Moving to the US for work

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Truffade

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Hi, mulling over an offer that is currently in the early stages of discussion with my company.
I work for a US multinational and I have been asked would I consider relocating over there (Boston) for 2/3 years.
Salient facts:
  1. Current salary = ~160k + usual benefits
  2. Wife's salary = 82k (public sector). Her qualifications would not be recognised in the US. Likely she wouldn't work.
  3. We own a house worth ~800k in Dublin. Remaining mortgage is 230k. We are planning a large modernisation and retrofit that will likely cost 250-300k. We have 200k put aside to cover the bulk of this.
  4. My pension is worth ~650k.
  5. My wife has a PS pension.
  6. Childrens ages: 15, 13, 10. They are fairly normal as kids go!
  7. One dog!
  8. Our ages: 47, 49
I have not yet gotten into any detail with my employer but my boss has indicated that the underlying reason for the move kicks off in June and he wants to discuss next week. I think I should be in a relatively strong position to negotiate and my company values my skills.

Just looking for any advice, opinions especially from anyone who has done this recently. I am very open to a couple of years abroad, as is my wife.

Especially:
  1. Schools - how do kids adjust to a US school curriculum and then readjust coming back.
  2. Negotiating a relocation package. Tips/advice from anyone who has successfully done so.
  3. Moving to the Boston area specifically. Where to stay for schools especially but also other factors.
  4. Any other tips and advice....
Thanks in advance!
 
Truffade said:
Schools - how do kids adjust to a US school curriculum and then readjust coming back.
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Your older kids may want to come back to Ireland for university.

From memory you have to be EEA-resident for three years before you qualify for "free" fees in Ireland. Otherwise you pay the non-EU rate which is generally much higher.

People often go to the US, CH, Australia for a "few years" which turns into longer and often get stung by this when the kids want to come back to Ireland to study.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
Your older kids may want to come back to Ireland for university.

From memory you have to be EEA-resident for three years before you qualify for "free" fees in Ireland. Otherwise you pay the non-EU rate which is generally much higher.

People often go to the US, CH, Australia for a "few years" which turns into longer and often get stung by this when the kids want to come back to Ireland to study.
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I think, seeing the cost of tertiary education in the US, we would very much like to do this. i.e. have kids go to college in Ireland.
So if we leave for 2 years and return, sounds like we are fine?
 
Truffade said:
So if we leave for 2 years and return, sounds like we are fine?
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It is more complicated than I remembered even.

See here.

Truffade said:
Wife's salary = 82k (public sector). Her qualifications would not be
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She may be able to make voluntary PRSI contributions when in the US. These may be worth it to keep up state pension eligibility.


Truffade said:
My pension is worth ~650k.
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I have no expertise, but I guess the rules around tax residence and pension contributions will get complicated. Your situation shouldn't be super unusual and it's probably worth paying for professional advice.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
It is more complicated than I remembered even.

See here.
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Thanks No Regrets, that's actually quite reassuring as even if we managed to miss on the criteria of 'Have your parent/s been resident as tax-payer(s) in the EU/EEA/ Swiss Confederation/UK for at least 3 of the 5 years prior to starting a programme?',
then they would still qualify on this:
Have you done 5 years of primary and/or secondary education in the EU/EEA/Swiss Confederation/UK?

Yes, agree your point on continuing to make PRSI contributions.

In terms of professional advice, I think we get that as part of the relocation package. But I will double-check as we get into the detail.

Thanks for all these excellent pointers!
 
Could you not go and negotiate flights home event 6 weeks say?? Flights for wife and kids over for the summer etc your wife goes on SWYS for the summer.

Kids stay in school, less upheaval for them. You are proposing moving them to schools. They need to settle and then you are moving them back again and they need to settle back into school here again. I wouldnt do that to my kids personally.

I would consider turning down the role for the above reasons. I guess only you can decide on the priority of your job and the upheavel to your kids and wife compared to your current job. You are in a good position, I would go on my.own for a few years with a sweeter of flights requested when negotiating with your boss.
 
PebbleBeach2020 said:
Could you not go and negotiate flights home event 6 weeks say?? Flights for wife and kids over for the summer etc your wife goes on SWYS for the summer.

Kids stay in school, less upheaval for them. You are proposing moving them to schools. They need to settle and then you are moving them back again and they need to settle back into school here again. I wouldnt do that to my kids personally.

I would consider turning down the role for the above reasons. I guess only you can decide on the priority of your job and the upheavel to your kids and wife compared to your current job. You are in a good position, I would go on my.own for a few years with a sweeter of flights requested when negotiating with your boss.
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We're not going to do that. We either go as a family or stay as a family.

We believe there's a lot of benefit to exposing kids to different cultures, countries etc. It's not about 'upheaval' but about opportunity.

As a side note, we had the chance to relocate to South Africa about 12 years ago and turned it down. Mainly on the grounds of personal security. Our kids never stop complaining about this!

But to each their own, I respect your opinion.
 
The requirement to return taxes to Revenue for 3 years. Does this always happen? I mean, what about people leaving permanently, say I want to move to Belize.
 
I think kids growing up today have an awful hard job compared into me and I'm not that old!!!!

At those ages, they probably have a lot of life friends and are coming into those years that really cement those friendships. Taking them away from that and moving to America would be fine (in my opinion snd smthg I'd consider myself) if I was going to America to live long term. The fact that it's two or three years and then everyone moving back to Ireland again. That's a totally different proposition I think anyway.

You have to ask is your wife happy to give up or take time out of her career?
Is there grandparents still around and if so, they won't see the kids very often for the next few years.
Financially, you are down 33% ISH increase with your wife not working, dies that have any impact on you financially or is it negated by a salary increase?
 
It depends where in the senior cycle your eldest is? If (say) they would be starting 5th year in Sept 22, it might be worth considering boarding school in Ireland, if they were happy with that of course.
 
Thirsty said:
there is no way I would ask my partner to, effectively, become a lone parent for two, or more, years.
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I know several spouses (including husbands) who have given up their job temporarily to move abroad for their spouse's work.

All of them have made a joint decision with their spouse, and most have really enjoyed it!

Boston is not the cultural equivalent of outer space, and is a direct flight home in an emergency.
 
PebbleBeach2020 said:
I think kids growing up today have an awful hard job compared into me and I'm not that old!!!!

At those ages, they probably have a lot of life friends and are coming into those years that really cement those friendships. Taking them away from that and moving to America would be fine (in my opinion snd smthg I'd consider myself) if I was going to America to live long term. The fact that it's two or three years and then everyone moving back to Ireland again. That's a totally different proposition I think anyway.

You have to ask is your wife happy to give up or take time out of her career?
Is there grandparents still around and if so, they won't see the kids very often for the next few years.
Financially, you are down 33% ISH increase with your wife not working, dies that have any impact on you financially or is it negated by a salary increase?
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It's not uncommon, I know plenty of families who have done this. Some more than once!
And this is obviously not some decision I would take unilaterally. My wife is fully involved. I didn't think that needed to be explicitly stated...
 
Thirsty said:
It depends where in the senior cycle your eldest is? If (say) they would be starting 5th year in Sept 22, it might be worth considering boarding school in Ireland, if they were happy with that of course.
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Just about to do Junior Cert i.e. in 3rd year
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
I know several spouses (including husbands) who have given up their job temporarily to move abroad for their spouse's work.

All of them have made a joint decision with their spouse, and most have really enjoyed it!

Boston is not the cultural equivalent of outer space, and is a direct flight home in an emergency.
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I think you may have misunderstood my post.

There was a suggestion that OP would travel alone, leaving spouse and children in Ireland. That was the scenario to which I was responding.
 
Truffade said:
Just about to do Junior Cert i.e. in 3rd year
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Hm..so next year could be treated as transition year (i.e. Boston) & then 5th / 6th year boarding to get into Uni here - will that cover the residency requirement though?
 
Thirsty said:
Hm..so next year could be treated as transition year (i.e. Boston) & then 5th / 6th year boarding to get into Uni here - will that cover the residency requirement though?
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You need to read the link posted - the residency requirement is moot as they're EU citizens and will all have completed 5 years of education here.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
Your older kids may want to come back to Ireland for university.

From memory you have to be EEA-resident for three years before you qualify for "free" fees in Ireland. Otherwise you pay the non-EU rate which is generally much higher.

People often go to the US, CH, Australia for a "few years" which turns into longer and often get stung by this when the kids want to come back to Ireland to study.
Click to expand...

Annoyingly everyone by default is treated as Non-EEA and have to prove they are EEA. I believe there is also an option for if you were educated in EEA up to a certain level then you don't need the 3 year rule.
 
@Truffade I lived in the states for a number of years, although I did not have children at the time, so I can't offer much advice other than observationally from colleagues experience.

I think it is important to take the time to understand the differences between the Irish and US systems, but a few tips to be aware of and items to discuss with your employers relocation teams.

  1. Lack of Credit History - When you first move the lack of credit history will make it harder to get credit cards, secure rental accomodation etc. Be prepared to either need a guarantor or put down large deposits
  2. Housing - Generally for purchase it is a 20% deposit plus ~2-3% closing fee of sale price. Housing market has gone crazy there.
  3. Health Insurance - This will be vitally important to understand, my company paid 50% of mine and I was still paying something silly like $600 per month. This could be a large deduction from your monthly pay.
  4. Tax - Generally I found I paid less tax than Ireland but then items like Health Care costs close the gaps. However, property tax can be very large compared to Ireland i.e. a 1m house is 10k per year, but then some of that can be offset against income tax
  5. Schooling - I lived in NY and what I understood based on colleagues was that it based on catchment areas and public taxes funded the schools. Then there was two options
    1. Buy a house in an area with bad public schools, house will be cheaper and send your kids to a private school
    2. Buy a house in an area with good public schools, house will be more expensive and local taxes may be more expensive.
  6. College - Much much harder process to gain entry than here in Ireland i.e. you don't just get the points to go to Harvard and apply and get in. Applicants have to have a lot of extra curricular activities, write essays to apply and also factors in where their parents went i.e. if your parents went to Harvard you have a better chance of getting in. There was the recent college entry scandal and there is a doc on netflix about it.
  7. Cars - Cheaper than Ireland
  8. Boston area - Great in summer, Nantucket is hands down my favorite place. On the flip side the winters can be brutal in the North East, but then you have access to ok skiing as well.
  9. General day to day living can be expensive e.g. paying somebody to cut the grass, snow plough, school acitivities etc. However, probably not materially different to Dublin
  10. Visas - Understand your companies greencard policy, will they apply straight away (the process can take 3 years). You don't want to build a life then lose your job and be left unable to work in the US.
  11. Sports - NFL!!
In general like any country there are pros and cons, but overall the lifestyle in America can be amazing. In your specific situation, I would imagine that your equivalent US counterpart is probably earning $250k, so I wouldn't just negotiate a US salary that is just the euro equivalent converted. At the end of the day, if they have asked you the power is in your hand for negotiating.
 
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