Will $90k salary/yr be enough for a family of 4 to live on? (Atlanta: renters, health insurance)

[Edgar4]

Hi

I am sure most of you who have gone trough the immigration process know it is really hard knowing if you are making the right decisions about moving to the other side of the world. not knowing the cost of things and monthly bills we may not have in the UK that you have in the US.

We are a family of 4, (2 kids), oh, a dog & a cat.. My husband is looking at jobs in the Atlanta area for abot $90k a yr plus benefits. I work part time in the UK and will probably continue to do so over there but initially we will only have the one income.

We are renting for a yr, to build up our credit score as we only have a UK credit score and then we will look to buy.

If we have a mortgage of approx $200k, 2 avg. cars and a normal non extravagant life, one family holiday a year plus maybe a trip or two back home to the UK. We will also have a couple of credit cards to continue paying off each month from the UK (probably $400 a mnth).

Do you think knowing the cost of living that we will have enough disposable income?

Any advice is as always greatefully received..

[lastminutemom]

(Unless you are Expats in England) I presume your husband is confident that he can get a Visa to work here. With the slowing economy, it is my understanding that those are harder to get. You will need a Visa to work here as well. Unless you are in some high demand, low supply field, I can't imagine many companies willing to foot the expense for a part time worker.

The key thing in Atlanta, in terms of quality of life, is to live as close to work as you can. So, if your husband's job is downtown you will have very different choices/options than if it is in say Alpharetta or Stone Mountain. What your money will buy will range greatly by where you want to live.

Lots of families live ok on that salary. Most do with less, in fact. The challenge for you is that most don't take two international trips a year and need to buy two cars as well.

There are real bargains to be found for renters right now, so that should help you.

[RainyRainyDay]

If you move mid-year, you'll get a big break on income tax for your first partial year here, unless IRS rules have changed in the six years since I moved to the US from Canada. (It's because your tax rate is based on your annual income in the USA and they don't pro-rate by the portion of the year actually spent in the country, so for that first half-year, you're taxed like a much lower-income family). That's very helpful with the initial expenses of moving and getting set up in a new place.

lastminutemom is correct about the difficulties of visas and status for working in the US.

It's true that the majority of American families make do on less income than a $90K salary-with-benefits. However, your expectations look to be on the optimistic side to me. I support LMM's comments on that too.

[Edgar4]

Hi,

Thanks for the comments. I should have pointed put that I am a USC but have lived most of my life in the UK so I am sponsoring my husband and children.

I appreciate your comments on my 2 trips to England a yr. May need to re-think a few things... or just hope DH finds a job for more $ a year..(wouldn't that be nice)

[atlantamoi]

I don't think you'd have a problem making that work on $90k. Guess it depends on if you'll have car payments and more credit card debt. I make less than that with one child and a mortgage similar to what you have, but no other debt. Just being careful with my money has enabled us to have very little problems financially. Of course, if I were to lose my job then things would start getting weird a half year later if I was still looking.

[crux]

If you buy realistic/functional cars (used for savings!) and purchase a house in the 150-200k range I think you could easily live your expectations.

[gt6974a]

Just an FYI if you don't know but visa work doesn't pay what regular salary workers get either, even though it's the same job, so you need to be sure first. It also cost a company to sponsor so this limits the number of jobs as well.

[Edgar4]

Originally Posted by gt6974a

Just an FYI if you don't know but visa work doesn't pay what regular salary workers get either, even though it's the same job, so you need to be sure first. It also cost a company to sponsor so this limits the number of jobs as well.

Would this apply if my husband is a legal permanent resident? He will not be applying for a work based visa as he is is getting one as an innediate reliative of a USC.

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by Edgar4

Would this apply if my husband is a legal permanent resident? He will not be applying for a work based visa as he is is getting one as an innediate reliative of a USC.

He should be okay then.

[blackrabbit]

Be aware some things cost way more here in the US. When we moved here we were shocked. Specifically:

Property tax/council tax

Car Insurance

Home Insurance

Telephones

Utilities

Obviously health insurance

Flights to Europe (no competition from Atlanta)

Home maintenance (they are built terribly here and you will have way more maintenance costs)

Also you do now have the captial gains exclusions you have in the UK.

Overall you will be OK on 90k and probably have more "things" but be careful about the ongoing costs. Do not just buy a bigger house than the UK without considering the much increased running costs.