4 ms·

I am thinking about moving from US to London. So, I am curious to know why you prefer UK to US despite the salary gap. Also, do you know how does their healthc

I am thinking about moving from US to London. So, I am curious to know why you prefer UK to US despite the salary gap. Also, do you know how does their healthcare compare?

hacker_9 8y ago
For one, our healthcare is free. Though many companies still provide private healthcare as a benefit. Personally I agree with OP, I wouldn't want to live in the US either. Mainly because capitalism has been taken to an ugly extreme and you might get paid more but you also work more etc. Not to mention the tax and tips culture. Of course there are problems here too; it rains a lot more, and every conversation that goes on long enough always ends up as some sort of brexit complaint ...
- sjm-lbm 8y ago
  > every conversation that goes on long enough always ends up as some sort of brexit complaint To be fair, we definitely have a problem with normal/non-political conversations suddenly turning political as well. It's even a problem that started in 2016, too :/.
- walshemj 8y ago
  Private health care in the UK is a scam just gives you an extra tax bill for no real advantage
- fgrep 8y ago
  The major disadvantage of the UK is: Shoebox "houses". Or what we call them houses. So its raining a lot outside, but we also do not feel comfortable inside, at home, because it is ridiculously small and normally very old. bad weather and cage-homes, deeply depressing combination. Th main advantage of the US: Big homes (if you choose not to live in SF or NYC) and good weather.
justsomedude43 8y ago
"I am thinking about moving from US to London. So, I am curious to know why you prefer UK to US despite the salary gap." Because it's not all about the money. People make mistake by comparing salaries on their own which is not correct, you need to compare what's left of your salary after you've afforded the same level of lifestyle. You might look at $140k as a lot of money and £40k as very little money but you need to put that into perspective. My salary comes with tax deducted and you have to pay someone to do your taxes for you. That's the first difference and it's quite vocal. I don't mind and honestly prefer to have 40-50% tax taken away from my salary to enjoy certain social benefits which you would need to pay extra for and there are some things that just aren't in the US, like pension. You don't have pension, you have 401k which is a voluntary savings account basically. Besides the state pension that I will get once I retire (and will continue to receive as long as I'm alive), I also get 5% of my gross salary taken away every month and my employer tops it off with another 5%. If nothing else, at least I'm set when I retire and I don't have to worry if I'll have enough money until the day I die after retirement. Some countries in Europe, much like the one I come from, have half smaller salaries than the UK and I would still take £20k salary over $140k in US because you can't put a price on a 5min commute to work and letting your children play outside without supervision, going for a walk at 11pm without having to worry that something might happen to you, not having ghettos or "bad areas" in your city, being able to go to a hospital and have a surgery without paying anything, sending your kids to university without paying anything... like I said, to each their own. If you only look at money itself and nothing else then yes, $140k in US is much better.
- maccard 8y ago
  I agree with your sentiment but - > you can't put a price on a 5min commute to work and letting your children play outside That's very achieveable in parts of the US, and unachieveable in parts of the UK. > having ghettos or "bad areas" in your city Not exclusive to the US by any means. Plenty of nice cities in the UK have ghetto/bad areas. > sending your kids to university without paying anything If you live in England, this is definitely not applicable. Based on [0] (no idea how reputable the source is, but the first I could find) The average student loan debt is just shy of £35k. Anyone who borrowed for university from 2012 or later is paying 3% + RPI interest on their loans - That's fairly substantial. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/376423/student-loans-england-average-debt-on-entry-to-repayment-timeline/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/376423/student-loans-eng...

I am thinking about moving from US to London. So, I am curious to know why you prefer UK to US despite the salary gap. Also, do you know how does their healthcare compare?

hacker_9 8y ago

For one, our healthcare is free. Though many companies still provide private healthcare as a benefit. Personally I agree with OP, I wouldn't want to live in the US either. Mainly because capitalism has been taken to an ugly extreme and you might get paid more but you also work more etc. Not to mention the tax and tips culture. Of course there are problems here too; it rains a lot more, and every conversation that goes on long enough always ends up as some sort of brexit complaint ...

sjm-lbm 8y ago
> every conversation that goes on long enough always ends up as some sort of brexit complaint To be fair, we definitely have a problem with normal/non-political conversations suddenly turning political as well. It's even a problem that started in 2016, too :/.
walshemj 8y ago
Private health care in the UK is a scam just gives you an extra tax bill for no real advantage
fgrep 8y ago
The major disadvantage of the UK is: Shoebox "houses". Or what we call them houses. So its raining a lot outside, but we also do not feel comfortable inside, at home, because it is ridiculously small and normally very old. bad weather and cage-homes, deeply depressing combination. Th main advantage of the US: Big homes (if you choose not to live in SF or NYC) and good weather.

justsomedude43 8y ago

"I am thinking about moving from US to London. So, I am curious to know why you prefer UK to US despite the salary gap." Because it's not all about the money. People make mistake by comparing salaries on their own which is not correct, you need to compare what's left of your salary after you've afforded the same level of lifestyle. You might look at $140k as a lot of money and £40k as very little money but you need to put that into perspective. My salary comes with tax deducted and you have to pay someone to do your taxes for you. That's the first difference and it's quite vocal. I don't mind and honestly prefer to have 40-50% tax taken away from my salary to enjoy certain social benefits which you would need to pay extra for and there are some things that just aren't in the US, like pension. You don't have pension, you have 401k which is a voluntary savings account basically. Besides the state pension that I will get once I retire (and will continue to receive as long as I'm alive), I also get 5% of my gross salary taken away every month and my employer tops it off with another 5%. If nothing else, at least I'm set when I retire and I don't have to worry if I'll have enough money until the day I die after retirement. Some countries in Europe, much like the one I come from, have half smaller salaries than the UK and I would still take £20k salary over $140k in US because you can't put a price on a 5min commute to work and letting your children play outside without supervision, going for a walk at 11pm without having to worry that something might happen to you, not having ghettos or "bad areas" in your city, being able to go to a hospital and have a surgery without paying anything, sending your kids to university without paying anything... like I said, to each their own. If you only look at money itself and nothing else then yes, $140k in US is much better.

maccard 8y ago
I agree with your sentiment but - > you can't put a price on a 5min commute to work and letting your children play outside That's very achieveable in parts of the US, and unachieveable in parts of the UK. > having ghettos or "bad areas" in your city Not exclusive to the US by any means. Plenty of nice cities in the UK have ghetto/bad areas. > sending your kids to university without paying anything If you live in England, this is definitely not applicable. Based on [0] (no idea how reputable the source is, but the first I could find) The average student loan debt is just shy of £35k. Anyone who borrowed for university from 2012 or later is paying 3% + RPI interest on their loans - That's fairly substantial. [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/376423/student-loans-england-average-debt-on-entry-to-repayment-timeline/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/376423/student-loans-eng...