A smattering of questions about SLC: booze restrictions, break-ins, and the bizarre

[Montygirl]

Originally Posted by rallybug

There's ups and downs compared to the UK - $3 a gallon gas versus over $7 a gallon in the UK, my parents home in Somerset which I guess is around 1500sqft is worth around £200k, so $250k here thanks to the post-Brexit exchange rate (it would've been around $300k at the exchange rates when I moved here in 2011) I've found that some things are more expensive, some less - although 20% VAT compared to around 6.85% sales tax is a big difference!

Good luck back in Blighty!

I agree but actually my fuel consumption cost is about the same as you only get 19mpg in my car here vs 40mpg in my old car in the UK so put in twice as much fuel therefore not massive savings.Its not so much the cost but the efficiency. Plus i walk more at home and do public transport(sometimes expensive for longer journeys) so car usage actually for me is qute low. Car insurance here is astronomical(as is most insurance for anything). We get a generous allowance in the UK via work and never hit the budget or even half of it, here we smash that budget in 6 months and have shopped around meaning we have to cover our own insurance for 6 months of the year

Yes 20% vat is high but the price you pay is the price you see , 6.85% sales tax is added on and believe me my grocery bill is double what it was in the UK and thats without any booze and thats not at high end stores

Flights, vacations are more expensive even domestically. Just cost me $150 for 3 of us to go from UK to Ireland in Feb half term so $50 each return. Here for the same flight time to california cheapest you can get is about $140 return each.Hotels /motels are pricey even if do stuff like air B&B, we do camp but we also did back home too.Although the NP here are out of this world and still cant convey their true beauty even in a picture

Cell phone over $55 a month tarriff no free handset, same deal in UK when I was home in summer $15
Water bill here $70 to $180 a month depending on season, UK $40 a month over 10 months not 12

Property you do get more for your money here possibly but we do have low mortgage rates and also property prices here are hot so things are climbing at a very quick rate especially in the more popular areas.

Beer/Wine Liquor whether buy in a store or go out is alot more, eating out varies. Some places are cheap but more quantity over quality sometimes. Steaks however much cheaper for better cut!!

Wages for me back home twice that of here for same job and also get vacation pay and sick pay and pension. Husbands job private sector so probably relative and global rather than local/national company

Worst is medical, we have amazing insurance but still pay for alot of stuff(luckily nothing so far serious) and obviously when have 2 kids and get free healthcare, meds and optical in UK then pay for it here it soon adds up.

It is a great lifestyle here but want to see family more than once every 2 years and if away long term then has to be worthwhile. The mountains , outdoor lifestyle yes is second to none although we were an active family in UK. Not so many mountains but lots of walking holidays via countryside and biked alot.
Skiing 30 mins from door here wins hands down in that respect.

. I think for those who have always lived here yes maybe cheap but in general the US has seen price rises quite a bit. My Dad has a holiday home in the US and has done for years and he thinks things have got expensive here too. Sadly some of that is due to the litigation culture .In terms of life experience and enjoyment no regrets at all and has been wonderful for us as a family but with education being a big factor for my kids now its the final tipping factor and we need to decide long term where to be.

Utah has been kind to our family and amazing life experience for my kids which they will never forget and we will still stay in touch with people and visit as will they. We still see friends now from when we lived in New Zealand 15 years ago

[irman]

Montygirl, please check your direct Message in-box

[Montygirl]

Originally Posted by irman

Montygirl, please check your direct Message in-box

I have, thanks Irman :-)

[irman]

Originally Posted by Montygirl

Yes 20% vat is high but the price you pay is the price you see , 6.85% sales tax is added on and believe me my grocery bill is double what it was in the UK and thats without any booze and thats not at high end stores

Montygirl, is food from grocery stores (those that are not *in-store* hand prepared, ready to eat) taxed ?
Utah is one of the few States in the USA where food is taxed.

Ready to eat food, such as from restaurants or fast food places (MickeyD can talk themselves until blue in the face, I will never classify their place as a restaurant !), is always taxed, everywhere !

Last but not least, your food bill being double here is a bit on the high estimate ?
I Googled (you have to take that into account ...) that question and I did see a few high cost items. Bread, Rice and Onions were twice+ the cost !
Strange when you think that *you* import Rice, and the USA is a fairly large producer of rice.

Overall more expensive here than in the UK.

Could that be because of the food tax here ?

[Montygirl]

Originally Posted by irman

Montygirl, is food from grocery stores (those that are not *in-store* hand prepared, ready to eat) taxed ?
Utah is one of the few States in the USA where food is taxed.

Ready to eat food, such as from restaurants or fast food places (MickeyD can talk themselves until blue in the face, I will never classify their place as a restaurant !), is always taxed, everywhere !

Last but not least, your food bill being double here is a bit on the high estimate ?
I Googled (you have to take that into account ...) that question and I did see a few high cost items. Bread, Rice and Onions were twice+ the cost !
Strange when you think that *you* import Rice, and the USA is a fairly large producer of rice.

Overall more expensive here than in the UK.

Could that be because of the food tax here ?

Well most isn't but have some weird ones where pay tax on it if a hot chicken but if uncooked then no.Same with a sausage roll, if cold not taxed, if heated then is Most food no you don't pay tax. Oh I am with you there, anywhere I don't get proper cutlery and a plate to me is not a restaurant ! I am not a fast food fan anyway tbh and prefer quality over quantity!

Bread, rice, pasta, fruit, cereal,eggs, milk anything healthy lol!Hence why soda is cheap and processed meals. Meat is about same although steak often cheaper.Veggies vary
Potato chips are way more and candy. I struggle that Utah is so expensive on groceries especially as we are so close to California and Utah quite an agricultural area. Maybe it is tax but that would not make the cost double. My husband rarely grocery shops but when he does come with and we do a reasonable shop he needs to have a lie down and that's without any alcoholic beverages lol

[irman]

My *knowledge* of the UK, (and also Ireland), was like, fly in, get a cab (have a fun ride in front ! worthwhile experience !) or rent a car (get a nervous breakdown driving endlessly around roundabouts ... huge signs where to go on the Motorway, small signs once on the roundabouts, if I had the wife with me, she was just giggling forever ...) visit the business, go back to the airport and fly *home* again.

Best memories of the UK ... in Ireland, *partaking* of that huge breakfast they serve with *I assume* umpteen kinds of meat ... Heavens, how can you finish that huge plate of food ?

So thanks, for your insights and reports.

I just hope that your kids will somehow still establish roots, while ours have been *yanked* from one place to another every 5 years on the average, they have no roots anywhere. I am sure that your brood, *away from home-country* experiences will enhance their outlook on life and the world.
All the best to you and your family wherever you end up again and again !

[Montygirl]

Originally Posted by irman

My *knowledge* of the UK, (and also Ireland), was like, fly in, get a cab (have a fun ride in front ! worthwhile experience !) or rent a car (get a nervous breakdown driving endlessly around roundabouts ... huge signs where to go on the Motorway, small signs once on the roundabouts, if I had the wife with me, she was just giggling forever ...) visit the business, go back to the airport and fly *home* again.

Best memories of the UK ... in Ireland, *partaking* of that huge breakfast they serve with *I assume* umpteen kinds of meat ... Heavens, how can you finish that huge plate of food ?

So thanks, for your insights and reports.

I just hope that your kids will somehow still establish roots, while ours have been *yanked* from one place to another every 5 years on the average, they have no roots anywhere. I am sure that your brood, *away from home-country* experiences will enhance their outlook on life and the world.
All the best to you and your family wherever you end up again and again !

Bless you Irman, ha ha roundabouts! There are more creeping up here ! Ireland is amazing and where my in laws are. Went there at least 4 times a year when lived there as lots of family there and part of my kids roots. Flights are also extremely cheap and quick although option of driving and car ferry. So right on the breakfasts!!


Mine going back to old neighbourhood so will be fine. Friends still there and going back into schools (one where they were before and one to middle /high where all her friends have gone) and a community they were very much a part of especially as only a smallish town.Family max an hour away and childhood friends. However a piece of them is retained here and thanks to having amazing friends here and technology there will still be contact as there has been from the UK in the 2 years we moved away from our old community.We are back for a visit here next summer.

We have roots in the UK both where we grew up and the community we lived in for the last 15 years as it is a close knit place where most people know each other so im sure they will miss here but settle back in fine as they have living here for 2 years. Their interests at home were pursued here and so opened up their social side ad circle and been blessed with making friends easily via school too and us as parents.

As we speak one has just got back from a sleepover and another was round a friends hanging out last night . This is our first move and I do not think now we will get the chance to move again in the next few years, although never say never and now in a certain part of schooling would be happy to stay where we are and travel freely for vacations when get time off as we did before. Europe as you know is small and accessable so lots of places can be done in long w/e's

I completely agree that being away has enhanced their outlook on life and definately been the most positive experience we could have wished for. Now we have friends in at least 4 continents which is always a great thing when you do live in a couple of different places.

Thanks for your good wishes and stay in touch, I bet your kids had a blast growing up and as you say being mutli lingual is never a bad thing in this global world :-)