Moving from London to New York- HELP PLEASE

[Newjobformoremoney]

Hi all,
In a bit of a whirlwind week it seems highly likely that we are relocating to New York for 6 months. Its all a bit overwhelming.
We have a dog that we'd take with us, has anyone done that and can recommend a service? Schooling? How do we manage that? We have a 5 year old and ideally I would cut my hours to PT (visa depending).
Apartment would be sorted by the company I think, but they have a few so does anyone recommend a good family friendly area?
What else should I be thinking about? What should I be thinking about? Any advice? Any good links?
They'd like us to move in January.... which feels very soon!
Any words of wisdom?

So I think you need to rule out working for 6 months.

so how would that leave your career and LTIP?

Yes but much more likely it won’t be FT or PT

Honestly, I wouldn't go?
It's going to screw your career and mess up your daughters education and it's only for 6 months?
Or your husband goes and visits home loads / you spend all the school holidays there?

Do it, you'll have a brilliant time! There are some really good public schools here. You don't get to choose, you get allocated one and can't guarantee that it will be the closest one but in Manhattan there are very few "bad" ones. For great public schools I would recommend the Upper East Side/Yorkville area especially.

There is absolutely loads of things going on for kids so it's a great place to be - plus a lot of the expensive things have local residents' discounts, especially museums.

It's extremely hot in summer and extremely cold in winter, but the city is very well set up for those extremes so it's no trouble really.

The visa process is painful, just to warn you! And two months sounds a bit tight, but if the company is used to doing it then it probably has a good idea of the predicted timings.

When choosing somewhere to live I would really recommend being near a subway station and a supermarket as traveling around can be annoying if you're not. Feel free to PM me with any questions - we relocated with our (then) two five year olds a few years ago. It's a fab place to be.

Makes no sense - you are the major earner but would jeopardise your career for your partner's 6 month stint abroad?

Stay put. Fly over and visit them in school holidays and have the do a couple of visits home too. Zoom with DC once a day. It'll be gone in a blink.

If you are between jobs then i'd go in a heartbeat but not if it means leaving a good position.

Honestly - not worth it for 6 months, especially as you can go over for the long private school holiday's including Easter. We lived there for 3 years with children.

Jan - March can be harsh. We got snowed in and had hurricane Sandy with flooding. We also had a small earthquake! The weather can be volatile. Subway - I'd agree dirty and can be threatening even with children. We ended up walking or using private taxis, because of the incidents. And we grew up in a tough area.

Your child will need to have a couple of more vaccinations prior to them starting any schooling.

Our initial commitment was a year and that flew by. Definitely wouldn't ship my dog over for that period of time.

We enjoyed it on the whole - but I'd say you would get the same experience going for longer holidays, rather than doing the whole of 6 months.

Having been a military spouse, I would say considering your own successful job and daughter’s private education, I would stay in the UK and let your partner go to NY.
It’s only 6 months and what a load of upheaval for that.

Not dismissing the move but military spouses efficiently sustain family life for 9 month op tours and sometimes multiple in a row with only a short R&R time.

I’m just suggesting you staying in the Uk to save the stress and your partner could come back to visit a couple of times and you could go out a couple of times for holidays. Military personnel get 2 weeks in 6 week tour or 3 weeks I think in a 9 month tour, so from that perspective, 6 months away with a few vacations would be very doable.

One thing to consider on the schooling front, OP, is whether you’ll be eligible for state schooling.

Most temporary work visas require you to maintain a residence in your home country - your status in the US may not be that of resident alien, but as a temporary visitor, and so your child may not be eligible for state schooling in NY.

This would be something to check with lawyers.

Having lived overseas in various places I'd say 6 months just isn't long enough. Such upheaval and it'll be over in a flash. Also, as much as I love NYC , I wouldn't want to live there. I'd stay in the UK like other posters have suggested.

He'll be on a work visa and she and the children will be dependents. They will be able to access public school. You only need to prove that you are living in NYC (you can use your lease or a utility bill etc).

Just seen it's not necessary NYC, but even then , I wouldn't .

I would recommend posting under the US part of Brit expats.com forum, you will get proper advice from people have moved there and taken animals and gone for work reasons.

i suspect they will advise against it for six months too. I doubt you would get the work visa, you won’t be able to work on his, you may lose your current school place and not get one one your return, the cost to transport a dog both ways is very expensive, exchange rate, cost of living, leaving your house empty for longer than three months for insurance purposes etc etc

Thanks. Please can we try and keep to the point of the thread? You don’t think we should go fair enough, but to reiterate again this is what is right for our family and I would appreciate if some posters would respect that.

@Sestriere thanks for that. I’ll look into it.
ideally I’d like my dom not to change as I’ve already have a bit of a complicated tax situation so that would be helpful advice

For those who are currently in NYC would it be totally inappropriate to ask if what DP work is offering would be enough to live on?

Ask away! Should be able to give you a good idea,

You need to look at NYC public schools.
The chances of getting into a private school for the second semester are slim to none, but you could try RC schools. A child of five isn't going to suffer too badly from basically reinforcing learning already done in Reception. Don't dismiss the American approach to K-3 education. It's not deficient, just different.

I think your child will be lonely if she doesn't go to school, and you and your H will also miss out on the company of other parents and a big chunk of American/ NYC culture, which is half the fun of spending time there imo. There will be birthday parties, playdates, etc for your child - a lot more fun than life without company. There's only so much library and museum visiting a child of five will appreciate.

Assuming the other language is French?

frenchlanguagek12.org/4151-french-dual-language-programs-nyc-public-schools

If your H's company is providing an apartment, do they know you will need to keep school for DD in mind?
Double check where the company's apartments are located. Look at catchments.

I assume if a company apartment it will be furnished and with all necessary appliances.

I suspect you won't be able to work for a six month secondment, but you might be able to work remotely for whatever employer you currently work for. DH's company needs to look into tax and visa implications for you, or your employer can figure it out.

Your child will need to be up to date with her vaccinations in order to go to school, either public or private. You can find out what NYC requires online here:
www.schools.nyc.gov/docs/default-source/default-document-library/health-and-wellness/immunization-requirements-letter-and-chart

KIN wear is a line of satin lined hoodies. They're really nice. I have one.
kinapparel.org/

Not at all. It's a question you NEED to ask - if you're going to have upheaval, you need to know it will be as comfortable as possible as well as what the situation will be for progress when you return to the UK.

Moving back and forth can bump you right up the pay scale and it does have value in that regard.

...you might be able to work remotely for whatever employer you currently work for.

If the visa has no work authorisation that means no work - paid or unpaid, for US or foreign employers, while in the US.

We did this about 13 years ago. My advice would be to lean on your husband's company for support. Minimum they should provide a broker to help find an apartment, contact for both moving the dog and any personal items (don't assume what you can take on a plane will be enough) and support to work through school options for you and then help you navigate the NYC public system (if you go that way). That may well influence where you live. Chances are the relocation team will have all this expertise (my husband's employer did) but check now so if they don't, you have time to make a case that they should provide. Some companies short change on these experts but I think it's crucial in order for you and your family to land comfortably.

i live between both cities and agree with this. It’s way too much upheaval for only six months, especially over winter. NYC is the coldest place I’ve spent time in. Plus the city’s social issues right now are still a long way from being resolved.

I’d renegotiate the whole thing as just DH and get the relocation costs for you, DD and DDog rolled into his salary, along with lots of flights for him to come home and you and DD to visit.

Totally unrelated and please don’t be offended but ‘C-suite’ is really cringe.

Thanks @gwenneh and @azimuth299 at the moment the offer is 280k plus a 3 bed furnished apartment. There is healthcare too and other beniefts. Does this sound like ok salary? It will be a step down if I can’t earn anything but I think apartment might even it out? Thoughts?

Wrt the compensation package - is the accommodation included?
Nice if yes, but there may be tax implications to this. You need to ask the company about this.

$280K is a comfortable salary (I assume it will be $140K over six months).