knew Philly had begun to rebound. Didn't realize Pittsburgh had as well.

[KillerK]

Quite honestly, for me at least, once I'm living in any metro area that has 1M or more people they all start feeling the same. Philly to me doesn't "feel" bigger or better than Pittsburgh once I'm there.

I swing more toward Pittsburgh, because I actually enjoy the feeling of being able to LEAVE the city easily. It's not an ordeal to get out of the city and get some fresh air in the countryside. Also I just think it's a somewhat more aesthetically pleasing city, with the hills, rivers and natural greenery.

And unless you were born and raised in some huge metropolis like Philly, and are biased, pretty much any city with a core population of 500k and metro area of 1M or more will have pretty much all you need in terms of arts, culture, entertainment, lifestyle etc. Why you would feel the need to be close to other huge cities is beyond me, except maybe for sporting events or something. Every large city is going to have many of the same opportunities for culture, nightlife etc.

I think Philly is fine, I just tend to prefer Pittsburgh because a) it's still big enough for me to think of it as a city, with all the city trimmings; b) it's small enough than I can leave it easily and get away from the city culture for a bit into the pretty countryside; c) I just think the city overall is a bit more aesthetically pleasing. Especially at night.

If you feel you want to be really close / tied-in to all the big places, Philly is probably the place for you. (Not too far from huge places like NYC and Washington, D.C., and Philly itself is huge and bustling). But if you want a feeling of a more relaxed pace and ability to leave the densely populated areas for a bit, I would pick Pittsburgh.