uk2usfaq - Moving From the UK to the US: FAQ _uacct = "UA-154573-7"; urchinTracker();

When I decided to move here from England, I read a few books about living and working in the USA. They were all useless. They didn't tell me what I wanted to know. They said things like "When men greet one another, they shake hands. Grasp the other man's hand firmly, and move it up and down two or three times. Never kiss other men in a business situation." However, I couldn't do much better, and I certainly couldn't write a whole book on it. I was also inspired by the Moving from the US to the UK page. And there doesn't seem to be a reverse version.

However, that said, stuff that I say may or may not be true. It might be based on what I've been led to believe, which might not be true. It might be biased by the part of the USA that I live in (West Los Angeles, Southern California) or it might just be nonsense.

In some ways, a FAQ (frequently asked questions) isn't necessarily the right name for this. The problem that I had (and still have, to a large extent) is not knowing what questions to ask, apart from the very general "What should I do / not do?" or "What do I need to know?" I've not been here long, which means that there's a lot I don't know, but the books that I read were written by people who were either American, or had lived here for a long time. Hence, it seemed to me, that they had forgotten what it was that they didn't know when they came (if they came).

If you are vaguely like me, then you will find this much more useful. And by vaguely like me, I mean employed (that's why I moved here), with an insurer that sorts of lots of things, like pays your health insurance. If you're retired or a student or an illegal immigrant, then there are lots of things that probably affect you that I don't know about.

I'm not going to bother with straight information on X, where X is some fact or other, for two reasons. First, if you want to know X, you can probably Google it. And second, if it's a fact of any importance (like how much tax should I pay, can I get arrested for ...) then you are better off asking someone who has more chance of knowing. Like a lawyer or an accountant or a doctor.

Finally, if there's something here that you think I might be able to address, or want to comment on, send me an email.

Things to Get

You need to get, as soon as possible:

Social Security Number: All kinds of people want your social security number. You need one as soon as you can. It's no effort - go to the social security office with your passport, which has your visa in it, wait a while, fill out a form and it comes in a couple of weeks.

Driving license: People will assume you have a driving licence, for all kinds of things. They might not take a cheque from you without a driving licence. To do this you need to take a driving test (of which more later). However, if you can't drive, you can still get a driving licence, which doesn't allow you to drive - effectively it functions as an identity card, when you want to prove your name to people.

Electrical Stuff

Electricity varies from the UK (and Europe) in two ways. First, it is lower voltage - 110v, versus 220v, and second, it's got more hertz (60 versus 50).

Will this matter?

Depends. The smaller, the newer, and the more electronic the item, the more likely it is to work without adjustment. Some things say on them what voltages they will work with. If they say they will work, chances are they will. If they don't say, they still might. The subwoofer (Harman/Kardon) that came with my Dell PC says 240v on it, but it worked. One PC had a switch on the back to change it from 220 to 110 volts, the other just didn't work. Two monitors (one LCD, one CRT) both worked.

My stereo and CD player didn't work.

Things which are larger, and more mechanical will work, just slowly. Hairdryers, for example, will work but will go slowly and won't get very hot. There might be very good reasons not to use them.

Transformers

Fixing the volts is easy, you get a step up transformer. You can buy these in lots of places (including Amazon , but I haven't found one that I liked yet, so I'm not going to make a recommendation. The thing about transformers is that you need to make sure that they can produce enough power, and the more power you need, the more the transformer is going to cost. You should only consider getting a transformer if the thing you have is expensive, and doesn't draw much power. A new vacuum cleaner is going to be cheaper than a transformer to run your vacuum cleaner. You also need to read about the Hertz, below.

Power Adaptors

For small electrical things, which have a power adaptor, you can get a new power adaptor. I've used this one.

Hertz

The number of Hertz is the frequency of the alternations in alternating current. Even if you have a step up transformer, Hertz might matter. Hertz are used to determine the speed that some things go at. Some clocks keep time by counting alternations (these are pretty rare nowadays), and some motors use the Hertz to set their spin speed. If you get a step up transformer, you might find that the motor goes 20% too fast - which might not matter, but we never tried it. This will affect things like food processors, vacuum cleaners, electric drills.

Understanding and Rudeness

Americans often sound rude to us Brits, but they're not, they're just blunt. Although you know this, it's easy to forget, and think that people are being rude. They're not. Sometimes they're even making a joke.

Income Tax

Tax, as you'd expect, is complicated. Usual disclaimers apply - this is based on my experience, and might be completely wrong. If you follow my advice, and go to prison, that's not my fault.

There are two kinds of income tax, federal tax, and there's state tax - although not all states have state taxes.

When you start working, you make an approximation as to how much tax you are going to need to pay, and you pay that much. The tax year runs (rather sensibly) from January 1st to December 31st, so sometime after December 31st, and before January 15th, you need to sort out your tax, and either get a refund (hurrah!) or pay some extra (boo).

You might think that the obvious thing to do is to pay no tax, and then pay it all at the end of the year - if you do this, the IRS will be cross, and you'll get fined something extra. Most people get a refund.

You'll need a professional to sort out your tax for you - however, this is much cheaper than in the UK. The first year we were here, we went to H&R Block where we paid a nice person to explain everything to us. This cost about $150 (for federal and state tax).

This year, I used an online service - TurboTax, which cost about $60, and was relatively stress free. However, we couldn't use TurboTax the first year, as my wife and children did not have working visas, and so didn't have social security numbers - they had to apply for a Taxpayer Identification Number (even though they don't pay tax), and to do that, we couldn't file online.

Deductibles

Lots of stuff is tax deductible. Whenever you donate money to charity, that's tax deductible, and you can claim the tax back on that. When you give stuff to charity, you do the same thing. When you take stuff to the thrift shop (charity shop) they will offer you a receipt. They will write what you gave them on the receipt, but they won't estimate what it was worth - that's for you to do, and then claim it back on your tax.

Anything you buy for work is tax deductible (I claim books), and if you work at home, a proportion of your housing costs are tax deductible too.

Childcare is tax deductible, as is private schooling.

The biggest deducible for many people is their mortgage interest, and their property tax (yes, that's right, your tax is tax deductible). Meaning that the larger and more expensive the house you buy, the less tax you pay.

Usage Tax

If you live in a state where there is sales tax, and you buy stuff from out of state, you are supposed to declare that on your (state) tax return, and pay the tax for the city that you live in. No one (as far as I can tell) actually does, and some people seem surprised when you tell them.

Sales Tax

If you are in an area where sales tax applies, you don't know how much anything costs, because the sales tax (VAT) is added after. And the precise sales tax depends on the city that you are in - in Los Angeles, it's (I think) 8.5%, in Santa Monica it's 8.75%. And you could walk from one to the other without noticing. Don't try to get the exact money ready.

Cash

This isn't financial advice, I don't do that. It's about the stuff you carry in your pocket.

Notes

US notes are all the same size. This means that when you get to the till, and have to pay, you will find yourself extracting one note at a time, inspecting it, and replacing it. The solution is to put your notes in order. Big ones on one side, small ones on the other.

Coins

In the UK, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to coins - what with having 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2, and the odd £5. In the US, there are 4 - 1 (penny) 5 (nickel) 10 (dime) 25 (quarter), and there has been talk of getting rid of the pennies. (Interesting fact: no US coin has a number on it, telling you what it's worth). This means that if you want to buy stuff from vending machines, you need a lot of coins - the worst is coin operated launderettes: to pay for washing and drying you need sacks of quarters. You'll also need them for parking meters (often in large quantities) and vending machines. When you have driven through the desert, and find a vending machine outside a closed tourist information centre (as we did in Palm Springs) you'll be pleased you had a sackful of quarters in your car for parking.

There's a movement to get rid of the 1 cent coin (penny), on the grounds that it's not worth anything (and it costs more to produce than it's worth). Shops and cafes often have a little bowl of pennies by the till, if your bill comes to (say) $8.01, you can take a penny. If it comes to $7.99, you can drop the penny in the bowl.

Churches

Lots of Americans go to church on a regular basis. It's far more common than in the UK. However, churches are much more than places of worship, a lot of social life revolves around the church. You'll meet people (well, probably) who met their spouses or partners, because they went to the same church.

An implication of this is not to say anything rude or jovial about religion, or religious people. You're much more likely to offend someone (even someone you really weren't expecting to offend).

There's an interesting section in the book The Audacity of Hope (see further reading at the end) where the author describes his reasons for his baptism into his church. It wasn't about wanting to be saved, it was more about wanting to hang out and be a part of that group of people.

Jaywalking

Jaywalking is something that, in the UK, we've usually heard about, but don't quite understand. In a city, you should only cross the road at a corner, or a pedestrian crossing. To do otherwise is to jaywalk.

Crossing at a corner comes as something of an anathema to those of us who grew up with the Green Cross Code, where a corner was not a safe place to cross. However, drivers expect pedestrians at corners (see driving) and so will stop.

In theory, you can be fined ('ticketed') for crossing elsewhere. In practice, this varies enormously from place to place.

Houses

I don't know anything about buying a house, so I'm not going to say anything about that. Anyway, you'll almost certainly be renting. See the disclaimers above as well.

In the UK, if a letting agency asked you to pay to look at their listings, you should run away. In the US, that's not the case - they charge the renters, not the landlords, and that's how they make their money. By not charging landlords, they ensure that they have a more comprehensive list. Most listings will also appear on Craigslist, . (If Craigslist covers the city).

When you find a house you like, you will probably need to pay an application fee. Again, this sounds like a rip-off, but it means that the landlord does a credit check to make sure you're not bankrupt and haven't been evicted. However, because you've only just arrived, you have no credit history, so make sure that you can explain that to your landlord, and make sure that they at least sympathise. I met some landlords who said that they could do an international credit check for a higher fee (I never looked into this to see if it was true) and others who said "Don't worry, the agency will sort it out". However, I had spoken to the agency, and they weren't going to sort it out. I felt that applying for that house would have been a waste of money, so I didn't.

Eating Out

Restaurants are cheap, and eating out is very common. (Of course, expensive restaurants are expensive, but they are less expensive than the UK. Cheap restaurants are cheap). Things to note:

Food is (or can be) cheap. Drinks aren't. You can add a surprising amount to your bill, by having a few drinks.

Tip. You have to tip. You will be frowned upon by all and sundry if you don't. At least 15% of the bill, or more if the service was good - tipping 15% is the same as tipping nothing in the UK. (It's sometimes a bit tricky to know who to tip - it's OK, this confuses Americans too, so ask around).

Driving

(This section is based on my experience and knowledge of Caifornia. It might not be true everywhere.

Driving is different. For a start, they drive on the other side of the road here. That's not the hard bit - you just follow everyone else.

Freeways have a lower speed limit than in the UK, but they can get very, very crowded, and continue at almost the same speed with small gaps in between cars. You need to get used to muscling in to gaps when you want to change lane - particularly when exiting.

Speed limits are very ambiguous. Officially in California they are 25 in urban/residential areas, and 35 on bigger streets, but there doesn't seem to be a clear distinction, so it's hard to know what the speed limit is.

There are lots of traffic lights, and very few roundabouts. Traffic lights go from green to yellow to red, but if it has only just turned yellow, don't stop. After I arrived I heard screeching tyres behind me more than once, because someone wasn't expecting me to stop.

When the lights go green, there is no intermediate yellow - they go from red to green. You then have about a quarter second to move, before someone beeps their horn behind you. People beep their horns a lot more than in the UK - it's unnerving to start with.

Pedestrians always have right of way at corners, whether there is a crossing or not. If you are standing on the corner, and look like you are going to cross, cars will stop. It's OK to wave them on, if you're not. However, if you're driving, you need to be aware that people will step out with no warning.

On the freeways, you need to be aggressive and get into gaps. At crossroads, it's the opposite - you need to be calm and relaxed. The most difficult one (I thought) to get used to is when turning left, without a filter - you wait for a big enough gap and then shoot through it. And then you see the pedestrians, who have right of way and weren't worrying about you. Similarly, when approaching junctions to turn right, you need to slow almost to a stop, to make sure that there aren't any pedestrians around. On the freeway, one almost has to be aggressive (compared with the UK), off the freeway, one has to be much more relaxed.

Before you can do a lot of driving, you will need to take your driving test. These vary from state to state, and you can find stuff out on the web about them. Driving tests are considerably easier than in the UK.

Petrol

Buying petrol, or gas, as you have to learn to call it, varies from state to state, so what I say here won't necessarily be true wherever you are.

First rule, don't forget to call it gas.

Second, some gas stations will have two sets of pumps, one is self service, the other is served. At the served one people will climb over your car cleaning the windows, and offering other services. You pay more for this gas. I'm not sure if you are supposed to tip the people who do it. (In some states, there are no self service though.)

In most, but not all, states, you need to pay in advance. There is usually a cash point type machine at the pump (or sometimes shared between a number of pumps). I find this slightly nerve wracking, as I'm never convinced that I've entered the correct number or let the machine know I've finished. I have visions of the person behind with the enormous SUV putting hundreds of dollars worth of gas in their vehicle and it getting charged to my card. You can also pay in cash in advance at the till - if you pay too much, you get change.

Distance

People think less of driving a long way to do stuff. That's partly (I think) because gas is cheap, and partly because it is a long way to places. Someone asked if we wanted to go to a park and see some wild flowers with them - we'd spend an hour or two there, and then come home. We agreed, before we knew it was 90 miles away.

Buying Stuff

This being America, there are a lot of opportunities to buy stuff. When you arrive, for things you need, you will find Craigslist useful. Also, check out the local thrift shops - charity shops, as we know them. Unlike charity shops in the UK, they also sell electrical stuff, so are a good source for things like TVs, toasters, etc. (But not kettles, because these are rare in the US.)

You'll find Ikea in most places, and they are pretty similar to the UK. Also worth looking at is Target. They have a lot of stuff, and are fairly cheap. For electronics, I like Amazon, and Circuit City. They seem to have staff that actually know what they are talking about.

Supermarkets are enormously variable, and more localised than in the UK, so there's not much advice to give. They vary a lot, so try different ones. One thing to note is that the staff seem more knowledgeable than in the UK - I've yet to find a person working in a supermarket, no matter how large, who can't direct me or take me straight to anything I've asked for.

At the checkout, they will expect to put the stuff in bags for you. Don't be surprised to see people stand there while they bag your shopping - and they will use very large numbers of bags. They will put a large container of milk in a bag,. and because it's heavy and the bag might split, they will put that in another bag. And the milk has a handle already.

Getting a Credit History

A problem I have already alluded to is your credit history. Without a credit history, there is a lot you can't do. But it's hard to get a credit history, because you can't do stuff to get one. Some providers will give you a really rubbish credit card, where you are required to put money into an account, and then they will let you spend it on your credit card. But it gives you the beginning of a credit history.

There is quite an art to getting your credit score higher. Having credit cards, or loans (which you pay back) or bank accounts helps. And the longer you have them, the better. Having credit cards that have lots of clear balance on them helps too - the more spare balance on your card, the better. BUT you have to use the card a bit, to show that you can use it and pay it back. The ideal (I read somewhere) is to use 35% of your credit limit each month, and then pay it back.

But, don't apply for credit cards to try to get a better score, because every time you apply for a card, they run a credit check on you. And every time they run a credit check, it hurts your credit score a little. I have an American Express card, and I realised that my credit score was hurting because I was using it each month (it was a 1% cashback one), so I applied for a higher credit limit. I'd had the card for 6 months, and had religiously paid the balance every month - in fact, I was so scared of a black mark that I paid it almost weekly. When I applied for a higher limit, they didn't take this into account, they ran my credit score, which came back saying that my balances were too close to the limit on my credit card, so they wouldn't give me a higher limit. (But I wanted a higher limit...)

Then I applied for a mortgage, and found that the credit check American Express had run had knocked my credit score just enough that I couldn't get the mortgage I applied for (and because I'd applied, that was another hit against my credit score. Aaaghhh!)

In theory you can get your credit score once per year from the credit agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They don't make it especially easy though. I now keep track of my credit with TrueCredit, which costs $15/month, but lets me keep an eye on it.

Insurance companies and prospective employers might also run a credit check, to see what kind of person you are.

Language

We speak the same language, in theory, but we use a lot of different words. You can read about these in books, or look them up on web pages (like this one) , so I won't bother to list them. You will, however, forget, when you are put on the spot. So try to be prepared. Before buying petrol, remember that it's called gas. The one to really watch out for is chips. Chips are crisps, if you want chips, you need to ask for fries. You can know this, but it will take at least one disappointment before you remember for good.

Swearing

You should obvious be as careful (or careless) about offending people as you would be in the UK, but there is a little variation. The word piss, or pissed, especially to mean annoyed, is not as offensive as in the UK. The word twat is more offensive.

Moving From the UK to the US: FAQ