Moving to the USA from the UK (Student Loan?)

Options
2»

Comments

  • kangoora
    kangoora Posts: 1,193 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    Options
    Go for it, we did this in late 90's (Florida not California) and would still be there apart from the company went bust within 2 years and I had 3 months to leave before being deported :0

    I assume you will be working on a sponsored L1 visa, get started on your green card application as soon as possible so you can move to another USA company if the worse happens, something I failed to do..... The green card, even if your company helps, can take at least 18 months. You could also look at US citizenship as you can have joint UK/US citizenship.

    I'd also suggest you look into and pay Class 2 NI payments in UK whilst abroad, this will keep your UK pension arrangements up-to-date in case you ever return (these are very cheap, couple of pound a week). You will also qualify for USA Social Security/Pension from USA salary which is much more generous than the UK pension so you could end up in the enviable position of having 2 x state old age pensions on retirement.
  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 15,284 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Options
    kangoora wrote: »
    You could also look at US citizenship as you can have joint UK/US citizenship.


    Remember that US citizens have to pay US tax no matter where in the world they live and work. For most people in this position what matters most is not the amount of money but the sheer effort involved in completing a US tax return each year. And once you are a US citizen the process of renouncing citizenship is extremely expensive, and again a fair amount of hassle.
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 46,960 Ambassador
    Academoney Grad Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary
    Options
    Voyager2002 wrote: »
    I suggest that you ask your employer if they can assist with housing, and obviously insist upon full medical insurance...

    You will almost certainly be taxed like a US citizen with the same income. Your student loan payments will be assessed on amount of your salary converted into sterling at current exchange rates, and this calculation will not take any account of differences in the cost of living. So if you find that you need to pay a lot to rent somewhere, and a lot more for medical insurance, that will not alter the amount of your loan repayments meaning that you could find life there rather difficult...

    This isn’t quite accurate. The slc has a table of thresholds based on the cost of living in every country, so you could find the threshold is higher in America.

    Current threshold for America is £18,935.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on The Coronavirus Boards as well as the housing, mortgages and student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • sazaccount
    sazaccount Posts: 537 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary
    Options
    Just to add the SLC also only assess and set the exchange rate once a year in April or possibly May the threshold amounts, exchange rate and the default amounts for each country can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-earnings-thresholds-for-plan-1-student-loans
    Thanks to money saving tips and debt repayments/becoming debt free I have been able to work and travel for the last 4 years visiting 12 countries and working within 3 of them. Currently living and working in Canada :beer: :dance:
  • onwards&upwards
    onwards&upwards Posts: 3,423 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    Not SLC related but don’t restrict yourself to living in the city, it’s insanely expensive and some of the suburbs are much cheaper and you get in easily by train.

    https://blackhawkmovers.com/best-places-to-live-in-the-east-bay/
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,280 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Options
    silvercar wrote: »
    This isn’t quite accurate. The slc has a table of thresholds based on the cost of living in every country, so you could find the threshold is higher in America.

    Current threshold for America is £18,935.
    They also state the currency conversion rate they will be using as well.
  • zagubov
    zagubov Posts: 17,886 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    Options
    Voyager2002 wrote: »
    Remember that US citizens have to pay US tax no matter where in the world they live and work. For most people in this position what matters most is not the amount of money but the sheer effort involved in completing a US tax return each year. And once you are a US citizen the process of renouncing citizenship is extremely expensive, and again a fair amount of hassle.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!!!

    Definitely hold back from getting US citizenship.

    They are more advanced than us regarding tax treatment of expats and you will have tax obligations to them once you have citizenships, and that's a hotel you can't easily check out of.

    It's also the mark of cain if you want to deal with European financial businesses. :naughty:
    There is no honour to be had in not knowing a thing that can be known - Danny Baker
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards