Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you very much!
I am still amazed that i have to pay roughly 33% on taxes in the US. Here in Switzerland I earn about 80000 and pay only 10% taxes. This leaves the people with more money to spend and the government gets the taxes indirectly through VAT. This on the other hand keeps the companies alive and healthy and they can produce and sell more, on which they pay taxes then.
Still looking forward to Hawai'i
Yeah, I guess I have to get used to that.
Now that we got everything together, the contracts are signed and the flight booked we have managed the biggest tasks. When we arrive we need to get a Hawaiian driving license, a car (or we ship it over from europe), an apartment and we should be good to go.
Does anyone have experience in shipping cars from europe? how much would it cost approximately?
It is a mercedes B180, 3 years old with about 40000 miles on it.
Have a great week
Congrats on the job offer. If your GF finds work in a reasonable amount of time, you shouldn't have any worries. 43K isn't a whole lot of money for 2 to live on permently, though.
Is Hawaii as expensive as you make it out to be? When I was in Kona, I checked out the classified ads in the local paper for fun and rent wasn't THAT bad and I live in a part of Canada where rent is pretty low.
What really shocked my GF and I is the amount of cars and their size. Just about 9 cars out of 10 are jacked up gas guzzling trucks. This must be pretty expensive. We both make very decent money and we don't even own a car where we live. My commute is 30 km total and I do it by bus or on bike.
The economy is pretty good where I live so I canceled my plans to move anywhere but if I ever look into moving to Hawaii again, would people have a problem with someone like me who has a french accent?
Not for employment...I would probably take the E-2 route and be self-employed, like I am here.
Say goodbye to universal health insurance, this is America home of the free (free to die). Oh, and I'm betting Kauai isn't going to have great medical care. It rains a lot too. And you can't just hop on a train to see another state/city, much less another country. Personally I'd stay in Switzerland vs Kauai.
BTW the "excise tax" here adds up to about 11% of the average person's income. If you're rich it comes out to less. That's right, not only are our taxes higher, but sometimes it ends up being regressive. America in general is disproportionately better for the rich than the middle class and poor, but Hawaii is even more so.
Last edited by winkosmosis; 04-20-2011 at 11:57 AM..
my employer is covering my health and dental insurance. I do like the swiss standard of living, the fact that everything works and taxes are low. But it is time for a change. I can always go back if things go wrong. Switzerland is only 20 hours by plane away.
was is a "excise" tax?
What is your salary going to be? Texas is only 10 hours away and even though I want to move back, I can't, because I don't have a job there. Unless you can save enough money to be flexible, you can get stuck easily.
Is Hawaii as expensive as you make it out to be? When I was in Kona, I checked out the classified ads in the local paper for fun and rent wasn't THAT bad and I live in a part of Canada where rent is pretty low.
What really shocked my GF and I is the amount of cars and their size. Just about 9 cars out of 10 are jacked up gas guzzling trucks. This must be pretty expensive. We both make very decent money and we don't even own a car where we live. My commute is 30 km total and I do it by bus or on bike.
The economy is pretty good where I live so I canceled my plans to move anywhere but if I ever look into moving to Hawaii again, would people have a problem with someone like me who has a french accent?
Not for employment...I would probably take the E-2 route and be self-employed, like I am here.
Prices are lower on rents & property on the BI, than the other islands. More land, less people and fewer jobs. Unless you live in Honolulu, taking the bus to work is probably not an option. I live 30 miles outside Honolulu and a bus ride could easily take 2 hrs. Few bikes lanes here, either.
And your accent wouldn't faze anyone. Its the people without accents that stick out! LOL
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
