British Expatriate Network

Me and t'other half are are starting to think about the possibility of emigrating to Texas. We've bee doing some onvestigation on the net but I can't seem to work out a couple of things to do with income and mortgages:

I know there is no income tax as such, but you must pay some kind of tax, right? Can anyone tell me what & how much?

Mortgages, what are the interest rates like & how much can you borrow (like over here its 2-3 times total salary)?

Also, if my chap gets a transfer with his company (HP), how easy should it be for me to tag a long and get a green card (I'm in IT too)?

Any help would be appreciated!

There are no state income taxes in Texas but you still have to pay your federal taxes.
Which largely depend on how much you earn and how many deductionns you can get. It's a lot more complicated than UK tax system, you basically have to figure it out yourself or with the help of a tax preparer.

Mortgage rates largely depend on your credit score of which you will have none when you first arrive so expect to pay higher interest and spend some time building your credit once your here.
The amount you can borrow is also variable by company as is the downpayment you will have to come up with, as high as 20%, all depends on what your making and again your credit score.

Not sure about the green card but you could very well be unable to work for quite some time an should be prepared for that unless you get sponsored for your own seperate work visa.

No income tax but sales tax is about 8.75% depending on where you reside and spend .

School taxes rather higher per SQ compired with some other places .

housing prices at or below average again depending on where you live .

where are you thinking of moving to . if its around here ill get some usefull brochures sent to you, are you going to buy or just considering the possibility ?????


Morgage rates do depend on your score and not location .morgage rates are about 6.50% nationwide at the moment for a 30 yr fixed but we have all kinds of creative financing that you might qualify for ,you neeed to talk to a professional about that to see what is best for you ... ) , fed tax is a necessary curse wherever you live .


if you need more info PM me ) )

Thanks JohnA & wendl

Well - it's all so complicated I have no idea how we'll work it out!!

Thanks John but we're looking at Houston, if we decide to go we like the look of the Woodlands. The problems we have is knowing how much we'll bring home each month after tax and what king of mortgage we can get, but I guess until my chappie has an idea of what salary he could be on, we can't work out much else!

Woodlands is a very nice area, some of it is very very expencive though. It is still quite a way out of the centre of Houston. There are usually plenty of reasonable rental properties which will give you a better idea if you like the area and if you want to stay. Houston is not pretty, it is surrounded by chemical plants, it is very hot and humid, traffic can be a nightmare but..........we've lived in this area for 17 years so its not all bad. If hubby has to work in Houston try and find somewhere outside of Harris county to live.

If you need any more info PM me.

Is Woodlands in Harris county???

Yes it is!

If you and "your chappie" are married, you should be able to get a "tag along" visa, as you put it. Whether or not you will be allowed to work on that visa depends on what type it is. This is something you should negotiate with HP. If your chappie gets an L1 visa, you should get an L2, and these days, the US normally will issue work permits for spouses on L2 visas. It changed recently. (I think you may still have to obtain a separate work permit).

Greencards are a whole separate issue and the best thing to do is to have HP agree to pay for the application process (lawyers and fees) for both you and chappie. Work-based greencards can take a very long time, but you don't need one to work. And they're not green.

If you and "your chappie" are not married and you want to come with him, they cheapest and easiest way to do it is tie the knot. Many an expat marriage proposal went something like:

"I've been offered a job in America, wanna come?"
"yup"
"see you at the register office at 3 on Friday, then."

hth. :)

Yeah don't be sucked in by the "no income tax" thing. State income tax is nothing - at least here in Michigan - here you pay about 10-15% (after all deductions and stuff) of your gross in national (federal) income taxes, and maybe 2-4% to the state.

:lol:

8.75%? You sure? The state sales tax is 6.25% and the local city and local area transit can't add on more than 2% which makes 8.25% the highest sales tax.

Regards
Nigel

Bit late on this one, I know, but also be aware that property taxes are high here -- e.g., 7 to 8 thousand a year on a 300,000 house. That counteracts some of the benefits of the no state income tax thing. The state income tax thing really only provides significant benefits for pretty high earners.

So, as long as you are earning a huge salary and living in a tiny little house in a crappy neighborhod, you're golden mate. Otherwise, the advantages of no state income tax are not that great.

Oh, and it is eff'in hot here.

Property taxes that high in Texas they are nearly as bad as New Jersey .
On a $300,000 houes they would be about $5 to $6,000.
I was always under the opinion Texas was low in taxes,you learn something every day.

Well i know its 8 .something . we pay state, county, town, and other ?/ but whatever it is its to f**king much :) :) :)

Suggest you try renting first until you get your head around the areas. Some of them aren't that great and not the place for someone who doesn't know much about the place to be honest, others are too expensive. Best not to make a costly mistake! To put it bluntly there are some places around Houston where the property looks great on paper but you just wouldn't want to live. Some reasonable and very nice properties can be had around Houston though. Cheaper and more family orientated properties (with a town atmos.) can be had in Katy or Sugarland but require you to commute to work in Houston. I tend to like both places, knowing people who live there, Katy is nice but really it is a considerable drive to downtown Houston along the Katy freeway! Have an aquantance does this every day. I live just off Westheimer which is very convenient for the city, 5 minutes Downtown - 30 minutes to some other places depending on traffic and where I'm headed. Big city by British standards! Renting an apartment isn't that bad actually, complex typically has things like a club house (shows movies, has gymnasium, tennis courts, tuiton in things like tennis, dancing, cooking!), landscaped parkland, swimming pools, secure entry to the complex, parking, security. Some are very good and you will find in some there is only one bill (no electricity bill!) Expect to pay around $600-800 a month, some a little less offer less amenities. Which is actually very cheap (when compared to the UK) when you consider what you get for it!

As to night life, some interesting 'British' themed pubs where you might find Brits, Richmond Arms shows soccer games on a big screen, Kelvin Arms (would-be Scottish pub, erm... it isn't anything like a Scottish pub actually and has an idiotic shrine to Sean Connery, however I go there occasionally for the peace and quiet (to play chess) in what used to be a bank vault, although the drink is too expensive (even though it's a dive with delapidated furniture) and the glasses look suspiciously smaller than pint glasses - also recently was stopped from selling imported beer, but the high prices remain even on local beer!) The Red Lion is considerably nicer as to furnishings but expect to be continually annoyed by waitresses at your table who want you to keep buying (pricey at $5 a pint but they do at least have some British beers (but foreign Lagers all they have is Harp and some German beers) and the food is basic pub food yet still expensive (I could spend the same amount or less on a decent steak dinner elsewhere!) eg. their fish and chips is a reasonable battered fish (for a US pub) but the chips are actually long skinny fries, I think it is about $12-15 for Sausage Rolls or fish and fries (how basic can you get but that's too much money for what they dish up!). Theme pubs like this are OK to meet Brits but otherwise best avoided. I go there eat and leave. Have seen one or two others stand & sit at the bar, but really the atmos. doesn't quite lend itself to that for me! Much less assuming Irish pub in The Village, hmm off the top of my head think it's called O' Neils - comfortable, good prices and convenient for the quaint little shops there. Only been there a couple of times in the afternoon but I liked it.

On a more positive side there is Sherlocks British Pub on Westheimer which has 3 terraced floors to it, live music on one, pool lounge on another and the top is very quiet and posh with comfortable leather armchairs - example of price there Rib-eye Steak (cooked on porch) with a filled baked spud and salad & a complimentary 10 Oz free local beer - only $8! Local beer inside $1.75 a pint! Two can go out with $25-30 get well fed, get drunk and still have change back! Best pub around by far!

Moral of the story is though When in Rome... American bars are just like our pubs and the local beer is cheap! Themed Bars on the other hand are a rip-off.

Cost of Living in Houston is cheaper, quality of life is higher! -D