Living Costs & Tax - Moving from UK to Naperville... (renters, health insurance)

[madwa]

Hi,
We currently live in Nottingham in the UK but I have been offered a job in Naperville, IL and now had my visa accepted . I am currently trying to get a grasp for the cost of living and was hoping you could help.

I will be moving with my Wife and our three children (4 years, 2 years & a few months old) in November to the US. The job is going to be based in Naperville so was presuming that was the best place to live, from what I have read it seems like a good suburb.

In terms of costs, we would hopefully be renting a 3 bed house. I was guessing at the following from what I have read so far, not sure if it right or a bit off.

Rent $2000 ish per month
Property Tax $0 (I think this should be included in the rent?)
Electric $125 per month
House Gas $125 per month
Cable/Internet/Phone $120 per month
Groceries $800 per month
Cell Phones $60 per month
Water Bills $75 per month
Health Insurance is included for Me through work but I will have to top up for the family, still trying to find out how much this will be.

Are there any other monthly bills I have forgotten and do these seem accurate enough?

Also the Tax system in the states is a lot different than the UK, again, from what I have read, is it something like the following?
20% ish Federal Tax
6.2% Social Security Tax
1.45% Medicare Tax
3% State Tax

Is there anything else that will be coming out from my wages I might have missed?

Thank you so much for your time & help!

[billiken]

$800/month seems extremely high for groceries, but other than that, things seem reasonable.

[AuDiBelle]

Wow, you have done your homework! Congrats on your new job and I hope you enjoy it here!

Naperville is a very nice town and great for families with young kids. It also has great schools and lots of extracurricular activities for the kids.

Property taxes would be the responsibility of whomever you rent from, so not your problem to worry about.

Your gas prices will fluctuate depending on the time of year it is. In the summer it would be ~$50 and in the winter it can go up to ~$250/month.

I don't live in Naperville, but I assume that you will also have a garbage fee. Sometimes that is included with your water bill, but maybe someone in Naperville can give you more information on that. Also, $75/month for water seems a bit high, but that is also town dependent.

Cell phone plan packages vary in price, but when you look at different packages, plan to spend an additional $15-20 or so per month for additional fees and taxes. My cell plan is $55/month, but my bill is usually $80 (and not because of overages).

$800/month for groceries for a family of 5 sounds about right to me. I spend a little less than that for a family of 4.

The income tax system is somewhat complicated, but here's a good website you can use to see what gets taken out of each paycheck. Paycheck Calculator. Just enter in your gross earnings (yearly, bi-weekly, whatever), and it will give you your approximate take-home pay. The federal rate is determined by your annual gross wages, so it can vary depending on how high your salary will be. Take home pay is also dependent on the number of exemptions you claim and how you file. If you want more withheld from your paycheck, claim 0 exemptions and your filing status as single. If you want the least amount withheld, claim 5 and married (just beware that you may owe money the following year come tax time).

Good luck with your move!

[nicola1]

I moved from Scotland to the northshore last year with a family of 5 - grocery bills for us range from $200 - $250 per week. The biggest problem we had was getting credit - the willingness to throw money at you isn't what it used to be! Even though you might have a good credit history back home, this counts for nothing here and you have to start from scratch. Keep this in mind when you need deposits for cars, furniture etc. Also, you have one child of nursery age - unless you are used to paying for private nurseries in the UK - this is something you will need to budget for. In my experience here in the US, you need to pay approx $3.5k per year in pre-school fees which would have been free in the UK.

[TempesT68]

Most of the bills look a bit on the high side, but the only other things i can think of are car insurance and renters insurance if you choose to get it.

[knitgirl]

Renter's insurance is usually pretty minimal, everyone should have it.

[madwa]

Thank you for your replies, I'm glad I was about right for the numbers. We hadn't really thought about Car insurance yet as no idea if we will buy or lease one. Counting down the days to the move...

[AuDiBelle]

Well, just an fyi, you'll need car insurance whether you buy or lease. It's a state law.

Good luck with the move!