Cost of living: US vs UK.

Marry a US women.
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A friend of mine married a US girl and even then he found it hard. He's a skilled software developer and even with the two combined it took him over a year from the time she moved back to get clearance. :(

Gérard Depardieu obviously got in before they tightened immigration laws!
 
Teki187 said:
US = Cheap built houses, poor health, FBI phone taps (no phone S** for you!) and a dying economey.

Why would you want to live there?
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Remember Bush got voted into the whitehouse twice, this country is full of rednecks (not sure how to put it in UK terms) stereotypical rednecks tend not to attend church, or do so infrequently. They also tend to use alcohol and gamble more than their church-going neighbors http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=redneck http://rednecks.ws/
 
InvaderGIR said:
That's what I plan on doing, most people I know think it's a great idea, but there are some that just basically say "you, get shot, and it's crap over there, and there are not many jobs, you wont get one". Nothing like being pointlessly negative, not backing up anything, just going on what they were told when on holiday there.:rolleyes:

That'd be cool if you could give some info/feedback on it. :)

InvG
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Funny. Because when I actually did back up my statement about healthcare you said "...health service, in the UK it's appalling (whatever people say)".

So you think you know more about healthcare than the World Health Organisation? Brilliant.

Edit: you just have to read the frontpage of Digg most says to see why I wouldn't want to live in the US full-time.
 
I did a one year placement in New Hampshire USA with a Biotech company. I was a computer Science student. I was basically an IT intern out there.

This was 2002 time frame.

How did I get the job:

My Uni had a wall where the placement department would post up all job offerings.

One day they posted up this job for the US. It turns out they had a placement student out there already and he was due to go back to uni. The student who was already out there got his job via his dad who worked for the company but in the UK.

I got chatting to the guy over email, asked questions, etc. I think this is what got me the job really, while a lot of people just applied for the job I took the time to speak to the guy out there and built up a rapport with him. Turns out he pretty much recommended me in the end which just shows that it's who you know :p

I had a phone interview with all the guys out there that was more of a chat than an interview.

I think applying blind to US companies would be very difficult. There could be a lot fo work in it for them around Visas, so they may be keen to get US students rather than UK ones.

Visa:

You would need a long term student/work visa, I believe this called a J1 or J2. My employer had to fill out a lot of the sections. I think this cost me a few hundred dollars.

Flights:

Pretty self explanatory. Expect to have to pay for your own flights. Also note that on a J1 type visa you can only leave and come back to the country once. For me that was Christmas and New Year.

Rent:

I took a room in a house. It was the old room of the guy I replaced so it suited me fine.

Rent was around $400 a month. Lot cheaper than what i'd pay in the UK.

Car

Depending on where you live you'll need a car. I lived in the sticks so I needed one. Bought a low milage Hyundai for around $3000. Sold it for $3600 a year later!

Even if you live close to work or have public transport still get a car. You'll want to explore the country or drive to friends houses.

Petrol was silly. Full tank was around $15 for me.

Job

I was an IT Intern. I was one of two guys looking after a manufacturing facility in New Hampshire.

My boss was great, could not be better. I learnt a lot in that year not only because he taught me so well but also because when he was on holiday I had sole responsibility. I think it was AUgust when he was away and the sobig virus hit! (or one of them that caused a lot of damage!).

I did everything out there. Backups, email, servers, networking, Oracle right down to basic user training and support.

I think I earned $12 an hour and $18 and hour with overtime. I did a lot of overtime so I was very comfortable.

In New Hampshire there is no state income tax, no sales tax and all federal tax I got back as I was a student who didn't live there. Made a killing really!

The main office of the company was on South Street Massachusetts and I travelled there often. Funny thing is there are only two or three companies on south street and 4 years later i'm working for one of the other companies on South Street (i'm in the UK though). Coincidences.

Healthcare

I took out insurance. I think it as only $100 as i'm young, fit, etc.


Other points to note are that I didn't see or have a single crime committed against me. Even at work I didn't hear of a single crime. Not one. Not one mugging, robbery or car break in.

After a day at the office I used to head to the range with a colleague and shoot a variety of big guns :D

Pretty much everything was cheaper out there. Only thing more expensive was wine.

People were very friendly and warm. Girls love the accent.

I found it weird that work began at 8am and finished at 5.30.

I think those are the main points. I wouldn't worry about costs. Do it for the experience - as long as you get paid you'll be fine. I can add some pics if you want to see stuff.......
 
Jet said:
Funny. Because when I actually did back up my statement about healthcare you said "...health service, in the UK it's appalling (whatever people say)".

So you think you know more about healthcare than the World Health Organisation? Brilliant.

Edit: you just have to read the frontpage of Digg most says to see why I wouldn't want to live in the US full-time.
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That's the point. You can read what you like, but some of us have actually lived in both places. And in my experience the UK health system is absolutely terrible. It's one of the main reasons we moved.
 
Curio said:
That's the point. You can read what you like, but some of us have actually lived in both places. And in my experience the UK health system is absolutely terrible. It's one of the main reasons we moved.
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a) he hasn't lived anywhere but the UK (at a guess) and

b) it doesn't make a blind bit of difference what your experience with the NHS is. What's important when deciding whether to move is the average score. As long as you're an average person.

You've got a higher chance of receiving poorer care in the US than in the UK. And you're guaranteed to pay more for it. What if you moved to the US and had a very bad experience there? Would you move somewhere else?

I had a bad experience with a hotel in Corfu. Would I then advise everyone I meet to avoid holidaying in Corfu? Of course not.
 
Jet said:
Funny. Because when I actually did back up my statement about healthcare you said "...health service, in the UK it's appalling (whatever people say)".

So you think you know more about healthcare than the World Health Organisation? Brilliant.

Edit: you just have to read the frontpage of Digg most says to see why I wouldn't want to live in the US full-time.
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Sorry, I didn't mean to come across a complete arse, having dealt with the UK health service, it does leave a lot to be desired, obviously I don't know about the US one.
My point about people making blanket statements was not for people here, as you all tend to back up points, but for another forum I also live on and know the people there well. :)

InvG
 
fini said:
I've studied and am studying the US legal system (in comparative courses) and the only conclusion I can ever come to about it is that it is a broken implementation of what the UK laws used to be that have been meddled with in ways that show an inconsistent understanding of what they're actually doing. Their laws are a slapdash mix of archaic acts and popularist legislation created due to something that's been on the news - how many countries have laws actually named after people?
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How can you dare suggest that UK Law is perfect?

Don't even get me started on how broken Family Law is in the UK, it's an absolute disgrace - it's completely weighted in favour of the mother to the absolute detriment of the father.

The Judges way of dealing with a situation where the mother and father cannot agree contact is to remove the father from the child's life completely - absolute ******* ********!

Arrrgh! :mad:
 
The Mad Rapper said:
Arrrgh! :mad:
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This is OT, but just to answer your questions.

I never said the UK judicial is perfect - simply in a much better state than the US one.

There is nothing in statute that favours the mother - this is sadly far more to do with individual judges rather than what the word of the law says. There's really very little that can be done with this and the same problem may be seen across any jurisdiction I know of - though admittedly family law isn't my strong point.
 
Edward78 said:
Remember Bush got voted into the whitehouse twice, this country is full of rednecks (not sure how to put it in UK terms) stereotypical rednecks tend not to attend church, or do so infrequently. They also tend to use alcohol and gamble more than their church-going neighbors http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=redneck http://rednecks.ws/
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Sorry dude when i lived in Floral City in citrus county.
They were as you put it RED NECKS and yes they went to church every sunday
And at least once in the week. So were you get that from i dont know.

And the Red necks where the most kindest people i met in FL while i was there.

You come straight out of a comic book.


EDIT I lived in both pasco and citrus county
 
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USA houses are cheaper, fact
if you do the same job in the USA that you did here, you would earn less, but everthing costs less, and overall you get MUCH more for your money.
you do pay for health care in USA but the NHS is appaling and i can garentee wont exhist in 10years time anyway
the UK is full of sponging foreigners, but im not sure what the situation of that is the the USA

i notice some posters mention the death penalty is in force in the USA like it is bad thing. I think the likes of ian huntely should have been disposed of years ago and save the taxpayers money. murderers/child rapists here get out in less than 20years if they behave, which is very wrong. Remember a dead rapist can't rape anymore!

The only place I have visited recently is texas, which is full of sponging mexicans, and imo is an undesirable place to live (they are all gay and are obsessed with church and it is extremely hot, no exageration here). I am very much considering moving to the north of USA wehn i graduate, such as michigan, maine, new york state.
 
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Jet said:
I had a bad experience with a hotel in Corfu. Would I then advise everyone I meet to avoid holidaying in Corfu? Of course not.
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How about if you had many bad experiences over many years at many different hotels in Corfu?

I'm hardly basing my opinion on one or two visits to the docs in the UK :rolleyes: My wife, my father and my brother have all had terrible experiences with the NHS going back many years. My wife lived in the US for the first 21 years of her life and when she moved to the UK she was shocked at the total incompetence displayed at each and every visit to the doctor. When we moved to the US I was just as shocked at how modern, efficient and competent the healthcare system was.

Of course it's not perfect (what is?) but I can only go by my own experience - I don't give a flying duck what a bunch of numbers say.
 
Vanilla said:
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Wow, nice big post, really informative. I would say sure post pics, but I'm not sure they would have much help or relevance. :) Thanks for taking the time to write all of that up for me, it really does show that it'll be hard to get a place, but worthwhile if I can get one. :)

After looking around at available places I have to say, East coast, or North East coast would probably be best really.
I know some people that live out there, so can also get some info from them abot rental prices in their areas etc. :)

InvG
 
Surely, you cant judge whether UK is better or USA, simply by looking at the health service? I'm 33 yrs of age and in all that time Ive hardly ever used the NHS. Ive hardly ever had to goto hospital, though my dentist is totally private. In the grand scheme of things, healthcare wouldnt be important to me if I were making a decision.

The most important factor would be the overall standard of living - cost of housing, wages, cost of food, cost of entertainment and consumer items, weather, crime rate, health care (in order of importance).

I can understand if some of you have some serious on-going illnesses, but barring that, I cant see why people are attaching so much importance on healthcare.
 
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