Whether to go to US or UK: Need Advice

[Shyam kumar]

Greeting's Ranchers,

I'm working in an indian MNC which is sending me to onsite for long term assignments( 2 to 3 yrs). I have around 5 yrs of work exp and have never been to onsite before.
I have both options of US and UK open to me. The prime motive of going for going to onsite are
a. Good saving (when i return back to india)
b. The burning desire to go to onsite
c. Better working conditions and challanging environment
d. Overall international exposure

Now I have the following questions:

1. The dollar rate is falling and has now been hovering around 39 INR for a dollar. And it may fall further. The saving in US now will be much lesser that it was 1 or 2 yrs back. On the other hand the UK pound is still good at around 80 INR. Is it worth going to US now?

2.Some say UK is costlier than US but from saving point of view both now seems same.


3. I may have to come back to india for my marrige(not any sooner than an year or so), my would be wife will have to do a job. which place(US or UK) will provide her with better chances?

4. Initially I'll be sharing with some collegue but after marrige I'll have get my own rented apartment. Also i have heard that if you stay in US long enough you need to buy a car for travelling if you have a family. In UK connectivity is via underground tubes.

5. Which country can provide a better lifestyle and better peace of mind?

[Jesus Angeles]

If the savings on both are the same, then you can do either. USA by my experience, is not bad.

[Shyam kumar]

IFF saving are the same... That is what i wanted to enquire. Morover, dollar is falling, and in yrs to come it may fall further.

[Jesus Angeles]

Originally posted by Shyam kumar:
IFF saving are the same... That is what i wanted to enquire. Morover, dollar is falling, and in yrs to come it may fall further.

No one really knows what the future will give us. E.g. today, my country's rate against the US$ is amazingly low. No one would have thought it could happen.

When I was in USA, my taxes went around 30%, and I spent a total of 800 us$ monthly on food, apartment and transportation in a Houston suburbs for a single person. The rest is savings. But that was 1996-1999.

[Shyam kumar]

Thanks for your views Jesus, I would love to hear from other fellow ranchers about their views.

[Preeti Arora]

Hi,

All the indians around me I know,shares the same thinking you have.
I dont know anything about UK but I would say that US has good work culture and quality life.
I dont know whether you can save more here beacuse at the end of the day you want to have good work life and quality living whether in us or in india.
Your wife too can work here easily but it can also be possible that you have to live apart or it depends on the location you choose to work.
Car is mandatory here as distances are more but people manage easily with second hand car.
Exception in ny ,nj or washington dc.You dont need car to live there.

[Sameer Jamal]

I've worked in UK for sometime and it is not cheap to live there specially in London where you will get an apartment for around � 800 to 1200, commuting is easy in London as it is a very well connected city however this is not the case with other cities in UK. Growth opportunities are not so good as compared to other US cities and compared to Brits Americans are little bit more friendlier thats my experience which can be relative.

[Jesus Angeles]

Originally posted by Sameer Jamal:
I've worked in UK for sometime and it is not cheap to live there specially in London where you will get an apartment for around � 800 to 1200, commuting is easy in London as it is a very well connected city however this is not the case with other cities in UK. Growth opportunities are not so good as compared to other US cities and compared to Brits Americans are little bit more friendlier thats my experience which can be relative.

For UK, can you or anyone give any sample computation for the net savings? E.g. given an annual salary, apply deductions, etc.

[Shyam kumar]

Hey guys, I also want to know that.

[s mahen perera]

Ok. i will give an example for income, savings and costs,,
an average java developer with experience (say 3+ years) will earn around 35k per annum or 40k per annum,, but in investment banks or in finance domain it can be 50k
(all figures in pounds and per month)
income (monthly,, net of tax , say for a salary of 35k) = 2200 pounds
rent(say 1 bedroom flat/apartment) (assuming the flat is in zone 2 or 3,, i.e about 30 min max to central london) = 800
council tax = 100 (max)
monthly travel card (zone 1 to 2) = 90
food (mostly preparing at home,, and some occasional eating out or ready to eat stuf ) = 200 (max)
car insurance = 30 (max)
bills ()water, electricy, gas, internet, phone) = 150 (max)
gym = 40 (max)
mobile phone bill = 40 (max)
other (just an allowance,, for night outs etc etc) = 50 (max)
savings = 2200 - (800 + 100 + 90 + 200+ 30 +150 + 40 + 40 + 50) = 700 per month.
This is accoording to my experience. note that figures can vary,, but i think this reflects somewhat a true picture.. note that expenses are up to you to control,, of course you can do night lifes or clubbing/ pubs everyday and save nothing ,, also note that 35k pa is average sal,,
hope this info helps,,also note that the figues are for a single person..
if a coupls comes,, then you can defintely save more, since everything will be shared..of course assuming the partner works and chips in with some income ,, the same 1 bedroom flat will suffice,, so will save on that..

[Shyam kumar]

Thanks Mahen, This information will definatly help me a lot

[Ram Deshpande]

I was in same boat 2/3 months back� Finally I have taken decision going with UK Option. As per my experience, saving in UK is really HIGH. I am fully agreed that cost of living is very high compare to USA, but it is up to person, how much he wants to save.
Saving wise UK is GOOD option but for better life, I will prefer to USA
Contractors are getting minimum 5K salary in Finance / Insurance domain.
My senior is getting 17k per month (ex Employee of SUN Microsystem).

[Roy Cinco]

Also i have heard that if you stay in US long enough you need to buy a car for travelling if you have a family. In UK connectivity is via underground tubes.

I don't think you can go from London to Newcastle on the Tube (I wonder how many zones that would be)!

Seriously, you have to look at the specifics and not generalize over entire countries. Commuting without a car may be done in many big cities in the U.S. without a car, not just New York city and Washington, D.C (e.g. Chicago). However, you should check the specific city. Someone mentioned NY and NJ, I assume they meant New York city; upstate New York is certainly a different situation.

Conversely, if you actually meant the UK and not just London, it might very be that you need a car.

[Jesus Angeles]

s mahen, and Ram,

Thanks for sharing.

In what currency are your quotes? Is it in US$ or UK pounds?

[s mahen perera]

all my figures are in Sterling Pounds. I have mentioned this in my post.

[Ram Deshpande]

Jesus
I am with Mahen...
You may surprise about the salary of my senior but he is responsible for more than 30 people of Product development team. He is handling most of technical design and architect issues single handed. And many to quote but � So He is getting 17K � per month though figure looks quite high...

In conclusion, UK is bets option for bachelors staying with sharing basis.



Ram