5 ms·

It costs more than $30,000 to move? Sell everything, buy new, and I still fail to see how a move could cost over $30,000. Why would rent be included, by the way

It costs more than $30,000 to move? Sell everything, buy new, and I still fail to see how a move could cost over $30,000. Why would rent be included, by the way? That's cost of living, not relocation.

relothrowaway 10y ago
It's not that simple. Rent is included because we would be looking to buy a home in the US. We currently own a home here. Rent is so we have time to find the right place. We could also use that money to do house hunting visits but those are a lot more expensive. Here's a few other costs we've found and we find more every day: - Legal and processing fees for filing immigration paper work, doctor's visits, travel to interviews - One way airfare or multiple airfares if I move first and family comes later so I can see them - Getting all our belongings packed up and moved by a reputable mover - Assistance with job placement for my wife since she also works - Realtor fees for buying/selling ourt homes - Some assistance with furnishing the new home It can go on and on.
- nrjdhsbsid 10y ago
  ???? How is possible???? I've moved across the country several times for less than 5k. Both times I was offered relo it was about 6k. Lol relo money is not to pay your rent and buy a bunch of nice shit for your new house. It's to get you and your stuff from point a to b, and 30k is more than enough to do that. Also how does finding your wife a job cost money? Applying for jobs doesn't cost anything. Multiple airfares back and forth what??? Relo money to pay for doctors visits???
  - awfgylbcxhrey 10y ago
    Wow, calm down. The cost of relocation is the cost of relocation. That's any cost incurred by the process of relocating. In that person's case, it includes rent. Your case is different. End of story.
  - vostok 10y ago
    Forgive me if I am skeptical about whether or not you have moved from one country to another with a family while maintaining a certain level of comfort. Yes, it's possible to move with an economy class ticket and a backpack. Indeed that's how I moved to the US, but expecting your employees to do this is typically not considered a good way to attract talent.
    - throwawasiudy 10y ago
      it's possible and not even bad. Just live in a long stay hotel for a month or two until you find a house. Pay 3-5 k to have all your stuff packed up from old house and dropped at new house. Pay realtor to sell old house. Simple, it could all be arranged within days.
  - johndubchak 10y ago
    It also sounds like they are moving from an international destination which will be considerably more expensive than just relocating domestically.
    - njloof 10y ago
      Yah, an international relo is no joke. Negotiating the paperwork without proper counsel is a recipe to screw up your visa or green card. Expecting the employee to do this alone is irresponsible.
      - Symbiote 10y ago
        I didn't realise how easy moving within the EU was, in comparison. I'm surprised Canada to the USA is so much more hassle. My employer paid for my flight (at £80 or so, including my bike, on the nice airline), plus the cost to move my furniture. The paperwork was putting my new address on a form, and ticking the box labelled "EU citizen".
  - matthewaveryusa 10y ago
    Because you don't have a family and you don't own property? A 1-for-1 relocation where you own a 500k house and buy a 500k house easily costs 30k.
- natch 10y ago
  Some of the things you mention seem somewhat exaggerated. Your expectations and apparent level of entitlement are a bit surprising. I wouldn't have said this if the offer level was, say $10k or $20k. But $30k seems pretty good even if you have decided that you require the ability to buy a house (not everybody has that privilege; you should feel lucky, and not take it for granted). It is an offer. It gives you and your family certain benefits. You may also have certain costs. Those are your business. Just deal with them, or not. You can take it or leave it. If coming to California is worth it for you and your family, take the offer. If not, don't. Not every opportunity in life is cost-free for you. For some of them, you have to step up and pay some of your own contribution. That being said, your concerns are all valid. These are all things you need to consider, and it's good you're thinking it through. Maybe you can present them to your prospective employer as inputs to your decision. Just don't give them the feeling that you have a very entitled attitude, although you seem to, because that could backfire either with a withdrawn offer, or feelings of rancor later.
  - ghaff 10y ago
    What's entitled about saying that these are real costs? I don't see him saying that they all need to be reimbursed but they are costs.
  - sheepmullet 10y ago
    > Your expectations and apparent level of entitlement are a bit surprising. Why do you say that? It sounds like he doesn't want to be out of pocket for a relocation. He has an upper middle class job and lifestyle and is moving for an upper middle class role. So he wants an upper middle class relocation package.
closeparen 10y ago
> That's cost of living, not relocation. I went through a relocation a while ago, to the tune of about $6k. Far and away the most expensive part was staying in an Airbnb for 10 days while looking at apartments and then waiting to actually have keys in hand for my chosen apartment. Short term accommodation costs much more per night than a long term lease - I could not have afforded a 10 day "vacation" in this insanely expensive city just days after college. $30k does seem high; maybe it was international shipping for a large house full of stuff? My allowance excluded "stuff for the new home" (transportation for your existing stuff was of course allowed) and was specific about reimbursable pre/post move flights.
jasode 10y ago
>Why would rent be included, by the way? Because it's a _package_ that includes multiple benefits and not just a single reimbursement of a "moving van receipt and that's all you get." A good relocation package from a major corporation will include many expenses besides the cost of the moving van. This was my relocation package: + airfare for 2 trips for house hunting + lease cancelling fees (which was about $1800 since I broke my lease 3 months early to take the new job) + professional packers to come in a box everything up (this is very helpful as you don't have to lift a finger. E.g. They will take all dishes from the cupboards and silverware from the drawers, wrap everything in paper, and box everything up with a label.) + the car was also packed into a truck and shipped + the moving truck itself + professional crew to unpack everything at the destination + all hotels and meals while traveling during the move + repairs to furniture if anything was broken That was my package for an engineer. The relocation package for managers such as directors got a few more things... like 3 trips for house hunting instead of 2 and the purchase of the old home if the real estate agent couldn't sell it in time, etc. If it's CxO level executives (CEO, senior vice presidents, etc), the relocation package will often be negotiated on a case-by-case basis to include more reimbursements. The total came out to about $26k. In a quirk of USA tax law, relocation expenses are counted as additional income but the company was generous to "gross up" extra income on top of the relocation reimbursement to cover the extra tax payment. The amount of money spent on employee relocation may seem excessive but the rationale is that they want the new employee to be immediately productive on the new job instead him wasting time and worrying about how to round up uncles and siblings to help pack and move. Therefore, you provide as much of a "white glove" moving experience as reasonably possible. That was my relocation experience in 1998. It would be interesting if a relocated employee from Google/Facebook/etc can talk about what today's packages from Silicon Valley companies look like.
marklyon 10y ago
When I relocated, they would pay for moving my things (far more than they were worth) but I couldn't get the same amount of money to just buy new stuff.
- marklyon 10y ago
  I just found my agreement for the relocation. I was moving from NYC to DC several years ago, after about a year of travelling to the DC location M-R each week. Looks like they covered $10,111 + a tax gross-up. That included two months of rent at my NYC apartment, plus the lost deposit, for terminating my lease early. They paid the application, reservation, move-in and pet fees at my new apartment. They covered movers and a car rental. Since I was already travelling to the site regularly, they didn't need to cover a special trip to look at places, but they did have me expense some extra train tickets so my wife could come look at apartments.

relothrowaway 10y ago

It's not that simple. Rent is included because we would be looking to buy a home in the US. We currently own a home here. Rent is so we have time to find the right place. We could also use that money to do house hunting visits but those are a lot more expensive. Here's a few other costs we've found and we find more every day: - Legal and processing fees for filing immigration paper work, doctor's visits, travel to interviews - One way airfare or multiple airfares if I move first and family comes later so I can see them - Getting all our belongings packed up and moved by a reputable mover - Assistance with job placement for my wife since she also works - Realtor fees for buying/selling ourt homes - Some assistance with furnishing the new home It can go on and on.

nrjdhsbsid 10y ago
???? How is possible???? I've moved across the country several times for less than 5k. Both times I was offered relo it was about 6k. Lol relo money is not to pay your rent and buy a bunch of nice shit for your new house. It's to get you and your stuff from point a to b, and 30k is more than enough to do that. Also how does finding your wife a job cost money? Applying for jobs doesn't cost anything. Multiple airfares back and forth what??? Relo money to pay for doctors visits???
- awfgylbcxhrey 10y ago
  Wow, calm down. The cost of relocation is the cost of relocation. That's any cost incurred by the process of relocating. In that person's case, it includes rent. Your case is different. End of story.
- vostok 10y ago
  Forgive me if I am skeptical about whether or not you have moved from one country to another with a family while maintaining a certain level of comfort. Yes, it's possible to move with an economy class ticket and a backpack. Indeed that's how I moved to the US, but expecting your employees to do this is typically not considered a good way to attract talent.
  - throwawasiudy 10y ago
    it's possible and not even bad. Just live in a long stay hotel for a month or two until you find a house. Pay 3-5 k to have all your stuff packed up from old house and dropped at new house. Pay realtor to sell old house. Simple, it could all be arranged within days.
- johndubchak 10y ago
  It also sounds like they are moving from an international destination which will be considerably more expensive than just relocating domestically.
  - njloof 10y ago
    Yah, an international relo is no joke. Negotiating the paperwork without proper counsel is a recipe to screw up your visa or green card. Expecting the employee to do this alone is irresponsible.
    - Symbiote 10y ago
      I didn't realise how easy moving within the EU was, in comparison. I'm surprised Canada to the USA is so much more hassle. My employer paid for my flight (at £80 or so, including my bike, on the nice airline), plus the cost to move my furniture. The paperwork was putting my new address on a form, and ticking the box labelled "EU citizen".
- matthewaveryusa 10y ago
  Because you don't have a family and you don't own property? A 1-for-1 relocation where you own a 500k house and buy a 500k house easily costs 30k.
natch 10y ago
Some of the things you mention seem somewhat exaggerated. Your expectations and apparent level of entitlement are a bit surprising. I wouldn't have said this if the offer level was, say $10k or $20k. But $30k seems pretty good even if you have decided that you require the ability to buy a house (not everybody has that privilege; you should feel lucky, and not take it for granted). It is an offer. It gives you and your family certain benefits. You may also have certain costs. Those are your business. Just deal with them, or not. You can take it or leave it. If coming to California is worth it for you and your family, take the offer. If not, don't. Not every opportunity in life is cost-free for you. For some of them, you have to step up and pay some of your own contribution. That being said, your concerns are all valid. These are all things you need to consider, and it's good you're thinking it through. Maybe you can present them to your prospective employer as inputs to your decision. Just don't give them the feeling that you have a very entitled attitude, although you seem to, because that could backfire either with a withdrawn offer, or feelings of rancor later.
- ghaff 10y ago
  What's entitled about saying that these are real costs? I don't see him saying that they all need to be reimbursed but they are costs.
- sheepmullet 10y ago
  > Your expectations and apparent level of entitlement are a bit surprising. Why do you say that? It sounds like he doesn't want to be out of pocket for a relocation. He has an upper middle class job and lifestyle and is moving for an upper middle class role. So he wants an upper middle class relocation package.

closeparen 10y ago

> That's cost of living, not relocation. I went through a relocation a while ago, to the tune of about $6k. Far and away the most expensive part was staying in an Airbnb for 10 days while looking at apartments and then waiting to actually have keys in hand for my chosen apartment. Short term accommodation costs much more per night than a long term lease - I could not have afforded a 10 day "vacation" in this insanely expensive city just days after college. $30k does seem high; maybe it was international shipping for a large house full of stuff? My allowance excluded "stuff for the new home" (transportation for your existing stuff was of course allowed) and was specific about reimbursable pre/post move flights.

jasode 10y ago

>Why would rent be included, by the way? Because it's a _package_ that includes multiple benefits and not just a single reimbursement of a "moving van receipt and that's all you get." A good relocation package from a major corporation will include many expenses besides the cost of the moving van. This was my relocation package: + airfare for 2 trips for house hunting + lease cancelling fees (which was about $1800 since I broke my lease 3 months early to take the new job) + professional packers to come in a box everything up (this is very helpful as you don't have to lift a finger. E.g. They will take all dishes from the cupboards and silverware from the drawers, wrap everything in paper, and box everything up with a label.) + the car was also packed into a truck and shipped + the moving truck itself + professional crew to unpack everything at the destination + all hotels and meals while traveling during the move + repairs to furniture if anything was broken That was my package for an engineer. The relocation package for managers such as directors got a few more things... like 3 trips for house hunting instead of 2 and the purchase of the old home if the real estate agent couldn't sell it in time, etc. If it's CxO level executives (CEO, senior vice presidents, etc), the relocation package will often be negotiated on a case-by-case basis to include more reimbursements. The total came out to about $26k. In a quirk of USA tax law, relocation expenses are counted as additional income but the company was generous to "gross up" extra income on top of the relocation reimbursement to cover the extra tax payment. The amount of money spent on employee relocation may seem excessive but the rationale is that they want the new employee to be immediately productive on the new job instead him wasting time and worrying about how to round up uncles and siblings to help pack and move. Therefore, you provide as much of a "white glove" moving experience as reasonably possible. That was my relocation experience in 1998. It would be interesting if a relocated employee from Google/Facebook/etc can talk about what today's packages from Silicon Valley companies look like.

marklyon 10y ago

When I relocated, they would pay for moving my things (far more than they were worth) but I couldn't get the same amount of money to just buy new stuff.

marklyon 10y ago
I just found my agreement for the relocation. I was moving from NYC to DC several years ago, after about a year of travelling to the DC location M-R each week. Looks like they covered $10,111 + a tax gross-up. That included two months of rent at my NYC apartment, plus the lost deposit, for terminating my lease early. They paid the application, reservation, move-in and pet fees at my new apartment. They covered movers and a car rental. Since I was already travelling to the site regularly, they didn't need to cover a special trip to look at places, but they did have me expense some extra train tickets so my wife could come look at apartments.