Am I a complete weirdo for contemplating moving to America?

I’m a Brit living in the US. It is absolutely true that the cost of living here is higher than in the UK, but it is NOWHERE NEAR three times higher. And don’t forget that a salary that’s 3x higher would be even higher on a net basis as taxes are usually lower (though this varies by state).

Oh you sweet summer child!

I’ve just come back from a 2 week holiday in America. Definitely couldn’t live there!

I was thinking more that I don’t want them shot.

Yes $5k sounds low to me - I'm sure it would be much higher in any town that the OP is going to want to live in. My property tax recently hit $13k here in a nice school district in Maine...

My mortgage payment is less than my tax payment at this point...

Seems like you have your heart set on going, so go.

Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to go to the US right now. I would also hate to live in a house that big, you would need more than full-time hours just to clean it. Heating, electricity, taxes and homeowners-insurance would also be through the roof. Your husband higher salary would likely be eaten up with all your extra living costs.

There is also the fact that the US is car country. Walking and/or biking anywhere is dangerous and difficult, as the country is designed to be traversed by cars exclusively.

My goodness! Some of the replies here! It really shows how polarized people’s news sources are!

If you have good health insurance you’ll get much better healthcare than you will in the UK.

This is certainly not true everywhere, my kids are required to take at least 3 years of language in HS (14-18), learn real science and have taken a multitude of history classes and classes about the world including one that required learning every single country in the world and its capital and also one where they learned about the origins of languages around the world. Evolution as science will pretty much only be taught in a private religious school so parents are paying money to avoid being taught real facts

Theres no reason why you couldn’t come back if you didn’t settle there? My cousin moved there 10 plus years ago, he’s in Oregon, absolutely loves the outdoors, the space, the house he can afford, he misses some things about the UK but not enough to come back. He can’t stand Trump but the good elements outweigh the bad for him. In your position, I think I’d go.

About $5000/year seems to be median property tax in CT. So that would be kind of like having a council tax bill in Band G in Cambridge right now. I imagine much higher property taxes in the best public school districts in CT.

the food in supermarkets is horrible - all mass produced meat and cheese. even in New York and Brooklyn where I thought it would be better.
I won't even visit there now.
apart from all the med insurance you need and cost of education.
of course just my view but honestly I know brits there now - stuck with post doc visa problems and they regret being there.
(and even educated people have guns!!)
i know it feels mad here but worse there

Frinkleg:
so would you expect to buy or rent?
I assume you drive, Are you hoping to be a SAHM or could his visa allow you to work?
How would you like to arrange childcare if you're working?

Is this Quora estimate of your husband's paid vacation time (2 wks/yr) what he's seen in the contract offer?

I assume you've focused your home searches already in "good" public school districts

Has your calculator accounted for these things:
Annual Property taxes
Dental treatment for 5 people
Costs to insure and run 2 cars average each 11,300 miles/year.

Depends on whether you been there/ lived there before, and know how the people are and how the life generally is in the USA. Apart from the current situation, its mostly a very conservative country, cliquey and class based - and very, very racist. Overall, people are lovely, but they are very naïve and childish, got strange sense of humour and in many ways are complete aliens to anyone not raised in the US.

Plus - medical insurance, you really need to have a good one or you stuffed. You need to understand how it works and accept the way it is. No insurance - basically, no treatment.

Pay is generally much better than here but they don't have any employment laws so you can come to work on Monday and be told you are sacked - no notice, no redundancy pay, nothing.

Houses are huge but these great cheap houses are usually in quite remote areas, you will need to use to drive everywhere.

And, of course, guns. Shootings, every day, and school shooter drills. For me, this would be the main reason not to go there.

Are you seriously having a laugh..you have 3 young kids..and taking them to that gun ridden shit hole..give your head a shake..my ex husband lives there and is a trump supporter but still would not recommend living there..he has his own businesses there but nah he said he will eventually be back in the UK out of there..he wouldn't bring kids up there if he had a choice.. and he certainly wouldn't bring them out of the UK to schools in America

That's a bit broad-brush. White and middle class I am indeed, but I am also v. gay and live next door to a Trump supporter who bristles with guns (apparently - I've never ben in his home). We get on fine in spite of everything and bond over my cat who rather hurtfully prefers him to me. Not everyone is as rabid as social media makes people out to be, fortunately.

Your head is understandably being turned by the dream of a big house and pool but I think if you were to really think on it, you wouldn't really want to leave home.
Occasionally, usually this time of year when November is much colder and more miserable than it is now, I daydream about moving out to Australia to live near my sister. We took could have a great life there. But I soon come to my senses when I think of leaving behind the rest of my family, our lifelong friends, everything the kids have known, their friends, their schools, and all of our memories. To go somewhere where you are a foreigner, where the kids might struggle to settle and fit in, where you might feel like an outsider, where you'll have to get used to different food, a different climate, a different culture, all while trying to settle into a new job and make new friends. I couldn't do it in any new country, not for me.

But all that .. and it's also America? No thank you. I was planning a trip to New York for my 40th but I've even decided against just a Holiday. I've no interest even visiting while Trump is in charge or any republican for that matter.

Alright if you're white, heterosexual, middle class... Sure. But is that the message you want to send? You'll welcome me but not my gay neighbour so I'll come? Nope nope nope.

It is of course up to you, but I'd suggest some deep soul searching

We'll see what the future brings.

On the subject of inflation, OP you'd better ensure that your online calculators are up-to-date as the situation changes:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/inflation-under-donald-trump

To be fair, it varies massively. Not just from state-to-state, but from School Board to School Board. In Texas for example, the curriculum at a public school is going to be pretty parochial, the textbooks used to (pre-2011) be selected by the State Board of Education (which was dominated by creationist climate change deniers at the time). Funding is a big issue, schools are funded by local property taxes which means that wealthy neighbourhoods get the very best facilities and poorer areas do not. This is something the DoEd was supposed to level up, but now that department is being gutted.

I’ve always got the impression that American high schoolers have to treat their school years like a career in itself if they want to go to a decent uni (college). They have to be on top of extra curriculars, societies, and god knows what else in their spare time to be accepted into good colleges. It doesn’t seem enough to just get a good gpa (?).

I've watched a number of videos of Americans who moved to the UK or other parts of Europe and they all seem to have one thing in common - they say they were sold a lie in America and it wasn’t until they moved out that they realised America is not what it told them it was since they were tiny (brainwashed really). I particularly like Evan Erdinger an American who doesn’t seem to have any intention of ever living in the US again. Also an African American family who love England and don’t want to go back. I know this is just a snapshot but all these Americans were genuinely astonished to find other countries where you could live freer and (generally) safer. I’m not a hater or anything, I really enjoyed my trips to America and never felt unsafe while holidaying.

Its your life choose yourself its a good deal more money and let's face it, over here isnt brilliant anymore.

Very true, thank you! My children are all older, even my grandkids are school age, so wasn’t the case then, when it would have mattered to them.

Also, to add, under the Affordable Care Act, children can stay on their parents healthcare until they’re 26.

Well... there are bad schools of course. And I guess it also depends on the state- some of them have gone batshit. I just meant that like all generalisations, it's not necessarily the case and it can be a fantastic education. Sorry for your nieces and nephews though,

My US children speak two languages and are very knowledgeable about world history and geography.