Help from anyone thats moved to the US for work please.

[nettie]

Dh has just been offered the chance to move to California with work. I wondered if anybody who had done this could give me some idea of what relocation package they received such as help with moving, housing allowance, pre move visits, health care, help finding schools. Dh company are desperate to get him out there as quick as possible and seem to have given no thought to what an upheaval (sp) it will be for us.

I think it all depends on the level of your DH's job in the company - in some companies, the higher up you are, the more generous they become with "relocation packages" -
When DH (who was single at the time) was relocated transatlantically, his company paid for everything. You can also just put in requests and see what they say.

Thanks Coolmama, he works in IT and is fairly high up, the company has experience of relocating MD's and single people but have never relocated a family before, they seem to want to get away with what they can. So far everything we have requested has been agreed to verbally, but when the package was put on the table it was completetly different to what had been said. Negotiations are a bit fraught at the moment.

Also does anyone know if ds2's allergies and other health issues (was under paediatric neurologist)would affect the cost of health insurance.

Had lots of silly queries, can't think of them now, will get back to you.

There are a few MNers in California who will be able to help with specifics of the area - try bumping this later when they are around (or I'll do it for you)

Our relocation package was disgraceful ($2000 total - only just covered flights) but that was through a University. Others who move get a really good deal - I'll see if I can round up some more helpful expats, later!

I'm in the midwest btw. Do you know where they want you to move to?

[shouts] CALIFRAU?

Another expat here. I'm in Colorado though and moved here with two small ds's. Second what Califrau says about Kaiser we're with them and they're fabulous here in Colorado too. It's not cheap but the facilities are amazing. You get to see specialists immediately.

The benefits your H gets should include health insurance for you all, life insurance and 401k (pension). Top tip for finding property. Find a realtor (real estate agent) now, Re-MAX are huge over in the states and will help find you rental property too. Research schooling on the internet, stats are published on the schools like they are in the UK, but give a far better indication on performance in the 3 "r's". Pre-schools i.e equivalent to nursery schools in the UK are all private here so bear that in mind too. Make sure you live in a good area for schooling.

Shopping - Target is a great place to start for essentials - cheap cheerful and good quality. Sears Grand for electrical appliances too.

Our re-location package was in total some 10k including shipping of goods (freight) and our flights (BA).

As this is turning into an essay. Feel free to ask more direct questions.

$250 a month I had no idea how well subsidised my health insurance is.

Thanks for the information will study it more careful later.
Did you get help with your housing costs or was it just the initial move?

We'll be moving to the Inland Empire - DH will be working in rancho something or other, its near to the mountains. Dh thinks it should be a bit cheaper than coastal areas. Can't believe how excited I feel when so stressed and everything seems up in the air. Just want everything agreed so I can start planning things properly. Thanks for all the help, any advice you can give on relocating is greatly appreciated.

Here are a few threads that may help with moving to the States:

Moving to the US - What to take & what to leave

Moving to USA

Mainly about DC, but might have useful info

HTH

Hello there are a couple of US MNters in LA on the beaches. My geography is poor but I think you will be quite close to us. DH's company paid for everything, hotels,shipping, visas (go to belfast if you can),flights, airport shuttle and car hire. Didn't have a set amount of money, just claimed on expenses if we sorted anything out ourselves. It is difficult to buy a car here, but possible to lease, once DH had a social security number and a letter of proof of income. Though only Mazda/BMW/Mini/VW seem to be happy with this method. There is also a company in the UK that can sort you out with a car, AutoSource . You need to contact them before you come here, which might be easier for your DH to sort out. Sorry I don't know if they are any good we only found out about them when it was too late.

You will love CA, find a school you like using great schools website, phone them to see if they have places, look for properties on craigslist and realtors websites. That way seems to work best. Good luck!.

nettie, hi! I am an american mumsnetter who used to live in london and now lives back in los angeles. Once you get here you will never ever want to go back.
To answer a few basics:

1. your dh's company should include full health coverage for him and your family....do not settle for anything less. If you have health insurance, finding doctors will be the easy part. You have a choice!!!
2. In California, you are entitled to a place at your local school regardless...if the classes are full they have to hire another teacher. So the secret is to find a house in an area that has a good school. You can check websites and once you get here ask around. People are super friendly in california and your children will be made to feel welcome even if they start in the middle of a school year. Just make sure that you get them into the right grade. Don't go completely on grade numbers as they don't totally correspond to the uk and don't go totally by age as the cutoff dates are different. Go by what schoolwork they are doing.
3. I think you maybe mean Rancho Cucamunga (sp?)? Good area, which will be cheaper than the coast, but very much the suburbs....meaning you cannot do anything without driving, so be prepared. However, the otherside of this is that life is set up for families so everything will really be much much much easier. You will have a house and a garden and sunshine 98% of the time.
4. As someone mentioned earlier....www.craigslist.org is the best place to find housing, furniture, babysitters etc. etc.
5. You might want to also see if they will get you a working visa too, in case you want to work too.

When you have a better idea of what your plans are, CAT me and I would be happy to help out and give you more specific information/advice. And I'd love to meet up when you get here too!! How old are your children?

Sorry haven't got back to you earlier. Thanks for all the advice. Dh is in US at the moment and will be probably out a few weeks in April, so he's checking out areas, looking for an initial apartment to rent. Just got a few queries for you.

1. With the health insurance, is it like private health insurance schemes in England, where you pay when you see the doctor then get it reimbursed (SP) or do you just provide details of the insurance and they sort it out?

1. Can you get single vaccinations for measles, mumps, rubella?

1. Is the school year the same as ours Sept - July?

4.Can I just have a TV with basic channels or do you have to have masses of crap, can you just have a tv to play dvd's?

These seem really trivial (stupid questions) but we seem pretty sure of organising the move though I'm sure once it starts happening for real we'll encounter some problems, so at the moment everthing else is trivial queries, just thought of another - what are the recycling facilities like?

I hope none of you are being are affected by the fires at the moment, it seems a bit unreal that we will be there soon.It's nice to know I will know people when I get out there and would love to meet you all. DS's are 9 and 5 and are very excited, especially DS2 who wants a skateboard!

Thanks again, going to think of more stupid questions for you

Forgot most important question

Can you get cheap wool?

Will have to rethink the whole deal if you can't!

HI. Answers:

1. Generally you give the doctor your insurance information and they bill the insurance and then send you a bill for the remainder depending on how large your deductible (excess) is.
2. You can get anything for a price here, but bear in mind that attitudes towards jabs are very different in the usa. They are taken as a given and in fact vaccinations are mandatory here and you will not be able to get your children into a school (public or private) without a great deal of fuss (and objecting to jabs on religious(!) grounds) if they do not have a form signed by an american doctor saying that they have received all their vaccinations. Chickenpox, pneumoccocal meningitis and Hep A or B (i can never remember which) are also mandatory besides all the english ones. I would find out what is required (from school distric where you are going) and get started on doing the ones that you can do there (Chicken Pox was not available when I was there, but maybe it is now). Bring your kids' red books that show their english jabs to their paediatrician here and he/she will transfer that info into their records so that they can fill out the required US forms.
3. No, schools here are for the most part sept to mid-june. We get no midterm holidays and shorter xmas and spring, but 3 months in the summer (don't forget we have sun here and it gets hot!). There are a few "year round" schools in some crowded school districts that have more of the uk schedule.
4. This is america, you can have any tv you want!!!!! You can just buy a tv and not subscribe to sat or cable. Or you can even get a tv that is just a monitor and does not have a tuner and therefore doesn't receive tv channels but will be good for watching dvd's. Call me when you are here and I will walk you through the mechanics of what does what. I know people love to complain about crap american tv, but the reality is that you have much more choice and therefore much more quality tv to choose from (and a lot of bad tv too) and much more ability to control what your children see (parental controls available on everything).
5. By cheap wool....do you mean for knitting. I suspect that you will find everything more available and cheaper here!!! Except maybe lamb and pg tips (bring your own tea with you...it's not as good here).

Hi, when we moved here in Nov last year, the schools near the house we were going to rent were full. When the schools are full, the local school has a responsibility to find you a place within the unified school district, not necessarily at that school. This is not the case with every unified district but you may need to check policy before you get your heart set on a school!

live in la for a year, though not with a relocation package, and before children.

have fun its actually very enjoyable over there - are you staying for a long time? do you know where in CA?

I have to add because I don't think anyone has brought this up yet... If your husband will be paid in pounds you are going to be spectacularly happy in the US. Imagine everything is HALF PRICE and that's before the sales which are nearly always on!

We, unfortunately, are paid in dollars, living in London. So, we pay about double. A small bottle of saline solution just cost my husband $18!!!!!!!