Am I a complete weirdo for contemplating moving to America?

[Frinkleg]

It’s always been an option as dh is a pilot. He’s spoken to an airline out there and would be able to secure a job with 3x the salary. We would actually be able to feel a little bit more than just comfortable.

I actually really do love the UK. I enjoy village life, British holidays, Brits are just funnier etc.

But the money is just too much of a head turner.

We could afford a gorgeous home in Connecticut with a pool.

We spend a lot of time in the states but only as holidaymakers. It would certainly be an adjustment.

of course I fear guns, American politics re female rights, I’m by no means pro Trump. The ICE raids are horrific. But we’d have some bloody money. And a nice house.

I can’t imagine the US ever feeling like home that’s the only thing.

Why wouldn't you be compliant?

Go for it Op worse that happens is you don’t like it and you can come back to UK.
We are looking to move to Canada from the UK ourselves and yes we know certain parts of Canada have issues what country doesn’t at the moment but my attitude is id rather give something a try than to be too old and unable to and have so many regrets of never having given Canada a go because I was worried about the what ifs.

As I've already said, the IRS fully admits they do not make people aware of their obligations. The majority of US expats - and especially those who are citizens but raised outside the US - as well as accidentals (people who don't know they're US citizens, usually those born to foreigners on US soil), and a large number of green card holders - have no idea they are required to file taxes (whether they owe anything or not) or FBARs when they don't live in the US, or earn money in the US. You can't comply with what you don't know, and no other country in the world operates like this so why would you even suspect this is the case?

It is very very common for US expats to be unintentionally out of compliance. And horrifying to find out the potential consequences. There is a specific pathway provided for compliance because the IRS knows this is a problem, but if they get to you first all bets are off. Huge fines even for accidental non-compliance. In those scenarios I wouldn't recommend DIY taxes until you have received proper advice from a specialist and come into compliance correctly.

Can you explain more about the non-citizen and retirement money thing?

There is free healthcare. Medicaid and Medicare are free. (People on this thread seem not to be aware of the existence of Medicaid).

They can't make tea

I think that tells you what the right thing to do is.

Medicaid is very much an option of last resort, and not comparable to Medicare or the NHS. It covers the bare minimum at best, and huge numbers of providers in the US won’t accept it at all.

🤭🤭😂😂😂 I've lived in the US for 18.5 years, and this I concur with! It gets worse than that, though. THEY PUT CREAM IN TEA!!!!!

I have? I'm British and lived in Britain until I was 32, and then moved to America for lurrrve. I've now lived in America for 18.5 years. So I know both countries pretty well having lived for many years in each, and can compare and contrast!

My son married an America winsn and emigrated there 15 years ago. It’s hard to get work at first (although it sounds as though your DH has a job lined up), but you’ll need to get a green card.

My son loves his life out there - far better standard of living, house etc than he’d have here.

But, it’s quite different from Britain and takes a period of adjustment.

He’s kept his British citizenship, so he can’t vote out there, and doesn't really get involved in much of the politics.

Make sure you all have “bells and whistles” health insurance. Medicaid is pretty poor.

And the weather can be extreme in certain states (compared to over here).

Good luck if you decide to go.

I don’t think so. Il sure it’s good in many ways. My personal fear would be school shootings, although maybe someone can reassure you in some way. Perhaps where you’re going it’s lower risk idk

If I had that opportunity, you wouldn't see me for dust. You can always come back.

CT is very low risk for school shootings.

but Sandy Hook still happened

The Medicaid and Medicare that doesn’t pay for shit and is being cut by the Republicans and is denied to millions of Americans … that ‘free’ healthcare?

I have family that live in Conneticut and I have lspent alot of time there. The earni gs are so much higher because the cost of living is so much higher. CT is one of the most expensice states for almost everything. Hpusing cheaper than UK but obviously factor out the higher wages the huge costs. You may get free healtjcare from his job but if you dont but if not these costs are crippling. My uncle (US citixen) had a basic chest infection when we visited once and his bill for gp and checks was over 1k and the antibiotics over 200 more dollars. Uk its a 10 quid prescription. There versipn of council tax was almost a month what we pay a year in UK thats why when you call the police 10 cars arrive though! The regualrly want to come back to UK or another country and also so unhappy with the way USA is going. Its not all rosey

This with bells on.

I had two of my DCs on Medicaid and it paid for everything - prenatal care, hospital care and all services for me and babies, and all follow up visits for me and babies. When I say 'hospital care and services' I include the services of my obstetrician in one case and midwife in the other, the anesthesiologists, the neonatal pediatrician and neonatal care, and all the supplies that came with the private rooms with ensuite that I occupied. I received exactly the same level of care I had received with my other pregnancies and deliveries that were paid for by private health insurance, in the same hospital, and by the same doctor/ midwife.

I have a friend whose entire breast cancer treatment was paid for by Medicaid - her initial mammogram, her ultrasound and biopsy, all her initial blood tests and lab work throughout treatment, an MRI, injection of dye, lumpectomy, transport to and home from hospital on her lumpectomy surgery day and her port insertion procedure (and later removal), and to and from all her chemo appointments (I was able to drive her for these so she didn't use that free transport). All of her chemo drugs were covered, including a more expensive alternative to the initial drug as she had an adverse reaction to it. She had the services of a nurse navigator who dealt with all coverage matters and made all her appointments for her, and was available constantly for any questions she had. A dietician was also available, completely free of charge. These servics were available throughout her whole post chemo treatment too - follow up mammograms for four years now, estrogen inhibiting medication, and free bras with silicone inserts, covered every year, to equalise the size of her boobs, from a specialist bra shop.

Hopefully the GOP will get their asses handed to them on a plate at the 2026 midterms and funding can then be restored.

No. You can’t compare UK private health insurance to USA. UK private health system is nowhere near as comprehensive.

It Is appropriate to compare NHS to USA private health insurance as these are the dominate health systems for the population in their respective countries. Decades ago I thought our NHS health system was much superior. I don’t anymore, at least not for those in the USA who have decent private health insurance.

This is absolutely true. I was thinking of moving back to the UK, and I looked into what private healthcare covers and the cost. I was very surprised to learn that so many things aren't covered by UK private insurance. You can't replace US private health insurance with it at all.

They're afraid that if they have free public healthcare, the quality will drop off a cliff. You might have to pay for healthcare in the US - although most get it heavily subsidised by their employer - but the actual care itself is absolutely fantastic, and they're loathe to potentially give that up. And they read the scare stories about the NHS.

The US child poverty rate is about 16%, compared with 31% of UK children. Google it.

Just check the legal situation re kids if after a couple of years you want to come 'home' to the UK and he doesn't.

Just check the legal situation re kids if after a couple of years you want to come 'home' to the UK and he doesn't.

Yes, hopefully the GOP will stop behaving like a cartel in thrall to their boss.

You can't just take a couple of figures from Google and compare them. How does each country measure child poverty? How is it defined?

Here is a (dated) example of statistics that can be compared:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2009/sep/11/child-poverty-statistics-uk-countries

Note how the US was worse than the UK in four out of the five measures.

Another study says 12.4% of British children vs 21.2% of American children.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/264424/child-poverty-in-oecd-countries/

Another one has the US at 14.0 and the UK at 12.7
www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/poverty-rate.html