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Relocating to America

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Beebers
3376
Posts
EW MASTER
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 16:07
Yee haw! Another vote for Texas. Still miss it! I love the quality of living there and love the wide open skies. Like Chi2dxb I'm also quite partial to Chicago. But unless you're in the way out suburbs, I find it more expensive than Dubai. I couldn't even afford to live in the neighborhood I grew up in. Lived in Cali, too, and although housing has come down a lot, I wouldn't move back there. In TX, having a good house cleaning each week would run you $65 for a 2000 sq ft house up to $100 for a 4000 sq foot house. The only friend I had back home with a nanny and live-in maid was married to a professional ballblayer. :) I didn't come across that much
Lolacat
2738
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 15:50
my main fear is we are super spoilt in India and Dubai, you can hire someone to clean your home, nanny, laundry, wash your car, do your nails, wax etc etc,. What I want to know Brits Abroad, if you have kids, how did you manage with the "do it yourself" lifestyle vs "get everything done for you"? I may sound horrible saying this, but I imagine a day of waking up at 5.30 am, dropping my baby off to daycare, after a long day at work, pick him up, come home, cook, clean, do the laundry, weekends probably cook for the week ahead. I forgot to mention DH would be traveling all week and only be home on weekends so the entire responsibility falls on me. Is it worth it? Yes, why not?
ghanagal919
13
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 15:30
Leenavaz, if you decide to move to the US, I have some American appliances (110 voltage) that you can have, eg. toaster oven, vacuum cleaner. Because of the voltage difference they can't be used in Dubai. They are in excellent condition, and you are welcome to them.
CAPTAINGERRYS70110
331
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 15:11
I say move. Texas is as cheap as chips for accommodation and schooling is ok too....and cleaners from over the border are great as well.
leenavaz23285
49
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 14:57
my main fear is we are super spoilt in India and Dubai, you can hire someone to clean your home, nanny, laundry, wash your car, do your nails, wax etc etc,. What I want to know Brits Abroad, if you have kids, how did you manage with the "do it yourself" lifestyle vs "get everything done for you"? I may sound horrible saying this, but I imagine a day of waking up at 5.30 am, dropping my baby off to daycare, after a long day at work, pick him up, come home, cook, clean, do the laundry, weekends probably cook for the week ahead. I forgot to mention DH would be traveling all week and only be home on weekends so the entire responsibility falls on me. Is it worth it?
leenavaz23285
49
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 14:52
we would continue paying 2000$ monthly towards our debt in Dubai, and on research, 100k equals to take home of approx 6700 after tax minus 2000, we are basically left with 4700 monthly for all expenses - rent, food, baby formula, diapers, going out, car loan, petrol and other miscellaneous expenses. Is 4700$ enough for all these expenses plus save bet 500-1000$ a month?
SunDevil
774
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 14:37
I'm partial to Texas and the south but I was born and raised in Arizona and that's a nice state too. Not a lot of people have live-in help in the states but the lifestyle is completely different than here so you can't really compare the two. In the states it's so easy to grocery shop at one store so you aren't running from store to store like here and using up a lot of time. Your child's school will most likely be a neighborhood school and be within walking or biking distance so again, you aren't spending an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon doing the school run. There isn't a "school run" in the states. Lots of the private schools offer a Mother's Day Out (MDO) program where the littles can start as young as 18 months and go for 3-4 hours three days a week to give moms time for themselves and from there it can move into a more formal PreK program. My son went to a local church for his PreK terms even though we didn't attend church. It was an outstanding program and he went three days a week from 8:45-2:15 and we paid $230 US a month. So much more affordable than here. I have no idea how many days a fortnight is but my friends and I had people that cleaned our homes and came in once a week and we weren't by any means "wealthy" so a cleaning lady is affordable and realistic for many people in the states. Also, you will find so many high school or college kids that want and need to babysit. I had two outstanding high school seniors that I used as babysitters and they were great with my children and between the two of them I could always find a sitter for a night out.
aa5207
131
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 14:34
I would suggest Texas as well. Austin/Houston would be my choice .Good schooling system, cheaper cost of living, affordable in terms of buying a house and the odds of you finding a job are easier. In California or the East coast a salary of 100K can make your situation a little tight. <em>edited by aa5207 on 13/01/2013</em>
CAPTAINGERRYS70110
331
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 14:01
Dh’s job allows us to live anywhere we want in America, what cities would you recommend? Florida [b'>Texas[/b'> Nevada Wyoming Are all states without personal income tax (Massachusetts may have been added to that list by now.) Delaware and New Hampshire have no sales tax. <em>edited by CAPTAINGERRYS on 13/01/2013</em>
Brits Abroad
38
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 13:41
I have recently moved to Dubai from the USA....and miss the lifestyle sooo much! I do not have children, but most of my friends/colleagues did and they used some great nanny/baby sitting agencies. And like Chi2dxd said, on $100k salary, you can easily afford a nanny and cleaner...... in the US a lot of the nurseries/schools are open 'full time' and children can attend after school activities. My old bosses children attended nursery from about 6 weeks old, as the maternity leave is awful and she would drop them off at 7:30am and pick them up at 5:30pm as she went back to work full time. Food and clothes are sooo much cheaper in the USA...... I still get freaked out at the prices over here....and here we live TAX FREE! I lived on the east coast (Atlanta and Miami).....and would move back to Atlanta in a heart beat......its the main hub for Delta airlines and you can get a flight to almost anywhere in the USA within 4hrs.....plus a lot of international flights come in/out of Atlanta. The weather is great, especially in the summer......but you do get cold winters....but not as cold as the north. The schooling was good and there was always something to do, whether you had a family or not. I was nervous about moving to the USA (from the UK) at first but once we were there, it was so easy to make friends and feel settled. Always here if you have more questions.
Sakhifa62068
1120
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 13:31
For a lower cost of living, consider the Midwest or South...100k won't get you that far in the bigger cities, (I mean not close to the same living standard as you have here), but in the Midwest/South, it will give you a very comfortable lifestyle. You could afford a part-time babysitter, definitely not a full-time nanny in the Dubai-sense of the word. Cleaning as well, and you have the freedom to higher someone "on the side", not through an agency, however, remember there is a minimum wage and a good cleaner is going to charge more. You have to be prepared to lose some of the luxuries that you have here, the USA is just not the same, it's a trade-off, but more importantly, consider education, quality of living, freedom, etc. <em>edited by Sakhifa on 13/01/2013</em>
Chi2dxb
565
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 13 January 2013 - 13:24
With a 100k salary, you could def afford a nanny and get cleaners to come once a week. I am biased towards Chicago, but Texas is nice and very affordable. Once you go on the east or west coasts, it becomes more expensive. I would give anything to move back, especially since I have two little ones and yearn for them to grow up with their cousins, have parks all around, sidewalks to bike ride etc,. Kids entertainment is plentiful and either free or very cheap in Chicago. Even shopping for clothes and grocery is more affordable than here. I wouldn't worry about not finding help, you will def be able to afford it. There's a lot of legitimate sites and agencies that can help you find nannies, baby sitters and maids.
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