Anyone in California/Bay Area? Concerns and questions

[sweetvamp]

Hi there, I've name-changed on MN for this but I'm a longtime user. I'm an ex-expat (originally from UK, spent some time in Germany, now living back in the UK). My DH is in a specialist scientific field and has the possibility of a job offer in Berkeley, CA. I have visited LA and SF when I was younger and enjoyed both places, but it was a while ago. I think there are upsides to giving it a go, and it would be very good in terms of DH's career.

Here are my issues/facts to consider and questions.

1. The package would include full medical and relocation, which is good. However the salary has not been fully confirmed. We know it would be above $100k but not too high above. Looking at industry stats, we think we could ask between $120-160k. We are well aware of living costs and expensive rentals in the Bay Area. I don't currently bring in much money myself (I am an artist, so the amount is fairly negligible). But we have no children and no current plans to have any. No car (I'll get to that again in a moment!). I have no debts to speak of DH has very minimal debt (small student loan and credit card). We have a mortgaged house in the UK which we would rent out. We have done some calculations taking California taxes into account, and it seems doable, but I would like insight from MNers already in the Bay Area. How does $120-160k sound? We would be looking to rent in Alameda, Walnut Creek or Lafayette, in the region of $3k/month.

1. I am concerned about the commute to his potential workplace. Neither of us drive or own a car. The places I am looking at to rent are vaguely walkable areas (so a few shops nearby). He can commute from Walnut Creek (for example) to Berkeley on public transit. It would take about an hour each way, which is fine, but he would need to change at MacArthur BART and get on a different train, then a bus journey. Obviously we're both used to public transport, but I've heard a lot of scary things about BART and how unsafe it is (including three murders in a week last year). He would only use the system at busy commute times and not at night, but I am still concerned (mostly about violent crime and assaults, rather than pickpocketing). Can anyone tell me about their experiences with BART, especially in the suburban areas and going through Oakland? Most anecdotes I've read make it sound like a last resort for people who can't drive, but I don't know how much that is overblown.

1. The other option is things like commute carpooling, Uberpool, or of course DH learning to drive and sorting out a car eventually (especially if we decide to stay in California - his funding would be for 3-5 years initially). This is a worry for me as well - even though the commute would be quick, I know the traffic is a nightmare and that speeding drivers can be ridiculous in the area. As DH would be a new driver, I would worry about him being injured or worse in an accident (even if he's careful, the roads seem insane). It probably seems I'm overly anxious, which I am, but fatalities just seem so frequent even compared to UK motorways. I once had a very near miss in a taxi on the freeway going to Santa Monica, luckily the cab driver was able to swerve slightly to avoid a speeding car that almost crashed into the side of us. He was very apologetic but it's stuck with me.

1. Again with the safety (sorry) but how is Berkeley to work in? I already decided I don't fancy living there (still sky high rents and it's not even SF!), but I've read such disparaging things about the city in general because it's sandwiched between Oakland and Richmond (mainly about gun crime, drugs, assault).

Any reassuring words or reality checks would be much appreciated! I don't mean to sound down about the place, I do love what I've seen of California, I just want to be realistic about what life would be like there.

Thank you in advance.

I agree with Mathanxiety: it might be feasible to sort out the basics (commute, grocery shopping) without a car, but there will be so much you'll want to do beyond that and it will be really difficult.

We spent our first 6 months in California without a car. After the first few weeks, it was just embarrassing/frustrating/dismal. One thing I wasn't prepared for was the social aspect: friends and colleagues (people our age, with similar jobs) were genuinely surprised and concerned that we didn't have one. At parties, beach bbqs and other events, some lovely person would always try to insist on driving us home; we used to end up sneaking out to get our cab or bus/es, as you feel like such a child needing to be helped out all the time. It was a real relief when we finally got our own shitty car, and we could do so much more.

I didn't find CA driving any worse than the UK, tbh, and often it was easier as the roads are wider and everything's set up for driving.

Butting in here but renters insurance is usually pretty inexpensive, less than $100 a month depending on what you want covered. The company may have a good healthcare plan but you will probably have to contribute at least something towards it which will come out pretax and lower what you take home. If you choose to do a higher deductible plan your monthly costs are lower but you will have to pay more out of pocket (these days most people come out ahead with that option). You may actually be overestimating utilities depending where you live (as weather varies so much in Bay Area). In SoCal I rarely use heat or AC so my gas and electric costs are low. A rental may even include one or both of these (and will also include water). My electric bill was $45 for a 2200 sq ft house last month. If you are by the water you may not need to use AC and apartments often stay warmer in winter (and coming from the UK your home my never drop to the temperature you would heat it to, even on a cold day my house here has never got below 67 or so!) I am by the water in LA so have a somewhat similar climate to parts of the Bay area (grey and foggy in spring/early summer)

www.insurance.com/average-renters-insurance-rates

Type in Alameda zip codes 94501, 94502 or 94606 for examples of renters insurance cost, range of prices.

If you have health conditions that mean you can't drive you need to focus on your health insurance. That would worry me most.

Thanks for the additional insight and info everyone. We're still waiting on responses from the company about if they still want to fly him over for interview, but this has all been very useful because he's applied for a number of USA positions.

Regarding my health - I'm very aware of the insurance issue. FWIW my conditions are endometriosis and chronic fatigue, plus anxiety and depression. I can't drive just because I occasionally have fainting spells with my endo.

Hi everyone, bit of an update on this situation. We had expressed concerns about affordability to the employer, but they are still very keen on DH and want to fly him out to discuss. They have also pointed out that the visa window is currently closed, but suggested the option of employing him as a contractor while we remain in the UK (with frequent visits to California, paid by the company). This is obviously a much more ideal solution, at least in the short term (as they pointed out, they won't need to provide the employer health insurance, we don't have to worry about costs of living there full time) but we need to look into the logistics. Does anyone have experience with this sort of arrangement (anywhere, not just UK-US). He's planning to go over and visit at the beginning of June.

Again, this is a small company, a start-up only five years old so I'm just freaking myself out over their keenness and how much they seem to want him (too good to be true it seems, after lots of rejections recently).

sweetvamp we did something similar, DH was asked to consider a role overseas and was initially spending 2 weeks in UK/2 weeks Asia. After 4 months of this confirmed he would take the job. It was about 7 months after the initial back and forth began that I joined him. The company paid for me to visit and decide if I was willing to go as well before it was all confirmed.

It was OK at the time as I also travelled a lot for work and we didn't have DCs yet.

The only issue I see in your case is what insurance (travel/work/etc) will cover your DH if he falls ill or has an accident while in California. You don't want to be facing American medical expenses out of your own pockets.

If he is going to be a contractor for a US company, you would need to look at IR35 legislation - please take advice from an accountant as HMRC are clamping down on this

I would actually be very leery of leaving the UK for a job in a start up in the US or actually anywhere else. A contractor arrangement might be better though the travel might be hard to manage.

Iirc, IR35 affects people who own their own businesses and basically employ themselves, with their income coming from a limited company, or business owners who categorise themselves as contractors, classifying their income as dividends rather than income. Or contractors who set up a limited company that hires them out, with the company receiving payment and the contractor paid in dividends or other forms of payment that reduces tax load and NI payments.

How recently did it dawn on this company that the visa window had closed? It seems to me that this was the first detail they should have nailed down before speaking to anyone from outside the US.

I wonder at their level of general preparedness to hire someone from abroad, and also whether they have taken any payment or tax implications into account with this proposed contractor arrangement.

You and your DH need to talk to a tax lawyer or accountant familiar with US offshore contracting law and familiar with the shifting landscape of British contractor/employee status and taxes/NI issues. Your DH also needs to talk about non-competition clauses and anything else he may this company tries to put in his contractor agreement that might limit him in the future.

You need to do this before DH goes to CA to talk to the company.

So it’s an H1B visa? That’s closed for this year so the earliest he could start work would be October 2020 (next year’s applications open up on April 1, 2020 for an October 1 start-work date). You do realize that the spouse of an H1B gets an H4 which has no work authorization whatsoever? And also that the H1B is massively oversubscribed and roughly only 25% of applicants are successful? That’s if the job offer even matches the H1B requirements (job must require a degree and applicant must hold said degree or 12 years of relevant experience).

Seriously, I would wait to see if he’s even in the 25% that are chosen next year before you start looking at costs, transport, commute times etc.

And he would still need a visa to work as a contractor. Visitors cannot work. Under the VWP he can attend meetings, trade shows, conferences, attend job interviews but not actually work. What the employer is suggesting actually sounds illegal.

I don't think this company has any expertise at all in hiring or contracting a foreign citizen, or any proper legal advice, and you and DH could get royally screwed.

Hold on a second everyone. I'm well aware of the legalities and potential risks.

I know that I can't work while he is working there. I have stated this numerous times on the thread. This is not a problem at all.

As to the visa and qualifications, he is an experienced scientist with a PhD, so he more than surpasses the degree requirement. What he does is very specialized.

He is currently looking at the contracting side, speaking to accountants and umbrella companies.

He would NOT be working during the visits, in the office etc. He would be attending meetings and conferences only.

I agree that the CTO should have known about the visa window obviously. And I think they don't have much experience as they're a small company, but I do think they must have SOME experience. Their employees (less than 30 of them) are mostly Russian born, so visas have clearly come into it before. I also believe they contract others still in Russia and elsewhere to work remotely. I am being very aware of everything, but on the other side of it, some of these people are very highly regarded in their field, so I'm trying to research before I write it off. I'm not sure if they're deliberately being dodgy, or if it's simply a case of mildly incompetent academic folks (of which I have a lot of experience).

Rest assured I'm not walking in blindly.

He would be attending meetings and conferences only.

That is working, if he is being paid by this company.

The person above said that he could attend meetings, conferences etc under the Visa Waiver Program, and Google says the same. He would not be receiving a salary from this company, he would be invoicing them as a contractor.

OP this is my area of professional expertise. If he's attending meetings directly related to his role, then he's working.

You need specialist immigration advice.

Fair enough. Can I ask what type of meetings wouldn't be seen as working? The lines seem very blurred here. Surely if one attends any meeting or conference overseas, it's directly related to their role as you said.

He has contacted various places for advice, we are just waiting for responses.

I work for a silicon valley company, employed by the UK entity, and attend meetings frequently in US offices, attend conferences, visit customers, do workshops/sprints etc and have done under visa waiver for 19 years odd - at times I was in the US 2 weeks a month.
The difference is that my actual contract is with the UK and it is very clear that this is my place of employment. I think he would need to take specialist advice on being a contractor to a US company as they could take it that he was taking a job that should be in the US.

Thank you for the insight there. If he was using an umbrella company in the UK, he would be employed within the UK as far as I'm aware? So that would be fine. He is still seeking specialist advice of course.

Then he might fall under the IR35 rules for tax purposes. What sort of umbrella company?

Ideally you and DH need to pick the brains of a US/UK tax lawyer/ labour law specialist and an accountant who are in touch with each other.

Yes it would be IR35. We are still researching umbrellas. Obviously one where he would receive payment through PAYE, with the company deducting income tax and NI contributions. No alternative payment structure, dividends or loans as I am aware these are illegal.

We are calling an employment lawyer tomorrow.