Any UK expats in the USA?

[crinkleshoes]

For me it would be sacramento/california. Having spent a couple of months in san fransisco working I can say I love the city but I'd hate to live there, staying there for that long helped me realise that I'd much prefer to live outside of a big city.

If you're looking for snowboarding or something there is bear mountain in california, it's closer to los angeles (9 hour drive from sacramento) but you could probably get flights to l.a. and then get to bear rmountain from there

Yeah - part of me would like to live in a big city as I like the amenities... but I've already discovered that I prefer the space

Good to know about bear mountain, so I can always get my fix without having to trek over to CO... although, I'm not the most adept of boarders

Absolutely beyond jealous. I would LOVE this sort of opportunity. Congratulations

I've never been to the states, but from what I've read, I'd be going for Cali, with Florida a close second. However, don't taxes vary state to state. Where would be the most 'efficient' place to live? I'd let this influence me if there is a huge difference Florida to Cali.

Baring in my that the OP has said he would be a homeworker, and parts of Oregon look like this http://cache2.artprintimages.com/lrg/20/2097/8EP2D00Z.jpg ... I wouldn't discount it immediately. Totally down to what the OP wants.

Thanks, it's something I've been dreaming of since my first trip as a kid Just had no idea it could happen quite so soon and in such a way

Yes the taxes do vary, if I take my projected salary as $102k (range is 102-110)... then it's just under $300/month more expensive tax wise in Cali compared to Colorado.

Looks like Oregon is more expensive than Cali (slightly).

Then Florida is somewhere between CA and CO.

CO is also about $0.30/gallon cheaper for fuel.

It would appear CO is the cheapest place to live from my list.

The difference would be $3.5k/year on income tax alone, maybe up to $4-5k/year with the reduction in other taxes.



But then I've also been looking at properties in Sac... seems you can get something gorgeous on a lake for $1500-2000/month in a decent area (rental). That seems to usually include all bills + taxes with the exception of electricity.

 

[crinkleshoes]

This part of the country we get 100 deg summers and -10 to -20 winters, New Hampshire has no state tax, which also equals no sales tax ( VAT ). It was voted the #1 state to raise a family, the least religious state in the USA. There is hardly any crime, people leave their cars running while they go in the stores and you see cars with windows down in carparks in summer.

The eating out scene in this state is a bit rubbish though, the foods a bit bland, you do get some great places to eat, but the majority are average.

Thanks for that.

Surprised to hear the summers get quite so warm up there! It's the winters that are nasty

I'm pretty sure I want year-round warmth

Has to be California San Francisco-ish area, I had a girlfriend who's sister lived in Tiburon and spent lots and lots of time over with them, they loved it, the weather is great (not too hot) San Francisco is epic.

Not entirely sure what she and her fiancée did for a living but their house had probably the best view I have ever seen in my life, they were near the top of a hill overlooking the bay so you could see the whole cityscape, angel island (good bike ride) and could see the tops of the golden gate bridge over the hills. Much envy.

Edit: just saw you like cars... The costal hills north of Sanfran are awesome out to Stinson beach, which is a rather cool place in itself.

Sounds great!

Yes... I've already been reading about the roads round there... also quite nice down toward Santa Cruz, aparently

It seems like the perfect area for me... but then Colorado and Portland have their share of amazing places...

I suppose I won't be stuck in a single place, being a home worker - so I can move around a bit.

It might be starting with a 3 month trial "to see if I like it" (I think I know the answer to that one )... so while over there I'll try and travel to these places as much as I can.

 

[Curio]

I'm in the upper Midwest, but I've been to 3 of the 4 places on your list.

Boulder would be my choice by miles. I am a fairly "outdoorsy" kind of person though, and Boulder is kind of a prime location for that.

http://www.bvsd.org/community/PublishingImages/boulder.jpg

Then again, I just can't deal with constant heat, so CA and FL would be automatically off my list anyway

 

[toshj]

Sacramento, CA
Boulder/Denver, CO
Portland, OR
Tampa, FL

Any recommendations on the above?

I loved Boulder, CO. Spent a few nights there in 2009 and thought it was one of my favourite palces in the States. It's a laid back, high altitude (less alcohol needed...) liberal type of place. The mountains are within touching distance and there's so much to do around.

Saying that, I reckon you'd also enjoy Portland. Again it's a really relaxed place and the countryside in that part of the world is amazing. Also, Seattle and Vancouver quite close by.

 

[D.P.]

Yeah - part of me would like to live in a big city as I like the amenities... but I've already discovered that I prefer the space

Good to know about bear mountain, so I can always get my fix without having to trek over to CO... although, I'm not the most adept of boarders



Thanks, it's something I've been dreaming of since my first trip as a kid Just had no idea it could happen quite so soon and in such a way

Yes the taxes do vary, if I take my projected salary as $102k (range is 102-110)... then it's just under $300/month more expensive tax wise in Cali compared to Colorado.

Looks like Oregon is more expensive than Cali (slightly).

Then Florida is somewhere between CA and CO.

CO is also about $0.30/gallon cheaper for fuel.

It would appear CO is the cheapest place to live from my list.

The difference would be $3.5k/year on income tax alone, maybe up to $4-5k/year with the reduction in other taxes.



But then I've also been looking at properties in Sac... seems you can get something gorgeous on a lake for $1500-2000/month in a decent area (rental). That seems to usually include all bills + taxes with the exception of electricity.

Scarmento is 2 hours form lake Tahoe which has 17 different ski resorts. Don't know why the heck anyone would go to SoCal for skiing, I hear this year most of the SoCal resorts didn't open a single day.

I think you also mentioned Las Vegas, Secramento is 2 and it hours to south lake Tahoe which is beautiful and on the Nevada border so has several Casinos. Another hour and you are in Reno, probably the biggest gambling area in the US/World outside Vegas, and much nicer.


As for me, I moved to Eugene, OR. An hour to the sea and an hour to the mountains surround by forest, lakes, rivers and mountains. 2 hours form the desert if the rain gets too much, but TBH, it is not really that wet. Summers make up for a wet winter I am told. Portland is similar, but with a larger city scene.

Sacramento is pleasant but really boring and kind of in the middle of nowhere. California is my favorite state but you really only have 3 options of places to live. 1) SF bay area, preferably west bay or on the coast, pacific city etc, downtown SF if you need the city life. 2) Lake Tahoe area and surroundings, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, epic skiing, closer to Yosemite. 3) NorCal proper, somewhere like Redding is hot and dry in the summer but close enough to the coast and plenty of surrounding mountains. Eureka is fun but damp.

I could never imagine living in Sacramento, and I hate living in cities, its just that there is not much there, excepting you are 2 hours to Tahoe. If you have the freedom to live more or less anyhere then I wouldn't go there. TBH, I reckon reno is nicer, closer to Tahoe, on the desert side of the Sierras, but has cooler nights

The downside to the bay area is high living costs, high taxes, very busy/congested.



Oregon like New Hampshire has no sales tax, and it is relatively cheap to live in. Yeah, there are plenty of Meth heads, but the biggest issue that arises is buying sudafed is a pain.

 

[Conanius]

I've just noticed you comment about sun all year round.

A couple of friends have gone out to Denver, and they recon its 300 days a year of sunshine. But I'm sure they told me they almost certainly get snow each year, hence why one of them is about to take up snowboarding....

Unless you want that cold, I'd be staying away from Denver... if I've not understood right !

 

[Rroff]

Have a bit of a perspective on most of these as I used to play competitive CTF in a North American Quake 3 clan with members from most of these places and did LANs out there.

Sacramento or Portland would probably be my choices out of those 2 - being in range of Vancouver/BC would be awesome.

Maybe just coming from the UK its a bit strange but Denver/Colorado has a lot of plains as well as mountains and personally I found the openess a bit weird. People were pretty laid back but personally I could never feel at home there bit hard to explain.

Tampa is great if you like boating, fishing, etc. but lifestyle is very different from the UK much more outdoors and during the summer as mentioned it gets incredibly humid.

 

[Tunney]

Nevada has 0% income tax if you fancy living in Vegas.

 

[crinkleshoes]

I'm in the upper Midwest, but I've been to 3 of the 4 places on your list.

Boulder would be my choice by miles. I am a fairly "outdoorsy" kind of person though, and Boulder is kind of a prime location for that.

http://www.bvsd.org/community/PublishingImages/boulder.jpg

Then again, I just can't deal with constant heat, so CA and FL would be automatically off my list anyway

I loved Boulder, CO. Spent a few nights there in 2009 and thought it was one of my favourite palces in the States. It's a laid back, high altitude (less alcohol needed...) liberal type of place. The mountains are within touching distance and there's so much to do around.

Saying that, I reckon you'd also enjoy Portland. Again it's a really relaxed place and the countryside in that part of the world is amazing. Also, Seattle and Vancouver quite close by.

Boulder does seem rather nice, but then so do the other places

I think I need to experience these places myself before making the commitment... so traveling while in my trial period will be the best option.

Scarmento is 2 hours form lake Tahoe which has 17 different ski resorts. Don't know why the heck anyone would go to SoCal for skiing, I hear this year most of the SoCal resorts didn't open a single day.

I think you also mentioned Las Vegas, Secramento is 2 and it hours to south lake Tahoe which is beautiful and on the Nevada border so has several Casinos. Another hour and you are in Reno, probably the biggest gambling area in the US/World outside Vegas, and much nicer.


As for me, I moved to Eugene, OR. An hour to the sea and an hour to the mountains surround by forest, lakes, rivers and mountains. 2 hours form the desert if the rain gets too much, but TBH, it is not really that wet. Summers make up for a wet winter I am told. Portland is similar, but with a larger city scene.

Sacramento is pleasant but really boring and kind of in the middle of nowhere. California is my favorite state but you really only have 3 options of places to live. 1) SF bay area, preferably west bay or on the coast, pacific city etc, downtown SF if you need the city life. 2) Lake Tahoe area and surroundings, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, epic skiing, closer to Yosemite. 3) NorCal proper, somewhere like Redding is hot and dry in the summer but close enough to the coast and plenty of surrounding mountains. Eureka is fun but damp.

I could never imagine living in Sacramento, and I hate living in cities, its just that there is not much there, excepting you are 2 hours to Tahoe. If you have the freedom to live more or less anyhere then I wouldn't go there. TBH, I reckon reno is nicer, closer to Tahoe, on the desert side of the Sierras, but has cooler nights

The downside to the bay area is high living costs, high taxes, very busy/congested.



Oregon like New Hampshire has no sales tax, and it is relatively cheap to live in. Yeah, there are plenty of Meth heads, but the biggest issue that arises is buying sudafed is a pain.

Thanks for the info.

Gambling isn't really for me... proximity to Vegas is just for potential on-site installs for Casinos, which could be useful.

Nevada side of lake Tahoe sounds tempting... no income tax and low sales tax, it would appear I imagine the air quality is better than Sacramento too...

The wetness is really putting me off OR - even if it's not as bad as it sounds - I would rather freeze my arse off while keeping dry than be mild and wet, that puts CO above OR on my list now, i think. So I don't think I want to live there first, but I definitely won't rule it out for future moves, after I've visited.

Definitely don't want to do the busy town thing, so San Fran is somewhere I'll want to visit - but not live.

That's definitely given me something to think about, thank you

 

[crinkleshoes]

I've just noticed you comment about sun all year round.

A couple of friends have gone out to Denver, and they recon its 300 days a year of sunshine. But I'm sure they told me they almost certainly get snow each year, hence why one of them is about to take up snowboarding....

Unless you want that cold, I'd be staying away from Denver... if I've not understood right !

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I like the idea of CO... sunny and dry most of the time, even if the temps aren't as high as they could be.

Although it seems the winters are quite mild and the summers still reasonably warm.

Denver/Boulder aren't as cold as you might think, which surprised me

Have a bit of a perspective on most of these as I used to play competitive CTF in a North American Quake 3 clan with members from most of these places and did LANs out there.

Sacramento or Portland would probably be my choices out of those 2 - being in range of Vancouver/BC would be awesome.

Maybe just coming from the UK its a bit strange but Denver/Colorado has a lot of plains as well as mountains and personally I found the openess a bit weird. People were pretty laid back but personally I could never feel at home there bit hard to explain.

Tampa is great if you like boating, fishing, etc. but lifestyle is very different from the UK much more outdoors and during the summer as mentioned it gets incredibly humid.

What's so good about Vancouver/BC?

As for open-ness... I love it! Space is underrated in the UK

Nevada has 0% income tax if you fancy living in Vegas.

Vegas, no thanks... somewhere like the Nevada side of Tahoe though = tempting

 

[crinkleshoes]

The states with taxes for residents - do you get something for your money? If they have no money coming in from residents, they might not be able to fund programmes you may use in the community/have better public schools or universities/etc, or they may have to tax businesses more (meaning your saving is offset by the fact that your employer will be taxed more, and thus pay you less), etc?

Obviously some may just have horrific debts (CA?), but others may actually give you something for your money/be worth it?

Good thought, would be good if someone has the answer

 

[D.P.]

The states with taxes for residents - do you get something for your money? If they have no money coming in from residents, they might not be able to fund programmes you may use in the community/have better public schools or universities/etc, or they may have to tax businesses more (meaning your saving is offset by the fact that your employer will be taxed more, and thus pay you less), etc?

Obviously some may just have horrific debts (CA?), but others may actually give you something for your money/be worth it?

Each state gets money from the federal taxes so the lack of state taxes doesn't have a big impact really. Corporate taxes are a little higher but not in a significant way, i doubt these expenses change salaries that much. Salaries reflect the living costs of the area, I could earn probably 50K a year more in SF bay area but the living costs and extra tax would mean I would be worse off.

 

[D.P.]

Another place to consider is Salt Lake City. You can leave your office and have skis on your feet in 15 minutes. The Wastatch mountains thee have the best skiing on the planet bar none, and offer amazing hiking in the summer. Easy drive to southern Utah which has some of the best scenery on earth. Road trips to Colorado, Las vegas, Wyoming, Arizona all relatively easy. Taxes and living costs are low, very safe area to live. Long hot summers hat are dry, colder snowier winters still lots of sun.

The high Mormon population makes some things a little strange but they are really nice friendly people. just means there are less star bucks (not a bade thing) and bars relative to the population size.

The city is not particularly attractive but outside the city is really nice.

 

[Rroff]

What's so good about Vancouver/BC?

As for open-ness... I love it! Space is underrated in the UK

Always found that part of the world quite mellow, loads of things to do, weather mostly quite mild (it is actually as far South as Paris) - but with the odd few weeks of going to the extreme with blazing sun or heavy snow.

If you like open-ness then Denver and that area has it in spades - personally the "emptiness" of it gets to me.

 

[Kutter]

What do the state taxes go towards? They can't just disappear, and it's not as though it's an insubstantial amount of money.

Property taxes are higher, some places round here are paying $8k a year in property tax ( council tax ) on houses more than $400k, but it depends on the county too. some places are as low as $2k a year.

A 3.5 million property in Rye Beach has $34k a year property tax lol

 

[[TW]Fox]

btw, words cannot describe the envy I have for you. Your circumstances are absolutely awesome

 

[D.P.]

btw, words cannot describe the envy I have for you. Your circumstances are absolutely awesome

I think you have mentioned this a few times. If you are serious then have you started making plans and applying for jobs over there? Our company is desperate to higher new people and it is a really big struggle to find sufficient talented people. So much competitions between companies to find good software engineers and researchers. Our company is even thinking of opening up an office in the SF bay area in the hope of attracting new employees.

Getting a US Visa is much easier than you think if you are a skilled worker. If you have a BSc/Beng and work in something vaguely technical like software then go find a job for an appreciative company who will cover the visa costs.
Fire off a load of job applications and arrange a time for interviews in a 3 month window. then go on a combined holiday interview tour.

If you don't try you wont ever get the chance.

 

[Scougar]

I think you have mentioned this a few times. If you are serious then have you started making plans and applying for jobs over there? Our company is desperate to higher new people and it is a really big struggle to find sufficient talented people. So much competitions between companies to find good software engineers and researchers. Our company is even thinking of opening up an office in the SF bay area in the hope of attracting new employees.

Getting a US Visa is much easier than you think if you are a skilled worker. If you have a BSc/Beng and work in something vaguely technical like software then go find a job for an appreciative company who will cover the visa costs.
Fire off a load of job applications and arrange a time for interviews in a 3 month window. then go on a combined holiday interview tour.

If you don't try you wont ever get the chance.

Lol you have to tell me more. (given that I'm still waiting on my immigration visa to get sorted for the USA - A waiting game, and the balls in their court at present).

OP> If you have kids, you might want to consider thinking about good school area's. Just look for the rich car area's and the big houses, they will guarantee relatively high taxes, but very good schools.

 

[Luke]

Boulder is a wonderful place. I nearly moved there and my wife went to uni there.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

I've been offered the opportunity to be imported to the US with my company, somewhere I've always wanted to live + a bit more money on my base salary

Main thing I have to consider is internet connectivity...

Is there more to this story or is this a really terrible reason for deciding whether or not to emigrate to one of the harder places in the world to be accepted?