Moving to NYC - no DCs - lots of questions

[AcrosstheSea]

Looks like DP's offer is about to become official. Negotiations on package etc will start once he gets goes for the "official" meeting senior people visit. It would be an office transfer, so L1 visa.

Work has hinted that they'd like him there by the end of the year. How likely is that? I would have thought visas would take a few months? Does anyone know how it works? Is my visa processed at the same time, separately? Will I need to stay in the UK while he goes over first?

We are engaged already so will be doing a registry office wedding so I can accompany him.

It's exciting, but where to live?!? We are thinking for the first year Manhattan, then NJ if all goes well. But where in Manhattan, I like the look online of flats in Gramercy, is that ok?

Apartments are small, so people ship their things? We have stuff I don't want to leave in storage in the UK for an indeterminate amount of time.

We decided to rent out house out in case we hated America. Didn't want to come off the property ladder.

However, you do need to consider that you will probably need to use an agent, you will need to file a tax return in the UK, you will need to change your mortgage to a buy to let and you will need landlords insurance.

Hi, no advice about New York, but with my expat tax hat on, see if get he gets tax advice with his package. If you are going for a long time uk tax is simpler, if not then it’s complicated. Also you are only allowed back to the uk for a certain number of days a year if you want to break uk tax residency! If not, will
Be worth speaking to someone!

I've kept my house in the UK to rent out too, as there's more stability in the long run if we want to return and get back on the UK property market ladder.

My friends rent it from me which saves them a bit of cash and me agent charges, BUT, there's still a headache of organizing repairs etc. In the last 6 years I've had to replace appliances (easy) to getting major repairs on the roof and bathroom done (bloody nightmare) Trying to engage a builder / tradesperson from overseas was nigh on impossible and luckily my UK friends stepped in to manage it. Downside of this is you're not there to oversee work and pull anyone up on stuff

The positive is if you keep your UK house, you can use it in your US tax return. Sounds daft, but any mortgage interest, repairs and visits back to the UK to oversee it can all be submitted

Also take into account if you sell now, and aren't moving anywhere els in the Uk, you'll need to check whether you'll be liable to pay UK capital gains tax on any money you make

Also take into account if you sell now, and aren't moving anywhere els in the Uk, you'll need to check whether you'll be liable to pay UK capital gains tax on any money you make

No capital gains tax on selling a house that's your main home surely regardless of whether you're staying in the country or moving overseas.

DH got an L1A visa even though I wouldn’t have called him a manager. He didn’t have any direct reports but he was managing processes and coordinating so he satisfied the criteria. I expect your attorney will be experienced in the process and so would advise the company on the best route.

I’m not sure how long it took for the attorney to prepare the paperwork but I know if the company has a blanket petition (as my DH’s did) it’s much quicker as the company doesn’t need to be approved. We got an interview around two weeks after submitting our applications and they were approved on the day. We got our passports back a week later. You can look on the London embassy website for current interview wait times. Ph and don’t stress about the interview! We were both ridiculously nervous but it was so smooth. DH was asked how long he’d worked for the company and what his role was - I wasn’t asked anything. We had been married two days before submitting the application but they didn’t even ask to see our marriage certificate.

I wouldn’t sell your flat. We rented ours out and fortunately had some perfect tenants. It gives you the option to return and it’s (hopefully!) a good investment. I completely understand the feeling of being overwhelmed though! I remember getting on the plane and feeling a huge relief that we were finally on our way!

real its more to do with the timing - as soon as you move overseas you're technically liable to pay it, if you're regarded as non domiciled overseas for tax purposes.

It'd be nominal in the first couple of years (if the HMRC calculator is to be believed) as it takes time lived in the property versus time living outside of it.

If the OP is moving shortly, it might be difficult to sell before they go.

You get an 18 month CGT exemption if you're moving abroad for work IIRC.

What happens after the 18month exemption?

I’ll need to look at HMRC’s website as we’ve only lived in our place a few years.

It’s a difficult choice, we don’t know if it’s worth keeping our place on a buy-to-let mortgage.

Seems the “official” offer has come through so we’ll spend the weekend discussing it. Somehow now that it’s real the choice feels harder to make: to move or not to move that is the question!

The exemption tapers over time, rather than ending immediately.

This is from memory. Do speak to a properly qualified person though!

The other consideration with keeping a property here is that if you sell it or pay off the mortgage whilst resident in the US you will be taxed on any foreign currency gains you have made. As the value of the pound has decreased in recent years then this may be substantial.

The rules have changed recently (well, last year or so I think) to try and tighten up on loopholes with non doms flipping houses.

There's a v useful beta calculator here from HMRC which should give you an idea of worst and best case. www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-your-capital-gains/non-resident/

I've lived outside the UK for nearly 7 years, and owned my house in it for 11 years. The CGT I'd likely pay isn't actually as bad as I thought, which is a massive relief.

We are going to try and get a tax advisor as part the move.

Any advice on moving? Or on the application process itself?

The only thing that will change for you personally between L1-A and B is that B are only valid for max 5 years and A are 7 years. Even if you enter on a B, it is possible to change them over mid way through if the amount of 'management' as part of the role changes. Company lawyers though will know what evidence they need to produce to justify each criteria.

Thanks @ksb76 I’ve been reading that currently the US govt are scrutinising L1B applications a bit more closely and that the rejection rate has gone up. We’ll see.

We accepted the position and we are waiting for HR to confirm the package before signing anything.

I have what’s going to sound like a stupid question but how do people survive the winters in NYC?

I have what’s going to sound like a stupid question but how do people survive the winters in NYC?

NYC winters aren't too bad. It could be worse, you could be going to Chicago! Invest in proper winter clothing - long coats that cover your legs and extremely sturdy boots. The cold snap normally hits January / February. The worst thing is the snow never clears completely so for a few weeks, the roads and sidewalks are a slushy, dirty mess. It doesn't necessarily snow a lot but one big dump of snow is enough to hang around for a while.

If you're getting a car, you need an AWD. If you're in NYC and in an apartment you won't have to worry about snow removal, but out in the suburbs snow removal is a huge task in the winter. Some people do it themselves with shovels or snow blowers, others get a crew in to take care of it. But most towns insist that the sidewalk by your house is kept clear so it's a constant battle.

I love the days when it's freezing cold with snow on the ground but there's a big blue sky and the sun's shining!

@realhousewife44 do you think it’s better to wait and get a long coat and proper boots when we land there in Feb?

I don't know really, if you land in Feb and it's in the middle of a lot of snow, you're going to wish you had it already without having to go out shopping for everything. It's probably going to be pretty cold even if there's no snow so I would say at least the warm coat is essential. Maybe shop the sales for a bargain before you leave.

across yes - I'd recommend waiting til you get here. The range and suitability of shoes and clothes is way better than you'll find in the UK (imo) Century 21 downtown has a huge range of winter coats - failing that uniqlo have great cheap down jobs.

We survive by getting the right clothes etc - uniqlo heat tech thermals are a godsend under normal clothes. That plus a hat, scarf decent gloves and a proper big duvet coat and you're set

The insides of everywhere are baking hot so be prepared for stripping off or being a sweaty mess

If you live or work near the water be prepared for it to be colder as the wind coming off the water and down the streets can be brutal

Unlike the UK, NY is geared up for snow with salt, snow removal etc - one thing to note is if you own a property you are legally obliged to remove the snow on the pavement outside the property within a certain hour range of snow stopping, otherwise you can get fined for it being a hazard

I said landing in Feb but that’s not set yet. Honestly I’m hoping to miss the worst of winter this year. DP will go first, me after.

I moved over in the end of a February. Was still shocked by how cold it was then! You get about 3 months respite and then it'll be sweaty old summer - make sure you get a place with air conditioning too, might not seem like it now, but you will need them

@misssmilla1 not sure if I asked this on here before but do you like living in the US? If other posters want to jump and reply to this to, I’d really appreciate it. Now that the reality of the move is starting I’m getting a little anxious.

I was/am excited for the adventure of it, I’m not naive about moving countries/continents, my parents did it when I was a child and I’ve done it as a young adult. But I worry about different things now, mainly if it’s going to be “easy” to pick up my career over there and the work culture being so intense, whether I’ll cope with it. The last worry is due to being bullied my current boss who is based in NYC, working for other American companies doesn’t fill me with fuzzy warm thoughts.

Hmm, its an interesting question for me, overall I'd say no, but part of that is down to lifestyle and choices in the last 7 years being here.

Before I moved, I'd travelled a lot, lived abroad at uni and then lived in London for 11 years (I'm not from there so was nowhere near family in the UK)

I moved here with my work (used to work for a US company in the UK and landed a job here) and the culture was very very different in the office. I knew people at work but they weren't friends when I moved over, and I knew only 1 person outside of work, and that was a friend of a friend

I had massive culture shock (to be expected I think no matter where you go) and it sounds really quite stupid now, but I expected there to be more similarities with the UK than I have found. I have no idea why,. Altho it's English, the use of language is totally different, different intonations, different meanings, gestures, body language etc which in someways has made fitting in harder than if I didn't speak the language at all.

I was single and in my 30's when I moved over and found starting from scratch with my social life etc really hard tbh. I wouldn't necessarily solely attribute this to the US / NYC but I think its harder the older you get.

Fast forward to now and life has changed again as I married a local and we have a kid - so our lifestyle has changed and we're currently in the quandary about staying in the US versus the UK due to schools, guns, politics, being closer to my family etc.

The challenge now is I've been away long enough to feel like a stranger in the UK too and realize its not without its own challenges either - so nowhere really feels like home!

My only advice is to take it one day at a time - accept there'll be days when you think "wtf did we move?!" and push yourselves to do stuff socially that you wouldn't normally - there's a ton of good meet up groups in the city for like minded people and NYC is great for kidless people as there's so much to do. If you get homesick for proper English foodstuffs (I predict you'll find yourselves craving shit you'd never touch at home!) there's a great place called Meyers of Keswick in NYC where you can get all your pie and biscuit needs!

If you need help or info just shout [grin}

We struggled when we first moved to the US to find proper snow clothes, as the shops had stopped stocking them and had moved onto spring stuff (one big thing is that seasonal stock seems to be much more of the "thing" in the US than the UK. Try buying a bikini in November!!). So if you can find some basics (decent hat, scarf, gloves) I would say to get them before you travel but make getting a decent coat for you all, plus boots and snow pants (aka salopettes, and mandatory at my kids' school) a priority as soon as you arrive.

Like misssmilla we also experienced more of a culture shock than expected. Which sounds silly, because of course it's a foreign country. But so much is familiar, that the things that aren't can be unexpected. For example, you wouldn't expect the banking system in India or China to be the same as the UK, but it is still surprising to find that the US still likes cheques (or checks!), charges for bank accounts and requires you to deposit an amount with them to off set your desired credit card limit.

Did we enjoy living there? Yes! But not unreservedly, like a number of expats we met who were counting down the days until they could apply for citizenship and stay forever