Changing Euros to US Dollars.

Hi guys/gals,

I`m moving to the USA shortly and need your opinions on what is the best way to move my life`s savings.

I have about €350k on deposit with 3 different banks ( I`ve sold everything I own to move over ).
I was wondering should I convert it to dollars here?...moving it to whoever gives me the best rates first, or would I be better off moving it to the US as Euros and converting it to dollars there?

Thanks.

Check out CurrencyFair.com, I usually get close to and sometimes beat the market rate.

I use Transferwise for EUR/GBP transfers all the time and they are excellent. However the scale of what you are transferring (€350k!) is vastly greater than what I use so I would imagine the banks would be able to sort something out on their FX desks. Might be no harm enquiring with your US bank re. what they can offer too.

Thanks Onewaybet and Username2012 I`ll look into those options, I appreciate your suggestions.

Another vote for CurrencyFair. They are Ireland based and so far have had a good experience doing the same.

The bigger question is whether there is any tax implication with a large transfer. Worth looking into.

Also U.S. banks FDIC insurance is limited to 250K per person per bank so you need to set up the bank accounts of course in advance. I'm not sure you can do that online or by phone if you haven't moved to the U.S. yet.

For currency diversification and just in case you relocate to EU zone in the future, you may consider keeping some money in EUROs. Plus the bank interest rates here are much higher than any US bank.

Thanks ScottSF, I never thought of tax implications.

Don't see why there would be any tax implications. It's your money, and you're not making any gain or loss on a one-way transaction.