Massachusetts salary?

[Almondbut]

Hey, wonder if anyone can help! DH has been offered a job in US, salary $130k a year. Good healthcare, good annual leave, and they’d cover shipping costs for the move. Once here this would be a permanent move so we would get no help with housing etc on top of the salary.

My question is - is this salary sustainable in the US or should we negotiate more?

We currently live in Surrey commuter belt, small mortgage, current household income is around £110k (but would drop to £55k if I was SAHM). We would want a similar quality of life to what we currently have.

We’ve got no kids at the moment but TTC and (fingers crossed works soon), I would be a SAHM if we moved. We are looking at living in Massachusetts but don’t need to be near Boston (so can be further out and therefore cheaper housing costs). Good school districts would be important to us but it seems all of Massachusetts has pretty good schools?

thanks for your help

ps. Don’t want this thread to become derailed into benefits of UK/US…I’m aware of gun crime and abortion rights. Thanks

Yeah, I understand the concept of relative cost of living but is it really more than double that of the UK?

We've just moved back from a town just outside Boston. Our rent was $7.5k per month for 4 bed house in a good school area. It is very expensive. Fabulous lifestyle though and would move back in a shot. I really wouldn't be a SAHM out there, even temporarily as it really will make it difficult to find work after a break.

There are so many things to consider cost wise but I would say a minimum $200k salary or you will be watching the pennies

I think it's worth considering why this is the case ....The exchange rate used to be able 2:1 UK to US. Now it's 1.2 to 1 in about 15 years. The pound weakened a lot in a short period of time. Those in the US didn't get a pay cut in this time. Our salaries in this time haven't caught up with inflation. So the relative earnings of the US Vs UK has ended up to be about double.

Because salaries are higher..... Landlords also expect more income for rent. Food costs are higher etc. Healthcare is expensive. These things can easily be worked through. I have lived there, it's expensive but my extra costs were paid for by work, so it's hard to judge.

UK is much poorer than it was. We are now experiencing inflation and increased cost of living. So you might have a better quality of life given the economic changes here

But I think the key is if you get paid £55k here, you should expect $100k in the US because that's what your skills are worth there.

And it sounds like they will be loosing an income. With a pay rise of about $30k for one person. So that's $70k short.

This might be ok but worth adjusting expectations as it's not such a big jump

My good friend just returned from living in Boston for 2 years. They were a family with 1 young child and needed a salary of around usd200k to be comfortable.

I’d say day to day stuff such as groceries are twice the price of in the uk. If he currently earns 110k I’d be wanting 220k in the US.

I think some of it is that expectations are a bit different in the US.

My PIL have "downsized" to a house which in the UK would be considered a family home. My BIL and SIL are considered to live in a small house because it only has two reception rooms and 3 double bedrooms.

Having only one car is considered something you would only do if you were really poor - even 16/17 year olds will often have cars.

Obviously if you are one of the tiny minority of Americans who live somewhere like Manhattan it's different.

But on the other hand, Americans don't in the main prioritise going on holiday in the same way as British people do - some of that is vacation time but it's also cultural. My in laws view it as deeply odd that we go on holiday usually twice a year (once abroad once UK). My SIL has taken her kids on holiday maybe twice and her oldest is 12.

I live in Chicago and have friends in Boston and no you don’t need $200k to be comfortable not especially if she plans to be SAHM in the UK as well which would mean their income would drop to £55k.

Are we really saying you need $200k in Boston to have a comparable life to a £55k income in London?

Also income and career growth is faster in the US than the UK so that’s another option to consider.

But he dossnt earn £110k that’s the household income when she works. When she stops working it will go down tk £55k which means the Boston income is actually an upgrade.

If she goes back to work in Boston their household income would jump significantly again.

I note @Almondbut has not returned to the thread for a while..

I would just add that there is so much to consider with such a move, apart from whether the salary is 'enough'.

Visas and whether it allows the trailing partner to work, plus path to permanent residency.

What happens if one spouse settles and the other is desperately homesick - the cultural differences are more significant than many expect, and some people struggle. Or if they have children and the marriage breaks down. Google Hague convention.

There is very little by way of a safety net. If you lose your job, you lose your medical insurance. (You can keep it if you pay the employers' contribution but most people would not be able to afford it.) Unemployment payments run out after (I think) 18 months, and you only get those if youve paid enough to qualify. There's no Universal Credit, housing support etc. Especially if you're not a citizen.

Workers in the US get far less vacation - 2 weeks is typical. Some employers frown on employees taking both weeks at one go. How will this work if you want to go and visit famil?y Will you salary be sufficient to afford a trip back every year or two?

What will you do if your parents get too old and frail to come and visit? What if they need lots of help in their final years and you are their only child?

I'd say that, to accept all these potential issues and risks, you'd want a salary that makes it worthwhile, not just one that, on paper, is sufficient to live on.

So many misconceptions in your post I don’t even know where to start. I live in Chicago and don’t have a car so not only tiny percentage in Manhattan. I walk or cycle to the office or if too cold get a quick bus or train 3 stops. If we moved to the suburbs yeah we would need a car but lots of places to live in the city

It also depend on where they live in Boston because there are many places you cans live in the city proper without a car, when you move to suburbs then yes you need a car.

They don’t have a child now and are young so should probably live in the city to be close to all the fun stuff and get to know their way and then later move to suburb when established especially for schools.

The statement you made about only having one car when poor is just so ridiculous I don’t even know if it warrants a response. If they can make it work with one car then that’s fine. If she’s not working she can drop him at the station and get gets a train ride to the office if he works downtown and they live in the suburb.

@Almondbut please dont go buying multiple cars due to peer pressure, do what works for you and seriously no one cares.

If your husband works in the city proper get an apartment there to start.

when we moved to Chicago we got a 1 bed 800 sq ft apartment that was much bigger than our small 2 bed flat at Colliers wood and made it work with an 8 month old.

a year later we rented a 2 bed in same building then bought a 2 bed the next year. 2 years later we bought a 3 bed townhouse in same neighborhood which we would not been able to afford in London. I walk tk the office in 28 minutes and cycle in 12 - 15 mins.

So my advice take your time to settle down and know your way, you can afford a 1 bed flat in that I come and you can later move to the burbs when you have a kid. You do NOT need $200k to start.

They don't have kids yet so $200K is jumping the gun I would think. Also healthcare premiums are based on kids vs. no kids so the monthly cost will go down a fair bit. I believe Massachusetts is one of the states that mandates IVF coverage, though the policy needs to be based in MA to qualify. (If your company has offices in multiple states, the policy will be based wherever the head office is and subject to that state's mandates and regulations.)

in higher paid jobs, PTO is often higher than that and can be negotiated (although often, it increases with long service, and when you move jobs, you negotiate to keep your holiday at the same level).

@Cantstandbullshitanymore Is right. So many misconceptions here, and they've punctured most of them. I'm one of those people in Manhattan, but many of my friends in the wealthy suburbs of NYC only have one car - it's really not that weird. Also, maybe an East Coast thing, but everyone I know goes on holiday ALL THE TIME. In fact, I feel like Americans travel more often than Brits, but in smaller chunks of time. They don't tend to take two weeks off at once, but instead they'll take a 4 day weekend in Puerto Rico, a week in Barbados and a few days skiing in Tahoe.

It's constant calendar tetris with my Mum friends trying to get together because we're always going in and out of town.

As I said, it's obviously different if you're one of the small minority of Americans who lives in a city centre but I have close relatives in 5 different US states who live the classic suburban lifestyle and what I wrote is true of them.

At one of my cousin's high school, literally every single 17 year old drove themselves to school - that's what suburban life in New Mexico is like.

See for example
www.quora.com › Do-most-...
Do most American teenagers really get their own car in high school?

Thank you, I even forgot to touch on the vacation part. I just get frustrated with the way we make posts based on stereotypes or “I heard” on MN.

you are very right about the short trips. Our plan is to focus on the Midwest this year and we’re driving down for Lake Geneva in Wisconsin to visit ice castles and enjoy a winter fest, plannings a road trip around lake Michigan going all the way to Mackinac Island. We are not planning a big summer trip because we have to be in the UK later in the year so will make it a longer European trip if not we would do something closer eg we were in Puerto Rico last summer and had a blast.

Sometimes I read posts by Brits here and scratch my head wondering what they are talking about but then I was probably the same before I moved. And it’s the same when it comes to Australia as well, acting like the average Australia rides a spider to work and fights wild animals for lunch while suffering from dengue fever.

We are part of a Facebook group for families in Chicago and people are constantly planning and providing information on family trips every single day. We got the inspiration for the Lake Michigan road trip from that page (I added the screenshot) will probably take about 20+ hours of driving. But it seems if you’re not flying to Spain then you’re not taking a vacation. I have colleagues at work going on skiing trips, hunting in Michigan area, ice fishing trips etc regularly.

This will obviously differ by city.

Cities like NY, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and many more are more city center dense which means lots more people live in the city center and within the city, while cities like Houston, LA etc are more spread out so it’s not a tiny minority that live close to the center across the country.

Yes New Mexico is very very different from Boston and more people will live outside the city center but Boston is different and is more walkable.

OP can watch videos like this where she talks about using the transit system in Boston

m.youtube.com/watch?v=aftDrlPB5sE

and this post from Citi data will shed some light.

OP should look at city data which is used by actual people living there and more reasonable and objective compared to the likes of Quora, Reddit and in this case MN where most posts are based on stereotypes or we experience one scenario and apply it across the whole 300million people in the US.

www.city-data.com/forum/massachusetts/

Interestingly there's data showing that teens are now less likely to have driver's licenses than in the past. While many teens do drive, the cost of running a car is substantial. Having a teen driver (I do) jacks up your car insurance rates, too.

Have to agree with previous posters regarding vacation time. I don't know anyone in an established career who has the mythical 10 days a year, everyone seems to go on vacation every time the kids have a few days off school!
I'm a SAHM but DH has 30 days plus Holidays and that's about standard amongst our friends who work in a wide variety of industries. New recruits in lower level jobs may start on much less but that isn't the situation your DH is in.
Being based on Boston would give easy access to some fantastic driveable trips and the airport is very well connected for exploring the rest of the US.
I find Boston has a very British feel and would think it is an easy landing point for a new expat. The city itself has excellent public transport but obviously the further out you move, then you are more likely to need a car.
I would encourage you to look very seriously at the visa and path to Green card situation before committing to the move. Your DH's employer should agree to fund your Green card applications starting as soon as you arrive.
While you are on a visa then you are completely dependent on DH's employer for your status. If he loses his job then you'll have very little time to leave the Country before you fall foul of immigration laws.

ooh - another point about holidays. This won't affect OP yet, but the school holidays here are arranged terribly. There is a week or so at Christmas, a week around Easter, and in parts of the Northeast including Massachusetts, a week of February break. Then there's 10-12 weeks summer holiday which starts in May or June, depending on where in the US you are (MA and NY are the late finishers). I've heard of a few places with year-round school or the 'balanced calendar' that gives you only 8 weeks summer. The rest is long weekends: Labour Day, Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day, Thanksgiving, MLK Day, Memorial Day. This holiday arrangement makes it very difficult for families to take longer holidays except in summer. You will find some people who do take 2 week holidays in summer, but I think the school calendar plays into people's vacation habits as well as the work culture. My DH and I get a nice amount of PTO, but we can't go anywhere because of school! People will pull their kids for holidays sometimes, but with high schoolers they miss too much work.

@knitnerd90

I see your point re the school holidays. I kinda like how the school year is compressed and they have longer summer breaks and they do summer camps better so it works for us, combination of summer camps, short weekend trips and one long vacation during summer.

But I do agree it makes it harder to take longer breaks outside summer eg we are planning to be in London later this year for my FIL 70th so the plan is to use the week of thanksgiving break as they have that week off and then miss the next week so we can be away for 2 weeks. Thankfully our school district is good with providing make up a work package as long as you stay within a certain number of missed days a year if not your kid can be asked to attend summer school to make up.