Working and expenses in the U.S.

[Jenni and Bo 0]

I"m gonna have to go the other way on apartments here...we are getting a NICE one bedroom right on the city line between Raleigh and Cary - pool, gym, walking trails, fireplace and new appliances in the apartment and hookups for washer/dryer - 624/mth! Yes, we have to pay our utilities, but when I was in Halifax going to University, you couldnt get a place like this for under 900$. Hell, my two bedroom I had 4th year which is the same size as this new one was 1100/mth, only hot water inc...

But I got cranky as hell yesterday...looking for wedding photographers...lowest I've seen is 875/4 hrs *gag*

it was 300/5 hrs in Miramichi *cry*No professional photographer for this new couple

My cousin is getting married and you know what he did? He went to a college and found a student. You can find some who are cheap and super talented.

Always worth a try right?

Wow, that is a fantastic idea Sprailenes I'm in the middle of a sea of schools, so I will look into it!

Ohhh we had pondered moving to Cary originally, then decided on Florida!

I love it here Cary is a bit more on the expensive side b/c so much of it is brand new - Raleigh reminds me of a bigger version of Halifax though <3

[Texanadian 10]

My wife gets health insurance through her employer which is good and very reasonable (the family is covered for $370/month).

You consider that good? We pay $370/month out of our pockets for health insurance for the three of us, and my wife does have health insurance through her job (They pay the other $900/month for her single coverage. She pays an additional $85 every paycheck. Her son and I each have our own single policies). To add either of us to her work health care plan would be $700 each per month. Or we could go for the family coverage option which is $2100/month for all three of us. Since her job only pays for single coverage, we'd have to pay the other $1200/month out of pocket for son and myself. Most of the people who work there are on TX Medicaid instead. I can see why. Health care is the biggest cost difference between the two countries. And Texas has the most expensive health care of all the states.

Comparing BC/TX is tough. Housing is way waaaay cheaper in Texas. (About 1/4 the cost to purchase) But everything related to housing is more expensive. Electricity was 6 cents in BC, it was 17 cents the last time I checked here (the A/C runs all year). $300/month air conditioning bills during the summer (1300 sq ft). TV and phone service is more expensive in TX.

There are cheaper things about living in the south. But overall, I don't see it as the big "woo hoo everything is cheap" grass is greener scenario that everybody paints it to be. And we don't even have state income tax here.

We paid about $7500 last year for health care premiums as well as my wife's thyroid surgery. We can't claim a single penny of it on our income taxes because it's still lower than the standard deduction.

[sly_wolf 199]

My wife gets health insurance through her employer which is good and very reasonable (the family is covered for $370/month).

You consider that good? We pay $370/month out of our pockets for health insurance for the three of us, and my wife does have health insurance through her job (They pay the other $900/month for her single coverage. She pays an additional $85 every paycheck. Her son and I each have our own single policies). To add either of us to her work health care plan would be $700 each per month. Or we could go for the family coverage option which is $2100/month for all three of us. Since her job only pays for single coverage, we'd have to pay the other $1200/month out of pocket for son and myself. Most of the people who work there are on TX Medicaid instead. I can see why. Health care is the biggest cost difference between the two countries. And Texas has the most expensive health care of all the states.

Comparing BC/TX is tough. Housing is way waaaay cheaper in Texas. (About 1/4 the cost to purchase) But everything related to housing is more expensive. Electricity was 6 cents in BC, it was 17 cents the last time I checked here (the A/C runs all year). $300/month air conditioning bills during the summer (1300 sq ft). TV and phone service is more expensive in TX.

There are cheaper things about living in the south. But overall, I don't see it as the big "woo hoo everything is cheap" grass is greener scenario that everybody paints it to be. And we don't even have state income tax here.

We paid about $7500 last year for health care premiums as well as my wife's thyroid surgery. We can't claim a single penny of it on our income taxes because it's still lower than the standard deduction.

I'm confused. Are you saying $370/month for a family of 4 is expensive for insurance?

Sly

[SapphireDreams 71]

I"m gonna have to go the other way on apartments here...we are getting a NICE one bedroom right on the city line between Raleigh and Cary - pool, gym, walking trails, fireplace and new appliances in the apartment and hookups for washer/dryer - 624/mth! Yes, we have to pay our utilities, but when I was in Halifax going to University, you couldnt get a place like this for under 900$. Hell, my two bedroom I had 4th year which is the same size as this new one was 1100/mth, only hot water inc...

But I got cranky as hell yesterday...looking for wedding photographers...lowest I've seen is 875/4 hrs *gag*

it was 300/5 hrs in Miramichi *cry*No professional photographer for this new couple

Does that include photos and an album and all of that? If so, that's a great deal. I'm not even going to say what I'm paying my photographer but its a lot... here is her site: www.claudiahungweddings.com - I love love love her... but that's one part of my wedding that I'm 100% spending on since I want a photo journalist and photos really last forever... and it includes a lot of stuff, unlimited hours, 2 photographers, engagement photos... etc. etc. Anyways, I digress...

It's definitely a trade off for me. A lot of things are cheaper like food, clothes, cell phones, cable, internet, subway in New York City but then there is a bit of a trade off because health insurance will be a bit more of an expense (but not by much) and then rent is definitely more in Manhattan, but since we'll be living in Queens, we'll save there... but if we were in Toronto the rent would get us something really nice in Downtown Toronto...so rent would be around the same.. but what we get is a bit different... in terms of salaries... since I don't have a job yet, I can't say for sure, but I think that from my inital research if I get a comparable job, I'll be making about 15,000 more, however, I have a feelng, I'll need to take a step back to get my foot in door and take a lower level position... so I'll make the same... or maybe a bit less at first..

I'm interested in seeing how different it will actually be for me... I have a feeling it will be very comparable.

[Sprailenes 47]

I"m gonna have to go the other way on apartments here...we are getting a NICE one bedroom right on the city line between Raleigh and Cary - pool, gym, walking trails, fireplace and new appliances in the apartment and hookups for washer/dryer - 624/mth! Yes, we have to pay our utilities, but when I was in Halifax going to University, you couldnt get a place like this for under 900$. Hell, my two bedroom I had 4th year which is the same size as this new one was 1100/mth, only hot water inc...

But I got cranky as hell yesterday...looking for wedding photographers...lowest I've seen is 875/4 hrs *gag*

it was 300/5 hrs in Miramichi *cry*No professional photographer for this new couple

My cousin is getting married and you know what he did? He went to a college and found a student. You can find some who are cheap and super talented.

Always worth a try right?

Wow, that is a fantastic idea Sprailenes I'm in the middle of a sea of schools, so I will look into it!

Ohhh we had pondered moving to Cary originally, then decided on Florida!

I love it here Cary is a bit more on the expensive side b/c so much of it is brand new - Raleigh reminds me of a bigger version of Halifax though <3

Yep put out an ad or phone the schools to talk them, sometimes you can even get a teacher who will allow a student to work for credit too.

Same cousin also got some botanical students who will do their flower arrangements.

So if you're finding something to be too much, explore these options. Lots of luck!

[minnew 4]

When I worked in the U.S. I was making waaay less than what I could have been making in Canada for the same field of work. We will be living in a different state once I move down there again, but looking at the wages I will be making about half the amount I have been earning in Canada, which sucks! I guess that's the trade-off for falling in love with an American! The rent and utilities are way less than in Saskatoon or Regina and we will have almost 1200 sq ft of space! When I worked in the U.S I was a state employee and the only perk to that was having all of your medical benefits covered, the only thing you had to pay for if you wanted it was vision/dental benefits. I won't have to worry too much about the medical benefits as I will have Tricare once I am married, could I still elect to have state medicals benefits if I got a state job? Is it okay to have double coverage? I've never really cared too much about money as long as I am happy with what I am doing in my job, and as long as I can live comfortably and pay my bills. EI will sure come in handy when I move! But we will still be okay even if I get denied EI benefits. I however do NOT like the idea of only 6 weeks maternity leave! Absolutely ridiculous!! The cost of daycare is ridiculous!

[Reba 2]

I am making significantly less than I was back home, and making less than I would with a similar job even. I make about the same now as I did in 1986 at my first office job. Talk about demeaning.

My rate of income taxes is about the same as it would be for my pay level in Ontario. North Carolina likes to tax people to death.

Cost of living isn't much cheaper here in WNC than it would be in Southern Ontario really, except winter-time vegetables obviously, which for Ontario have to be trucked in much further, and adds to the cost.

Medical expenses and insurance are one of our biggest chunks of cash out the window every month. I pay $400 per month premiums for just me and hubby, plus our deductibles were more than doubled for this year's plan, and prescriptions are now subject to the deductible. James' monthly medications now cost us more than $300 per month. I don't know if we'll even reach our maximum out of pocket this year, its so high!

I really do wanna go home.

[Carlawarla 1]

I hope I didn't skew the poll here! I was working in Canada of course, but have chosen not to work here in the U.S. Just one of many reasons for my not working here was that I didn't have to of course, but if I did, I didn't know what I would do. When we first started looking at my moving here to St. Louis, I looked at comparable jobs. The differences were amazing. To do the same type of work I was doing in Canada, I would be paid approximately 30,000.00 less a year here, with few if any benefits. While I was employed by the same employer for 26 years in Canada, and I know my vacation time was comparable to the years I worked, the US side of vacation time and sick time was not comparable whatsoever.

On the other hand, grocery shopping here is very much cheaper. Gene and I eat WELL and healthy here, for MUCH less that I could eat crappy in Canada. Our property taxes and housing is much cheaper here where we live than it was where I lived, particularly now. Gas of course is cheaper, and we just bought a new car that was significiantly cheaper than in Canada. Utility payments here are about the same as they were in Canada.

I was fortunate I didn't have to work when I moved here, and really feel for those of you who have to try and find comparable work when first moving down. I guess depending on where you live though, it's important to take into consideration if the cost of living is cheaper in comparison to perhaps lower wages.

In my case however, the pay difference would have been enormous.

Edited February 10, 2009 by Carlawarla

[Texanadian 10]

I'm confused. Are you saying $370/month for a family of 4 is expensive for insurance?

Sly

Ahhh, so it's $370 for everybody. I thought you meant that your wife had health insurance through her job and then you paid an additional $370 to the rest of the family (yourself and a child.)

I didn't know that it was $370 for four people. That's an average of $92 per person/month out of pocket. Not bad.

Contrast that to us where our health care runs $423 per person/month. Fortunately we only have to pay $123 per person/month out of pocket. The crummy part is that we each have separate policies. So each of us has a $3,000 deductible. (three of us)