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Across the Pond

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Everything posted by Across the Pond

  1. Its illegal to withhold coverage these days. TBH the American system has winners and loser, you hear the horror storied about families losing everything to paid medical bills. My big issue is the fees hospitals charge for services and tests. Blood test/ allergy test etc. I wish they would be transparent about the cost but its so complicated to figure out what the patient should pay. The doctors are worried about being sued all the time and want to test for everything and because the patient doesn't have the cost right infront of them or don't care because their insurance is paying for it they go along with the testing. I went to see my gp for an ear infection, and the over testing ended up costing me a extra $150 plus they wanted me to take a fancy medication costing a ton of money. Even the doctor agreed the regular $5 antibiotics work just as good.
  2. I lived all over New England the last 8 years. Companies have to provide health insurance. Its often been 20/80 ie I pay 20% of the premium. So for single person you end up paying something like $75 a week pre tax, for a couple its like $150 then $350 for a family. Taxes are lower over here than the uk so evens out Ive also been on Medicaid which is like "free" healthcare for the low income, family income below $30k, which was like the NHS. When I was temping for a while I signed up for obamacare, fantastic experience, basically you get a subsidized insurance premium depending upon your income. On a side note my friend is a dentist and see patients who have MASSHealth which is again like the NHS. Patients get free dental treatments.
  3. If you ever want to return to the uk and not be priced out of the market. I wish Id bought something before I left in 2007.
  4. I'd be tempted to rent out the uk house, just to hedge your bets. You're right Bearwithasorehead, my 30 year old European friend just bought a house here and he said its the kind of house back home he could only afford before he retires.
  5. #1 sold, as he priced it competitively and wanted to move quickly. He'd been saving for years, and feared he would lose out on his new house. The Prices are unbelievable. Horrible little run down properties for prices out of reach for even the average joe. How long before we hear about Junior doctors in surrey living in garden sheds! My property tax is 2.5% the assessed house price.
  6. What state? Compared to where I live in New England its cheaper. My friends just moved from Bryan Ohio and sold there 3 bed house for $20k, they had just spent that on a new kitchen and renovations too. That’s in a smaller town, the cities are more expensive but not stupid like back home. The killer is health Insurance if you have a family or you’re older. Taxes are generally lower so it can even out. Lots of deductions. I hear good things about some of the larger cities like Columbus and cincinnatti etc. Depending on your circumstances it could be an adventure for a few years, the british accent still opens some doors. Typical US companies give you 10-15 days paid holiday, I’d try and negotiate that up. You’ll miss Pavements, british supermarkets and the mild british weather (I’ll never get used to the humidity). Fortune favors the bold!! Good luck.
  7. Yes, very true!! I tell them they're lucky they don't have USA style property tax rates like I pay on my house, one of them would be paying 20 grand a year!
  8. Three of my friends are moving this year all late 30s, sorry for being a little vague with the locations; London commuter town - Sold his 2 bed terrace for close to 300k to move up to a house close to 800k. M3 commuter town - Selling his average 80s 3 bedder, on the market, bidding war pushing it towards 350k Dorset/Hants town - Bought his 3 bed house in 2011, no garage for circa 200k did it up, had it valued yesterday for 350k. I live in the states, and when I see this I wonder if I’m forever priced out of my homeland.
  9. The US healthcare system is like a flash car, great if you can afford it. My family have had the best medical care, easily exceeded my expectations, especially on a couple of occasions. But it costs a fortune. Even now on ‘obamacare’ I selected the best option for my family, Im paying close to a $1000 a month. Doctors visit, that’ll be $30, same medications you get in the uk cost more too. Every year the premium goes up. Old people on medicare I speak to end up spending half their pensions on it. My neighbor told me about the health insurance they have back home in Germany, that seems a lot more civilized.
  10. First Post - Probably been reading this site for ten years.......... New England – Made redundant in 2007 perfectly timed for my moved to the USA Wasn’t really affected by the financial crisis as rented for a few years and neither was boston as prices in the city appeared to be immune. Finally relocated to ct where I bought a 4bed house on an acre of land for $200K, 2 years later had to move 40 miles north of boston , living in an1500sqft 2bed 2 bath apartment with pool and tennis courts on site that sell for around $110K. On the face it property in the US seems better value than the uk but, Property tax works out at about 2.5% of my house’s assess value, which is like my friends in england paying 6k a year council tax on their 250 grand homes. Can you imagine that! Also my family medical insurance is $10k a year. Taxes are lower over here especially in New Hampshire as there’s no state income Tax or VAT. I love England but every time I think about returning home I know Id most likely have to move close to London for work, but whats the point when I talk to one of my friend whose having to spend 600 grand for a ordinary detached house in woking, I tell him he’s mad. Even in the town I grew up in anything worth looking at is heading for 300K. I look at my dad who at 34 was earning more than the value of his detached 3 bed house on a firemans salary. Then I think about my step sister who is a newly qualified midwife and has to move in with her dad because she cant afford her own place.
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