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Old 02-16-2007, 05:59 AM
 
4 posts, read 15,057 times
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Hi there,can anyone help?
Might be relocating with company to Holliston/Framingham area from the u.k..
Need some info on house rentals,schools etc in and around the area.Wife and three toddlers will be joining later maybe dog- still not sure about the dog.
Many Thanks
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Old 02-19-2007, 05:03 AM
 
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Moving from UK...lots of issues but manageable, the more questions you ask or concerns you raise the more help you can get. 1) try to get moving expenses paid by company and a "set-up" allowance for electronics (For people I transfered in my small company I paid moving expenses, one container, and $4000 set-up for TV, stero, coffee maker, clock, etc.) 2. Moving to a nice area but houses are expensive (but not compared to comparable houses in UK) expect to pay $500,000-600,000 for a 4 bedroom 2500 sq ft house on a lot with a good sized garden (compared to UK). You would pay $700,000 for a 4 bedroom with 1 acre in Holliston and Hopkinton, lessin Framingham, the further south you go the more prices drop (west of 495). Don't know what bank you have but several UK banks will transfer your credit history across with you making life MUCH easier, you can even do this if not wth a bank that does it by changing to one that does (eg HSBC) while in UK then staying with HSBC once transfer to USA for a few years. Service is much bigger in the USA so can get most anything most any time and everyone will help you out. For toddler time and for your partner to meet people go to Gymboree or similar for active playtime and meet others with similar aged kids. Schooling starts later in USA and learing too (eg we start reading later, maths, etc). I transfered three people, they loved it and refused to ever leave again. THe salaries in the USA are what you want to make them, there are no limits based on education, ties, etc. I had an engineer at the top of his salary band in the UK att £30,000 quickly making $80,000 in the USA, he commuted to the areas you are looking at from Sturbridge (a LONG commute) he had 5 kids and bought a 6 bed house on 25 acres with no problems on his salary. If you have specifics or concerns there have been several of these queries made on these boards so you can search them easily or you can email me if the board allows ( I currently live in the UK) scuba_sail_and_sconset@msn.com (scuba underscore sail underscore and underscore sconset at msn dot com)
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Old 02-19-2007, 05:07 AM
 
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Forgot about the dog - we moved ours can be fairly easily done with the new passport system for dogs but it is VERY expensive, plan on $1200 per trip. We moved her one way and kenneled for trips when we went back.
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Old 02-19-2007, 07:03 AM
 
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Thanks pondhopper-you don't know what the law is regarding my wife being able to work when we get there,I'm also estimating a salary +- $60k.I believe property is cheaper the further you move away from boston(logical) don't know if 60k will get me much but if wife works we can do a lot better.
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Old 02-19-2007, 07:31 AM
 
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Generally your wife will not be allowed to work legally. You will have a visa entitling you to work (I assume) and she would need to show proof of eligibility to work (green card, work visa, etc) which it doesn't sound like she will have. Houses are generally cheaper west and south of Boston and west of 495 (like half of the M25 as it goes from North to South of Boston via the west (east would be in the ocean). Depending on how long you will be in the US for before the family I would rent in Framingham just because there are lots of flats (apartments) available for rent. Get the lay of the land and evaluate where you want to be with the family (look at Upton; Holliston (pricey though) AREAS of Milford; Medford, Ashland, etc.) In Framingham you won't need a car right away - most of the USA you will need private transport as we have nothing like the public transport available in the UK with the exception of the Boston 'T' like the London tube which also connects to the commuter rail line which goes out to Framingham and Ashland. Between buses and rail you will be okay for a while depending on where work is. You will need to get a social security card, which you can get in Framingham, once your visa is all set, you will need this RIGHT AWAY. Credit history is how almost all is done in the USA (renting a flat, buying anything except with cash, etc), hence why I suggest transfering yours with a major financial instituion who can set you up with accounts, credit cards, and loans. Anything you want to have from the UK you can get in the shops in the US for comfort foods (but much more expensive). I don't know how much of a down payment you will have for a house or how much debt you have or will have so I can't say how much house you can get but figure 25% of your salary to housing (fortunately tax deductible interest in USA) so about a $450,000 house, which should get you started. Rule of thumb: no more than 28% of salary to housing no more than 35% of salary to all debts (car, credit card, alimony, etc). So the higher "other" debts the less available for housing. Will your employer be paying for health insurance? you will need it, especially with little kids. It is expensive but most cost of living is cheaper so it balances out. most schools are good, Holliston has good ones, Hopkinton is good up to high school, they are still sorting out the higher grades right now). Upton is growing, schools improving. You will need a pediatrician, for the kids, lots in the area - you are going to a family orientated area. If you currently own in the UK I think you will be surprised how affordable US housing will be - you should be able to bring a good chunk of cash over for a downpayment on something much more substantial, and exchange rates are great right now UK to US, horrid the other way! Good luck! Ask away!
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Old 02-19-2007, 07:47 AM
 
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Thanks pondhopper,we bank with hsbc thankfully so that shouldn't be a problem-the company have health insurance just need to find out if the family is covered.Spoke to someone at the embassy who said the wife should apply for a work visa once we're there on mine as it would be easier once she's in the country??At the moment we're living just outside london-40min on tube to central,so we're paying silly money for property,would like to rent first in u.s. for first year and keep our place here in case it doesn't work out(sure it will though) then maybe sell our place here and really go for it.
You mentioned you sent an engineer out there,you know what kind of engineer he was as I'm in similar field-Lab Automation for Pharma R&D.
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Old 02-19-2007, 08:58 AM
 
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Pharma is pretty hot right now and ties in nicely with biopharm (Amgen, etc). My field is aerospace and he was a design engineer so no real similarity. There is also a new bio pharm campus being built up in Worcester, as well as lots going on in Boston and now some in suburbs like Milford (for reference). Yes I thnk your wife applying from US would likely be best, its harder to say no when someone is already there. Family insurance likely an additional cost but should be negotiable. I think you will likely be okay for transferring homes since you are in a (relatively) high rent district (commutable to London). Bankrate has numerous calculators you can play with to see, lots depends on size of down payment (bankrate dot com). One of my transferees brought enough over to put a large enough downpayment to buy a nice big house in a reasonably priced area based on his salary, and then banked the remainder in the UK for a what if and a future nest egg out of sight out of mind. He lived in Watford in a terraced house (townhouse) in the early 90's. You can drive for a year (legally) on your UK license before needing to take the test to drive in US (its MUCH easier to pass in the US and almost everyone does - hence why our drivers are worse!).
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Old 02-19-2007, 09:03 AM
 
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Thanks for all the info,really helped a lot,much appreciated.
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Old 04-01-2009, 10:48 PM
 
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hello... found this site by accident.. and im glad i did.. ok here goes.. i met my now fiance 8mo ago.. he lives in the uk (england) and wants to move to the us to be with me.. what i need help with is how do we go about doing this and how long does this process usually take? I myself am traveling over there to visit with his family and him this month... we so miss each other and want more than anything to be together perminatly.. please someone help any and all info would be great. pixie
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