Plano, Texas area - could we afford to live on this salary?
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Is this $700 per semester or is that the bill for the entire year? Does it include accomodation/food?
Also, a general question for everyone - you have 3 semesters right?
Good luck with your studies Pooua
It cost me about $700 for just this semester's tuition and books. I own a mortgage on a home in Collin County (so, I get in-county tuition, which is even lower than in-state tuition). Collin College does not have housing, though there are apartments nearby most of the campuses (Collin College has a half-dozen campuses scattered across Collin County). This is a 2-year, junior college, organized as a "motor" college (meaning, no on-campus housing). Collin College is the only public institution of higher education in Collin County. Enrollment is about 52k students/year.
Collin College offers classes in a variety of semester divisions. It offers the usual Spring/Summer/Winter semesters, but also various accelerated terms, including Maymester (in the month of May) and Wintermester (end of December). Regular classes are 16 weeks long, but some accelerated classes are 8 weeks long, while others are only 3 or 4 weeks long. Collin College also offers online classes. I have participated in all of these various offerings.
it is much easier to qualify for a driver's license and own/operate a car in the US
gasoline is relatively cheap compared to what it costs in UK/Europe
I don't know what the tax situation is for someone coming from UK--do you have to pay tax back to your govt?
workers here have deductions from their earnings for Social Security, income tax, health coverage as the top three items
since you are here on work visa do you pay into SS since you supposedly won't be here to retire and collect?
Only US citizens get to play taxes back to the US when working outside the US. When libs tell you our tax rates are low they forget the global business and individual tax grab unique to USA. I believe the first $80k earned outside the US is not subject to tax however. Some nice gimme when other mature countries dont tax income earned out of their country,
Thankyou CaptnRN That is good to know, we were originally looking at a similar salary for a job in California and spoke to a few people there who thought we would practically be paupers on that amount. It is so confusing when it is not your native country! Is Texas really that much cheaper compared to California?
loves2read - thankyou If we come, we will have Green Cards so yes I would imagine we would pay into SS.
We have budgeted $12,000 per year for instate community college fees. Does this sound about right? Although if we move to Plano and our daughters do 2 years at Community College in Plano then It would be less I imagine. Then 2 years at Uni to fund too.
Golly gosh - it all adds up!
Yes Texas is considerable cheaper to live than Califonnia in local income tax alone
OP, why do you assume your daughters will go to community colleges instead of universities?
Hello, not an assumption as such but have been told that it would be cheaper to do two years CC then two years Uni, so it is an option we are looking into.
Would be happy to hear your thoughts on this though
Hello, not an assumption as such but have been told that it would be cheaper to do two years CC then two years Uni, so it is an option we are looking into.
Would be happy to hear your thoughts on this though
Well, yes, I can't think of any instance in which it would not be less expensive to attend a community college than to attend a university. It's just that a family in your tax bracket ($150k/year) might want their children to go to a prestigious school. That isn't so they become better educated; it's so they can impress and influence people, and maybe be able to get a high-paying job for themselves. If nothing else, you would be more likely to meet and form friendships with the movers and shakers of tomorrow while living on a prestigious campus than while living at home and motoring in to a community college.
I happen to like community colleges. I graduated from one, and now I'm attending another. It's an inexpensive way to sample a lot of classes in a lot of different disciplines. It's really lousy for making a change in this world, or forming high-powered human networks.
I don't know how many people from well-to-do families attend community colleges, but most of the student body at the community colleges I've known consist of people putting their lives together on a shoestring. It's getting so that fewer people can afford 4 years in university, though, so the appeal of community colleges is spreading, and Texas is positioning itself to capitalize on that trend.
Thank you Pooua, that is a really interesting point and I wasn't aware of the perceived difference between Community College/Uni.
I think that this is actually very similar to the situation in the UK between the Polytechnics and Universities although I am not sure that we still have Poly's anymore. We also have 'prestigious' Universities (Oxford and Cambridge being the obvious ones) but then the so call 'Russell Group' Universities which are perceived to be better then others.
I hate the snobbery aspect but there is no denying the fact that you are more likely to go further in life if you attend one of the more prestigious establishments.
Anyway, I digress
The possibility of 2 years at Community College was first mentioned to us when we were looking at relocating to California - a lot of the feedback that we received seemed to suggest that we would be lucky to afford a roof over our heads on that salary.
It sounds like a whopping amount of money to us but of course it is all meaningless when put into the context of a foreign country, so this thread is really helpful as it has helped us to have a better understanding of the tax situation and general cost of living.
What are you studying? Are you enjoying your studies?
Thank you Pooua, that is a really interesting point and I wasn't aware of the perceived difference between Community College/Uni.
I think that this is actually very similar to the situation in the UK between the Polytechnics and Universities although I am not sure that we still have Poly's anymore. We also have 'prestigious' Universities (Oxford and Cambridge being the obvious ones) but then the so call 'Russell Group' Universities which are perceived to be better then others.
I hate the snobbery aspect but there is no denying the fact that you are more likely to go further in life if you attend one of the more prestigious establishments.
Anyway, I digress
The possibility of 2 years at Community College was first mentioned to us when we were looking at relocating to California - a lot of the feedback that we received seemed to suggest that we would be lucky to afford a roof over our heads on that salary.
It sounds like a whopping amount of money to us but of course it is all meaningless when put into the context of a foreign country, so this thread is really helpful as it has helped us to have a better understanding of the tax situation and general cost of living.
What are you studying? Are you enjoying your studies?
I'm glad I could help.
I'm currently taking Computer Science and Computer technology classes, with Photography and Business classes on the side. I stuck a Biology class in last semester, too, just because I wanted to take it. I do enjoy my studies, and some of them give me a great sense of satisfaction (such as the Honors Biology Lab I took last semester).
I lost my job a few years ago, so I'm trying to polish my resume by tying up the loose ends of a college degree. I'm beginning to meander as I'm running out of time and money; I am sticking in classes that I have my "last" chance to take, instead of the classes I need to graduate. Perhaps, though, these off-shoots offer me my greatest opportunities? No one is going to hire me because I have an Associate of Science in Computer Science. I might, however, be able to earn some money as a photographer or a computer tech, or some other combination of skills.
I don't believe that California is quite as expensive as you have been led to believe. I don't know the living standard to which you are accustomed, or what you expect here, but my Dad lives in San Diego. No one in my immediate family has ever earned over $40k/year. Dad retired from the Navy a few decades ago. He does get some discounts, due to his military retirement and age, but not anything like $150k/year! I have a half-sister who managed to put herself through a California university (I don't know which one), and I know her parents didn't pay for it.
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