Moving to the US for work

[Purple]

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!

It's a fantastic life opportunity for you and your family.
Your employer will have the infrastructure to relocate staff and their families. It's all down to do you want to go and what will they offer you to make it worth your while?
The first question is for you and your family to answer.

A friend who relocated to Texas for a few years said that his children really enjoyed it but struggled in school (secondary aged kids) as the standard of maths and science was much higher over there. That was a big surprise.
He said he;
Made sure that they were compensating him for any tax issues you'll face here as a non-resident paying a mortgage, making a tax return etc.
Made sure they paid the kids school fees (Assume they'll be going to private schools (Catholic School) and work from there).
Made sure they paid his rent and leased cars for him and his wife.
Made sure they paid their health and dental for all the family.

Have a plan as to how you dispose of your house etc, and deal with your pension here, just in case you all love it over there and want to stay.


Double check all the advice your employers relocation people give you.

 

[Truffade]

@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.

Thanks very much, great info all round (except the NFL bit )

On a couple of the specifics:

1. I doubt we would be buying a property.
2. Point noted on health insurance. And of course this is the time of life when kids attract hefty dental expenses.
3. Property tax. I assume if we are renting, this just gets baked into the rent? (dumb question but you never know...)
4. Schooling, yes seems like you must live in an area with decent public schools. Apparently the Boston area is pretty good by US standards but this would be the single biggest factor in choosing where to reside.
5. Weather. I've been to NYC a lot and believe Boston winters are worse again. Just get the right gear and we will be fine.
6. Visa - that's the company's problem is my attitude here. They relocate people all the time so should, I hope, be reasonably seamless.
7. Relocation package and salary. You make good points and they are exactly the ones I will be making when negotiating.

 

[Truffade]

It's a fantastic life opportunity for you and your family.
Your employer will have the infrastructure to relocate staff and their families. It's all down to do you want to go and what will they offer you to make it worth your while?
The first question is for you and your family to answer.

This will all be discussed in the next few days. Obviously we're not going to do it if the money isn't right for starters.

A friend who relocated to Texas for a few years said that his children really enjoyed it but struggled in school (secondary aged kids) as the standard of maths and science was much higher over there. That was a big surprise.

I would have thought they are roughly equivalent, that's interesting feedback.

He said he;
Made sure that they were compensating him for any tax issues you'll face here as a non-resident paying a mortgage, making a tax return etc.

Yes, all that will have to be hammered out

Made sure they paid the kids school fees (Assume they'll be going to private schools (Catholic School) and work from there).

We're not Catholic. I had assumed public schools in a good area would be fine but will talk to some of my colleagues over there and find out more.

Made sure they paid his rent and leased cars for him and his wife.
Made sure they paid their health and dental for all the family.

I think the standard deal is that rent is paid for the first couple of months and then you find your own place.
Health and dental is a given.

Have a plan as to how you dispose of your house etc, and deal with your pension here, just in case you all love it over there and want to stay.

We are due to get major work done on our house so being away would actually solve one headache (i.e. having to move out and rent). We would rent it out while away.
If we do end up staying, who knows, we would deal with that down the line.

Double check all the advice your employers relocation people give you.

Triple checking will be the order of the day.
At the end of the day, it's in no-one's interest to screw the other over.

 

[ClubMan]

Probably minor in the greater scheme of things, and no real issue if you financially very comfortable, but when you come back to Ireland stuff like car insurance will probably be a hassle/more expensive. Like you'll be starting from scratch with no previous track history.

 

[Thirsty]

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.

I would double check that flow chart; there's a difference between 'EU status' and 'Free fees' (and yes, we all know its not really free)

"In order to qualify for the Irish Free Fees Initiative you must have been living in the EU for at least 3 of the 5 years before starting your course.

You must also fulfill one of the following criteria:

You must:

1. Be a citizen of the EU or
2. Have official refugee status or
3. Be a family member of a refugee and have been granted permission to live in the State or
4. Be a family member of an EU national and have permission to live in the State, with a stamp “4EUFAM” on your residence card or
5. Have been granted humanitarian leave to remain in the State or
6. Have been granted permission to remain in the State by the Minister for Justice and Equality, following a determination by the Minister not to make a deportation order under Section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999."

Source: TCD website. Citizens info page is similar.

 

[sm7940333]

You mention it's 2-3 years. Is a job guaranteed on your return? Is it at the level / scope / pay of your current job or equivalent to your US job?

If so, will you have this in writing? Just remember a lot can change in 2-3 year. Your boss moves + sponsors move on, a project goes wrong & suddenly you lose your political credit in the organization.

Reason I ask is that my MNC tend to do only 1 way tickets (not just flight but with jobs as well). Happy to relocate you to new opportunities, but no guarantee of job back home afterwards - you have to bid as jobs open up.

 

[Truffade]

Probably minor in the greater scheme of things, and no real issue if you financially very comfortable, but when you come back to Ireland stuff like car insurance will probably be a hassle/more expensive. Like you'll be starting from scratch with no previous track history.

Yep, seems minor enough and something we'd just deal with at the time. A good point though!

 

[DublinHead54]

Thanks very much, great info all round (except the NFL bit )

On a couple of the specifics:

1. I doubt we would be buying a property.
2. Point noted on health insurance. And of course this is the time of life when kids attract hefty dental expenses.
3. Property tax. I assume if we are renting, this just gets baked into the rent? (dumb question but you never know...)
4. Schooling, yes seems like you must live in an area with decent public schools. Apparently the Boston area is pretty good by US standards but this would be the single biggest factor in choosing where to reside.
5. Weather. I've been to NYC a lot and believe Boston winters are worse again. Just get the right gear and we will be fine.
6. Visa - that's the company's problem is my attitude here. They relocate people all the time so should, I hope, be reasonably seamless.
7. Relocation package and salary. You make good points and they are exactly the ones I will be making when negotiating.

Not buying would negate a lot of costs, the rental market was pretty efficient in my opinion compared to Dublin at least.

The Visa is your problem, not the company's. The visa is issued by the US government to you and you need to understand it and keep on top of requirements as your company won't. The company will supply their lawyer, and do the paperwork etc but at the end of the day it will be you standing at immigration doing the interview. For example if memory serves right there is a difference between L1A and L1B visas there your company will probably use, one means your spouse can work the other means they can't.

 

[Truffade]

You mention it's 2-3 years. Is a job guaranteed on your return? Is it at the level / scope / pay of your current job or equivalent to your US job?

This is probably the second the most important reason for the move. To make a big pay jump and retain it when returning home.
Again this is something fairly standard in MNCs.

If so, will you have this in writing? Just remember a lot can change in 2-3 year. Your boss moves + sponsors move on, a project goes wrong & suddenly you lose your political credit in the organization.

Reason I ask is that my MNC tend to do only 1 way tickets (not just flight but with jobs as well). Happy to relocate you to new opportunities, but no guarantee of job back home afterwards - you have to bid as jobs open up.

I don't think ANY private employer would guarantee in advance that 'you will have XX job in YY years'? Again, par for the course.

 

[Thirsty]

I don't think ANY private employer would guarantee in advance that 'you will have XX job in YY years'? Again, par for the course.

This is worth being 100% on.

I know of one case where a person was impacted by redundancy whilst on an overseas posting; residency, visa, flights home, accomodation were all pulled at a days notice.

Sorry two quotes got merged there.

 

[Purple]

We're not Catholic. I had assumed public schools in a good area would be fine but will talk to some of my colleagues over there and find out more.

Many of the kids who go aren't but there's a perception that they are better schools. The local schools might be fine but it's worth looking into.

 

[Peanuts]

Not buying would negate a lot of costs, the rental market was pretty efficient in my opinion compared to Dublin at least.

The Visa is your problem, not the company's. The visa is issued by the US government to you and you need to understand it and keep on top of requirements as your company won't. The company will supply their lawyer, and do the paperwork etc but at the end of the day it will be you standing at immigration doing the interview. For example if memory serves right there is a difference between L1A and L1B visas there your company will probably use, one means your spouse can work the other means they can't.

Just to note the vast majority of rentals in the US are not provided with any furniture so you will need to budget/negotiate for the costs associated with this.

 

[Truffade]

Just to note the vast majority of rentals in the US are not provided with any furniture so you will need to budget/negotiate for the costs associated with this.

Thanks. Yes, aware of this from stints abroad in my single days!

IKEA is our friend here...or craigslist.

 

[PGF2016]

I don't think ANY private employer would guarantee in advance that 'you will have XX job in YY years'? Again, par for the course.

I took up a similar opportunity with a US MNC and had a guarantee in place that there would be a job to come back to. The guarantee was for a similar role, not a guarantee of the exact same job but in the end it was the position that I had left.

 

[Midtown]

Hi,

As a family we have been through this a couple of times – once on a fixed term assignment and once as a permanent transfer. Two different countries, both with the same employer.

I believe there are three things you could consider:

• Is this something you as a family want – the adventure?
• If you choose not to accept it does your employment continue as normal?
• Is the assignment definitely fixed term? 2 years may be relatively short time to move with kids as they will likely only settle after a year or two. Is there an option to extend it or make it permanent down the line?

Both times we did it we decided at the time that it was the adventure that we wanted. Your multinational employer will likely give you a fantastic relocation partner to take care of all the tricky things about moving.

My advice if you do take the opportunity is to understand that the first year will be expensive, even with all the allowances and help your employer will give you. Buying cars, new furniture etc. etc. As somebody else mentioned you will not have a credit history so these purchases will come from your own cash.

Your kids are at various ages and will adapt differently to the changes and may take longer/shorter than each other to adapt.

On housing – I recommend renting/buying in the area with the best public schools. This will mean higher taxes but those taxes pay for the good schools and with three kids the higher property tax is cheaper than paying for private schools. We shipped all our furniture over from Ireland so only had to purchase non compatible electronics. We received an allowance for this.

Finally on spouse working/not working this will come down to visa type. Your company lawyers will advise but if your spouse is on your visa they will not be able to work initially even if they want to until they get an employment authorization document over there.

Regarding fears of redundancy, loss of supports while on assignment this is something that you can negotiate as part of repatriation supports.

Hope this helps and good luck whatever you choose.

 

[Blackrock1]

Its a pretty major upheavel at a delicate enough point in the kids lives, unless there is a likelihood that this move will really reward you financially now or potentially in the future i would think long and hard about it.

If everyone is onboard then make sure the numbers stack up and id take some time to go through it in detail!

 

[Truffade]

An update: this is still on the table but moving very slowly (nobody's fault per se, just business conditions). Awaiting a package to review....

 

[Lifesapeach]

@Truffade

Similar situation at the moment, but minus the children. Smaller tech company, discussing a relocation, partner potentially taking career break to join me. Did you figure out if possible for spouse to work, and what type of vis allows this? Is there specific elements of a relocation package you would suggest to negotiate on? Fundamentally I want the principle that I won’t be out of pocket from the move and ultimately rewarded for making the move.

 

[Truffade]

@Truffade

Similar situation at the moment, but minus the children. Smaller tech company, discussing a relocation, partner potentially taking career break to join me. Did you figure out if possible for spouse to work, and what type of vis allows this?

Aha! This was exactly the question I asked a relocation professional last week.

I am going on a L type visa and, apparently, the spousal rules have changed on that very recently meaning that yes, your spouse will be entitled to work without any extra paperwork.

Is there specific elements of a relocation package you would suggest to negotiate on? Fundamentally I want the principle that I won’t be out of pocket from the move and ultimately rewarded for making the move.

A rental allowance. If your company can pay most\all of your housing cost, then you should be well set.

I'm still a bit in ignorance myself as, even though I have negotiated the package, I still don't really know what the picture will be until I am over there. as in how much is the daily cost of living, leasing a car, what will our rent be etc
I have a call with our tax consultant tomorrow so will know more then.

Our goal is primarily to enjoy the experience so if we come home with no extra money, as long as I've been contributing my pension, paying off mortgage etc, then that will be fine. The financial benefits will really kick in once we're back home and back to a dual salary household.

 

[cream1]

The US is an expensive destination now with inflation & weak euro. U need to think about college fees for the kids, as others have said there’s a residency requirement for ‘free fees’ of 3 years