Oh holy crap DH might have a job in NY, starting next month...

[topsmart]

So we recently had a fantastic childfree few days in manhattan for his 40th, what a brilliant place we enthused... he gets chatting to a pal and before you know it we're into second interviews for a job over there. No decision from the company until next week but my head is spinning. What do I need to know before he starts negotiations?
We have 2 DD, age 4 & 10 (youngest due to start reception in September). What salary would he need to earn for us to rent in Brooklyn? What's even a good bit of Brooklyn to live in?
We've done a Big Move before, from London to Manchester, and couldn't have coped without help from the mumsnet hive mind, so am seeking whatever guidance or pointers you have!
Currently looking at my dishevelled house in despair, how on earth will I get it rent-able...
And I'll have to resign from work.
And I'll have to step down as President of my WI...
Excited! And scared! Help!

Exciting stuff! I have absolutely nothing helpful that I can post but am so jealous as we are planning a trip to NY in a couple of years for a big birthday and I want it to be NOW! :)

Very exciting! I hope whatever the outcome happens to be is best for you and your family. I'm hoping to make a similar move myself next year :)

Look into the small print. The cost of health insurance, relocation costs, will you be able to work?

Friends live in Park Slope which we love - but it's certainly $$$$. Others live in Clinton Hill but we've never visited them there. Where will your DH be working? I'd also consider Queens and even New Jersey near the PATH trains if your DH will be working in Manhattan. Rents in NY sound horrendous overall, can your DH get assistance relocating through work? Congrats, New York is a fantastic city, I'd love to have a spell living there.

How exciting! I spent a couple of years working over there and it's a great city to live in.

As he is discussing his contract, a couple of things to make sure you consider are:

• relocation costs: don't forget to consider broker fees and large up front rental deposits. Much bigger outlay than to rent in the U.K.
• holiday: notoriously bad in the US, but may be negotiable if they really want him
• tax assistance: can be complicated particularly in the year you move and if you are going back and forth a lot after that
• repatriation: you don't get much grace on a visa if he leaves his job for any reason, so best to have thought about this up front

Thanks lovelies! Exciting is definitely the word!! He's had a word with his agent (creative industry - that makes him sound like a fancy actor or something, which he is certainly not! ). She said perhaps the company could pay our rent from his salary, which would make life easier. Am assuming I won't be working for the time being as I think the girls and him will need me to be around - fair enough, I don't mind that for a while! I'd like to do some volunteering once we're settled. Repatriation costs is a v good one for us to talk to them about - it might be that his agent sponsors his/our visa so that if the job turns out to be shite that we don't immediately have to come home! Also, annual leave - hadn't even thought of that, thank you, it's not a lot there is it?

OMG I clicked on this thread thinking I recognised your name from somewhere, & read the little WI detail & realised who you are! (I obviously remember your MN name from the relocation thread). How exciting!

Very exciting!

There is another thread on here that I'll try to find to link that talks about where in NYC is good to live, how to find schools etc.

In terms of the negotiation, make sure you include:

• what type of visa DH can get
• who is responsible for sorting this out (and paying the costs - sizeable for the whole family...)
• health insurance, plus dental and optical cover (who pays, how much is it, what does it cover, any problems with pre-existing conditions)
• moving costs, such as shipping and any incidentals (there will be lots of these, from driving licenses to car lease to deposits for cable)
• annual leave plus the observed public holidays
• continuity of service from his existing job
• repatriation costs at the end of the posting (ie who pays for you to go back to the UK)

You might also ask for home hunting support and whether they will pay for DH and you to fly out for a few days to look at housing options, ideally before you have to make a firm commitment

Do you definitely need to resign? Could you ask to take a career break instead?

And with your house, start by getting a couple of reputable agents around to advise on likely rent, how long to find tenants, what needs doing to get it up to standard (even if only things like carbon monoxide detectors)

Here's the thread I mentioned

How old are your DC?

If it's any help, being able to start in 8 weeks is very unlikely, given that you will need to get your visas sorted before travelling and this includes going to the embassy in London to give your biometrics

@topsmart Am assuming I won't be working for the time being as I think the girls and him will need me to be around - fair enough, I don't mind that for a while!

Check into whether you will be able to work at all, not just "not for a while" Trailing spouse visas can be very restrictive, and even other kinds make you provide a damn good reason/justification why you should be able to "come over here and take a job from a real 'murican!"

(My firm has had several working visas denied and we offer quite a niche service - still not good enough to prove that a local couldn't do it)

I was allowed a career break in a similar situation.

I second looking at NJ as an option, the commute isn't bad at all. Maybe somewhere like Westfield is lovely and you can get the train from the city to Newark and then pop onto the Raritan Valley Line direct. It's not a long journey at all.

I'm so jealous. I've spent so much time in and around NYC and have always dreamed of moving there.

Ooh HighOverTheFence do I know you? I feel like a celeb!

OlennasWimple you are a genius. I am turning your list into a spreadsheet pronto.
He's currently self-employed so may get paid through his business. He's finding an expert international tax wizard to talk to next week.
And I'll be getting the estate agents round to look at this tatty shithole and composing another checklist of what needs doing. Rightmove tells me we might get £1.2k a month for it so that'll help towards the FOUR THOUSAND DOLLAR rent for a 2bed in Brooklyn... perhaps we should look further afield.
Job offer will be made tomorrow / Monday. Cross your fingers that the salary is EPIC so we can afford this otherwise we'll be staying put!

shotsfired and mayhew I work for a tiny not for profit which has only just had their contract extended for 2 years... I feel I'd be leaving them in the lurch anyway, let alone if they kept the job open for me - especially as I'm not sure when we'd be back. Better for them if I resign and they can offer a decent-length contract to someone new.
But hence the volunteering overseas - he should earn enough for both of us and this would let me 'keep my hand in' (I'm a volunteer coordinator).

Jeez I might as well give my bank details I reveal so much on mumsnet!

Billy... cheers will add to list of areas to look at.
I'd ALWAYS wanted to go to NYC and this was my first visit. Loved it, just loved it. Hope that love remains if we move!

I would imagine you could get a comfortable 3 bed house with a garden for $3000 in Westfield, I know the high school is really good but not sure about the schools for younger children or if you want somewhere a bit more upbeat and 'cool' Hoboken would tick those boxes.

Heh Hoboken sounds like one of those made-up places on CBeebies. Am totally looking into that!

Have you actually looked at visas? I think it's highly unlikely you will be moving next month, regardless of the offer.

Last year we moved to the US, however, this was after my husband working for the UK branch of the company for over a year, before being able to apply for a transfer to the US. It took 18 months from him starting with the UK company to us getting our L1 / L2 visas.

If he has exceptional skills, then he may be able to get a different class of visa, however, he would have to be published, etc in his field.

The other option is the H visa, this means that you would have no option to work, ever. However, this is done via lottery every October, and the closing date for this year has already passed.

He absolutely could not get paid self employed, he would need to be an employee of the company and they would have to sponsor his contract, unless it is a very short term assignment, in which case that may change.

I'm not wanting to piss on your parade, it is an amazing opportunity, but the visa really is a massive issue that may mean this cannot happen.

I wouldn't get advice from an international tax expert at this stage, you need to get an immigration lawyer to advise you of the options available

Not sure about schools but there are ferries from Highlands/Atlantic Highlands (NJ) to Wall St and 35th St and there are ferries there to Brooklyn (as well as the subway). It takes about an hour (NJ -> NYC) and is relaxed w breathtaking scenery. I think the property prices are quite reasonable there (though I expect the commute is pricey).

My mum lives at the seaside in NJ (I'm here now!) and I always tell her if she wants to move she should look in Highlands/Atl Highlands.

We used the ferry quite regularly when she was having cancer treatment at NYU.

Sorry I have assumed he doesn't already have a right to work in the US in my post above

You still haven't mentioned visas so I'm assuming you haven't got round to that discussion with his future employer yet but a job offer is utterly meaningless without a visa to go with it. Being self employed doesn't bode well for getting a visa and as someone else said the process will take a few months. Don't waste time looking into anything else until you know the visa situation. The visa should be the starting point (becasue if you can't get a visa everything else is moot), then negotiate terms, then work on the practicalities and logistics of moving your life to another country.

Something else to be aware of - there are lots of people who are living in the US, renting out their UK properties that they still own who are currently being hammered on their US taxes on the mortgage gain of the UK property because of the current exchange rate. It's something to look into.

www.ustaxfs.com/foreign-mortgage-repayment-exchange-rate-gain/

I think you'll be wanting at least $200k min for a good lifestyle in one of the Brooklyn family friendly neighborhoods.

Okeydokey, total focus on visas it is then. Thanks for the wake up call!
His agent seems pretty certain she can sponsor him on an H1 visa, seems this is something they've done frequently. But we'll get on it right away, ta