Would you move to Texas for USD 5k more a month

[Constance17]

DH has been offered a job in U.S, we have children aged 6 & 8. What concerns you most?

Nope. Wouldn't move back to Texas for millions of $ a month. No way, no how.

Signed,
An American Expat and ex Texan

Q1 why are they paying $5k more?
Q2 as it’s Texas, why is it only $5k?

Also, are you white?

The chance of someone randomly shooting you is very very small just like the chance of someone randomly throwing acid in your face in the UK.

Are you not very good at statistics? Gun homicides (just homicides not injuries - like acid would be) are 5 times as likely per person in the US than an acid attack in the UK. So you are 5 times more likely to be murdered with a gun in the States than you are to be injured in the UK with acid. Add firearm injuries, it's probably somewhere around 50 times more likely.

It's not great but I mean seriously? It's not great but... 40000 completely preventable deaths. It's not great? The same number as road deaths?

I am laughing at all the posters slagging off the US education system. I am American, now living permanently in the UK. Having worked in both systems as a teacher, I would take the US system over the UK any day of the week. It is actually the only thing I don't like in the UK, even though overall, I prefer life here. I love my home country, but the guns put me off...I have no desire to live there again.

American schools can be up to 2 years behind UK. And American adults about 5 decades behind.

yes every time I read something about brexit and your wonderful prime minister and your deep understanding of the peace treaty that ended your civil war I think this - why are English people so wonderfully evolved compared to than the rest of us. they really do deserve that Great they gave themselves in the title of the country.

Sorry - then I read your post again and I realised you meant 50 year olds were acting like 100 year olds etc and understood.

Gun homicides (just homicides not injuries - like acid would be) are 5 times as likely per person in the US than an acid attack in the UK.

These kinds of statistics are used to drum up fear. It's like the statistics I got on VBAC and uterine rupture. You're 3x as likely to have a uterine rupture if you induce or you have more than one section or blah blah blah, what they don't say is that your chance of a serious uterine rupture is still far less than 1%

Yes, there is a risk. There is a risk with everything in life but I wouldn't write off a whole country as being mad with mass murderers. It's just not true.

I have close family who moved from the UK to the suburbs of Houston. They love it. Kids are very settled in American schools, fantastic schools actually, to the degree the family would remain there for the education alone!

They did however choose their home according to the school district as it has outstanding schools, on a par with private schools in the UK with so many great opportunities for the students. There is a British International school in Houston though if that’s preferable, but very costly.

They are of course still mindful of the gun issue, racism and religion being a huge deal to Texans, but they are embracing the good parts of the place and the lifestyle they can afford due to a very good salary and well negotiated relocation package.

I have visited and really enjoyed it, coming away thinking I could quite happily live there (if I had the same type of home, lifestyle etc they have). I appreciate it’s not for everyone though.

There is a risk. And having travelled in many many countries and lived in a few, the risk is worth it in some and not in others. It wouldn't be worth it for me.

Nope. The Americans have lost their minds.

I would no more move my family to Texas for a job than I would to Syria.

US is now on our 'No go' list for the foreseeable future.

As a Brit living in Texas I would say 100% go for it!

totally depends where in Texas, and if you get health insurance provided for the family at no cost to you. The bulk of that could go on healthcare costs alone, if not.

I would not move to Texas. It is a right to carry state, and people do, many of them. Also, lots of parts are very right wing. Except Austin. I'd move there. Great place, all in all.

The amount of people who have no idea what they're talking about and making hysterical comments on this thread is hilarious, classic MN 😆

Anyway, my advice would be to simply go and visit, make a pros and cons list and decide for yourself. I've lived in quite a few different parts of the world now and what I've learnt is for the most part there's nowhere you can objectively say is "better" or "worse". Assuming you're talking about a developed country, it tends to just be different. So the school system could be worse, but the healthcare better. People might be less liberal, but could be friendlier. Etc. You get the idea.

One thing I would say though is that if you will be significantly better off financially then that's a huge plus point, and will usually mean you have a much better lifestyle in that place. It's sad but true that being richer makes life easier/better in a lot of ways. So if you're going to have all of that extra income then I would advise you to do a bit of research on the cost of living and if you find that you're still coming out with a lot more money every month then that would be a VERY compelling reason to move.

You need to find out what they would be paying a citizen for that same job, and get a written definition of the benefits so you can go through it with someone who knows local conditions.

Do they welcome foreigners?

Does the healthcare package for family and children end the day employment is terminated, or the company goes bust? how will you pay if you break your leg on the way to the airport, or are already undergoing treatment? I hear most people who go bankrupt in the US have large unpaid medical bills. Coincidence?

Most definitely not. Not for all the money in the world. $5k doesn’t go very far here at all. Even in a state with no income tax. This is not a nice place to be poor. There’s not much of a welfare safety net for US citizens, less do for green card holders and nothing for non-resident visa holders.

To answer the question you actually posted “what concerns you most?”, what concerns me is that a job offer is meaningless without visa sponsorship. I’m a member of an online expat group here and we hear almost weekly from someone who has been “offered a job” here, usually by a company that has no idea how employment visas work, which jobs qualify, how much it costs, how long it takes, etc. so before you start pricing up flights, find out if it’s even going to happen. It’s no secret this is one of the hardest places to immigrate to unless you fall into a very narrow well-defined category of people. Visas: If they are proposing an H-1B, forget it. It’s massively oversubscribed. Only 25% who apply are selected. The earliest you could love would be October 2020, if the company even wants to wait that long. The spouse can never, ever work. An O-1 is worth considering but if he’s that good they should be offering a darn sight more than $5k more than he is currently on. Rule of thumb is take your UK salary, double it and that’s the dollar amount you need to be looking at to break even in terms of what you are giving up and getting back in return. Doesn’t sound like an L-1 as that’s not a new job offer but your existing job being transferred. Note that with few exceptions work visas are time-limited. Once they are up, you have to leave the country immediately. And go back to what in the UK? No job? No home? No thanks!
Health insurance alone is likely to cost about half of the $5k a month for a family of 4 once you factor in your deductibles, co-pays and MOOPs.

I wouldn’t move to anywhere in the US for any amount of money. I’m not proud to be British but it’s still better than there.

We were offered the choice between the USA and Australia. And we picked Sydney. More than guns, for us it was the big reduction in holidays fo DH.
To the poster who commented on where do you go to church, it was the first question I was asked repeatedly by new people I met here on the Northern Beaches. A mother even greeted me at school ( public not religious) with” have you felt the love of Jesus today? “ so religion is far more dominant outside Europe I would say!

Too many factors and not only salary will determine if the move is right.

@Constance17

Not in million years would I move to America.

What job does your DH do? Why is it £60K a year MORE in the US?

@Constance17 What an amazing coincidence that this job just happens to be where there has just been a mass shooting. Funny that.

How are you with heat, guns and religion? They are somewhat defining factors I’m afraid.

Where in Texas? Texas is an enormous place that varies hugely in local attitudes/climate/schooling etc.

Is it just 5k or are there other benefits? Or housing, schooling, health insurance etc?

As examples in TX we pay
House insurance 3,500
Car insurance for 2 cars 2,000 (you def need 2)
Property tax 8,000 (and that’s a cheap one)
Housing association 1,000
Copay insurance 6,000
On average last 3 years 4,300/yr health bills

So that’s 25k right there, gone. With not much to show for it.

and if it’s houston, it’s the most boring place I’ve ever lived, and we don’t have spare money to travel.

This! Agreed!!

Oh and our closest high school where I need to take DC tomorrow for a music lesson has just had a threat made against it, police surrounding the school, helicopters overhead, suspect in custody, all happened today.

I wouldn't live anywhere that bullet proof school backpacks are a 'thing'.
Where dead children, in numbers too heartbreaking to think of, are acceptable collateral damage for the personal right to own a gun. And they are. Gun nuts don't give a shit how many people are shot as long as they get to keep their mitts on their weapon.
It's not so much the fear of being shot, it's the MINDSET. The minute a mass shooting happens and there are way way too many, people are buying MORE guns rather than saying "hey, this is not acceptable, what can we do". I wouldn't live where life is valued so little and the idiots think gun laws means no guns.
And a red state? Couldn't pay me anything that would make living in a red state worth it. And I'm white.