Like for Like UK - Apex / Raleigh (Cary, Garner: rental, health insurance)

[Littlekipper]

Hi I have been discussing a oppertunity to set up an office for a UK company in Garner (the company has a building and 1 staff) and we are seriously considering moving over as a family 1 Boy 5 1 Girl 1, if offered the Role

What I guess we are struggling with is basically everything!!! Well at the moment it is basically affordability

Currently I run my own business so for fair comparison reasons I will say what the job would pay here and then what it would pay in Garner. I will also list what our out goings are and maybe someone if they can spare the time could help us out with a like for like

OK so the job would pay $80K it comes with Health Insurance / Dental for the family, a fully expensed Car and Cell Phone.

In the UK with Taxes (its just got confusing as they just are scrapping a basic tax rate) I would take home approx $6400

Our Mortgage is $2600 Monthly
Salary Taxes $2200 Monthly
Gas / Elec / Water is $140 / $140 / $80 = $ 360 avg monthly
Con Tax (this is house tax) $280 Month
Groceries (inc Nappies!!!) $300 Month

Then we have our tv, phone etc etc but they are luxuries and I know what they cost.

So approx in the UK I would take home $6400 (if you dont take out the taxes) and pay out $5740 without cable , phone internet. So I would be left with approx $500 a month to live / save. Can people see why everyone is leaving the UK!!!!

So I would like to be able to say to my wife you make the choice if you want to work, but we would like a nice house Cary / Apex area young families etc.
I guess we wont get much on just my salary, in the UK we have a $700 000 house but its like 1600 sq ft though it is a great location.

Would I be better off in Raleigh????? Decisions Decisions.

Thoughts are welcome.

Dan & Kirsten

[Big M]

First question.....you got a visa yet? Which one is it? I assume your company is dealing with that one for you. It may take a while.....

I'm a little bit puzzled. You own a 700K house...in Macclesfield!! If you can get that much for house in that town in a crashing housing market then sell as soon as you can. Yet, you are concerned about the loss of the 10% tax bracket which is for low earners.......who would unlikely get a loan for a 700K house.

Regardless, best of luck.

M

[lamishra]

Are you asking if you could live comfortably off of $80K here? Yes, I think you can but there are so many other factors that play a role too like cars, transportation needs, debt, size of a downpayment on your house. $300 a month for groceries for a family and diapers is sort of low, IMO. I think it can be done, but you'd have to be a very dedicated and frugal shopper. Housing is defintiely less though and you can get a great home in Cary or Apex for significantly less.

[Littlekipper]

Big M, Macclesfield has not really been badly hit by the Slump but it is definitely slowing. Of course our house is £350K not £700K but I am sure you realised I put $.
Re the Tax you are correct is does not affect us, just a pop a the loony left!
We accept that we may have to accept less in fact we are sure of it but we hope to clear a good chunk of profit.
Re the visa, I will travel from the UK for 6 months to set everything up and so this I believe should help with regards to the visa in 2 ways, 1 need for a UK employee to work in the USA and 2 time wise, after all it will take 6 Months to sell at least so time is with us.
Re Iamishra yes my wife tells me I have no idea how much we spend on Groceries!! she says it is double that.
I guess what I wanted to know is from say my salary how much do I pay in Taxes.
The company will fly us out and apparently the State of NC offer a service to businesses relocating to the area to show you the schools houses and explain how things work a little better.

[saturnfan]

You could live well with a company car, paid health ins and $80K.

Maybe no $500K McMansion in Cary right away, but could rent a 3BR flat for your family for about $1000 in my North Raleigh community, which has a pool, gym, playground, and computer center included in your rent.

We did fine on $70K.

[J_Lurk]

I searched a couple of old threads, and here is a take-home pay calculator from Duke. Except for the things like parking, which is clearly a Duke-specific issue, it should do a decent job calculating your taxes. Duke HR - Take Home Pay Calculator
We are subject to multiple taxes, including federal, state, and FICA (Social Security, Medicare).

[steve54]

Originally Posted by Littlekipper

Hi I have been discussing a oppertunity to set up an office for a UK company in Garner (the company has a building and 1 staff) and we are seriously considering moving over as a family 1 Boy 5 1 Girl 1, if offered the Role

What I guess we are struggling with is basically everything!!! Well at the moment it is basically affordability

Currently I run my own business so for fair comparison reasons I will say what the job would pay here and then what it would pay in Garner. I will also list what our out goings are and maybe someone if they can spare the time could help us out with a like for like

OK so the job would pay $80K it comes with Health Insurance / Dental for the family, a fully expensed Car and Cell Phone.

In the UK with Taxes (its just got confusing as they just are scrapping a basic tax rate) I would take home approx $6400

Our Mortgage is $2600 Monthly
Salary Taxes $2200 Monthly
Gas / Elec / Water is $140 / $140 / $80 = $ 360 avg monthly
Con Tax (this is house tax) $280 Month
Groceries (inc Nappies!!!) $300 Month

Then we have our tv, phone etc etc but they are luxuries and I know what they cost.

So approx in the UK I would take home $6400 (if you dont take out the taxes) and pay out $5740 without cable , phone internet. So I would be left with approx $500 a month to live / save. Can people see why everyone is leaving the UK!!!!

So I would like to be able to say to my wife you make the choice if you want to work, but we would like a nice house Cary / Apex area young families etc.
I guess we wont get much on just my salary, in the UK we have a $700 000 house but its like 1600 sq ft though it is a great location.

Would I be better off in Raleigh????? Decisions Decisions.

Thoughts are welcome.

Dan & Kirsten

WEll for a start if your uk mortgage is 1300 gbp a month I'm guessing that you have a chunk of equity in the house , approx $200/300K, which means you could get a very nice house and have no/little mortgage.
You can't get away with $300 a month on groceries, with a family it would be double.
I left the UK 4 years ago and have been living on what you mentioned in terms of income without any difficulty but remember that unexpected or little items add up and you need a financial buffer
PM me if you want any more questions answering and I'll try to help

[Beermat]

The other factor that you need to decide is if you ever plan to return to UK; if you do then it would be very risky to sell your property in Macclesfield as you will be at risk from rising house prices in a year or 2's time after the market correction, and also from exchange rate movements. It is most unlikely that the £ will continue to as strong against the US $ and will weaken back to its more traditional £1 = $1.70 range which would mean you would get fewer £'s to the dollar when you relocate back. It would be better to rent out your UK property and use the net income (after agents commision and mortgage costs) to contribute towards either rent or mortgage in US.

[steve54]

Originally Posted by Beermat

The other factor that you need to decide is if you ever plan to return to UK; if you do then it would be very risky to sell your property in Macclesfield as you will be at risk from rising house prices in a year or 2's time after the market correction, and also from exchange rate movements. It is most unlikely that the £ will continue to as strong against the US $ and will weaken back to its more traditional £1 = $1.70 range which would mean you would get fewer £'s to the dollar when you relocate back. It would be better to rent out your UK property and use the net income (after agents commision and mortgage costs) to contribute towards either rent or mortgage in US.

I agree with beermat . If you made ANY money at all buying a house in the USA you'd be the exception rather than the rule (esp. in the short/medium term). Rent your house out and rent one here with the proceeds . Of course you'd have to declare the rental here for the purposes of tax

[Beermat]

Originally Posted by Littlekipper

Big M, Macclesfield has not really been badly hit by the Slump but it is definitely slowing. Of course our house is £350K not £700K but I am sure you realised I put $.
Re the Tax you are correct is does not affect us, just a pop a the loony left!
We accept that we may have to accept less in fact we are sure of it but we hope to clear a good chunk of profit.
Re the visa, I will travel from the UK for 6 months to set everything up and so this I believe should help with regards to the visa in 2 ways, 1 need for a UK employee to work in the USA and 2 time wise, after all it will take 6 Months to sell at least so time is with us.
Re Iamishra yes my wife tells me I have no idea how much we spend on Groceries!! she says it is double that.
I guess what I wanted to know is from say my salary how much do I pay in Taxes.
The company will fly us out and apparently the State of NC offer a service to businesses relocating to the area to show you the schools houses and explain how things work a little better.

One other thing that you need to understand is that to get an L-1 work visa you must have worked for the company for more than 12 months; if you run your own business and are taking a position with a new compant that will mean its a year at the earliest before you can transfer 'officially'. Also after 183 days you must register for US taxes which means domiciling yourself for tax purposes in US and notifying the UK tax authorities that you are working in US so that your income is exempt from UK taxes - but then you are limited to a maximum of 90 days to visit UK in a tax year

You will probably need to rework some of your planning assumptions so that you stay on the right side of Immigration and Tax regulations