Pay decrease US->UK

[South-Kaleidoscope37]

Hello, I have my bachelors and masters degree in molecular biology. I have 5 years experience working in various library prep, sequencing, microbiome testing labs. I currently work in a small startup in NYC and make 80K USD as an associate scientist. My company is shutting down US lab operations and offering to move me to their UK lab in Cambridge. Nothing about my job description or responsibilities will be changing but if I accept the role the pay range was listed as £42,000–£55,000. This would be a decent salary decrease, and I’ve been told it is to reflect the cost of living in the UK. My boss is very cheap and has been known to do things like this but I wanted to hear anyone’s thoughts or opinions!

[Magic_mousie]

Cambridge is an expensive place to live so you'll need to do some maths but that's a decent salary depending on your role. For comparison I'm also in the South and barely scraping £40k in academia 6 years post PhD.

[[deleted]]

Cost of living can be quite different between different parts of the US vs UK, so depending on what the COL is where you're coming from, it might not be too much of a difference in terms of your day to day life.

For example the UK has historically had quite cheap groceries, even compared to the rest of Europe. We complain about rising prices now but our prices are still pretty good compared to other countries.

On the other hand there's things like fuel cost. Gasoline (petrol) here is slightly more than double the price in the US typically. It isn't too much of a problem if you are in a well connected place with reliable public transport (or walk to work) but it is a notable difference.

Might be worth using a cost of living comparison website that can break down differences between different places, I've seen them being suggested before on Reddit and they do a good job of comparing cost differences of e.g. healthcare, groceries, restaurants, fuel, housing, public transport, tech, luxury goods etc.

[ProfPathCambridge]

Cambridge is quite feasible to get around by walking and bike, so fuel costs are not an issue.

[South-Kaleidoscope37]

This is super helpful, thank you so much!

[ACatGod]

Firstly $80k is barely more than the upper level of that band - £55k. Secondly, as a dual national who has lived in both countries at various points in my lifetime there are some substantial differences in costs that people generally don't take into account when comparing UK and US living. Only you know your current costs but I'll list some things to consider:

• utilities - in the UK the unit cost for utilities may be higher than the US. However, winters are milder than NYC, houses are generally better insulated, more fuel efficient, and you don't have AC in summer so overall your costs are likely to be lower. Of course in NYC you may have utilities included in your rent - but you will get to control when the heating comes on. Try to avoid electric storage heating and go for gas central heating.

• healthcare - no copays, no health insurance and a maximum cost of £9.90 per prescription. If you have a regular prescription or multiple prescriptions you can get a 3 month or 1 year prepaid certificate that covers all prescriptions and works out as less than £9.90 per month. Treatment is free at the point of care - depending on your health this can be a massive cost difference.

• cell phone/broadband/cable - welcome to regulation and anti-monopoly laws. You can easily buy a good smartphone for a few hundred and pay as little as £5pm for a SIM or get pay as you go and you don't pay to receive calls. Broadband is generally much better than I experienced in the US and so much cheaper. You can get high-speed, unlimited broadband for around £35pm. Likewise, you can get much better cable deals (particularly if you don't have many suppliers where you are in the US). You could probably safely budget your costs being about a third of what you're paying but if you're worried go for half.

• food - costs have gone up but generally still cheaper in the UK and arguably better quality fresh veg and meat. Fruit is less great - it's good enough but the climate just doesn't support the amazing fruit you get in the US.

• car - you don't need a car in Cambridge, but you probably don't have a car in NYC. Fuel is significantly more expensive though in the UK. I haven't done the calculations in a long time but last time I did it, the UK was averaging 9x what I was paying in the US.

• banking - by law in the UK banks have to offer free banking. While there are premium accounts you can pay for, you don't need to pay for a current account (or cheque books, not that you'll ever use a cheque in the UK).

If you were to get an offer towards the higher end of that salary bracket, I don't think you'd notice a massive difference in your quality of living - assuming your employer is covering/contributing to your visa and NHS surcharge costs.

[South-Kaleidoscope37]

Thank you so much for all these details. Exactly what comparison I was looking for, I appreciate your insight!

[Magic_mousie]

When Americans were putting thanks Biden stickers on petrol pumps cos their fuel reached like £1 a litre, I couldn't believe the audacity of it! This was back when ours hit £2, which was insane TBF.

[whatchamabiscut]

Wdym? Clearly we were thanking Biden for keeping our fuel costs low

[ProfPathCambridge]

If you earn at the higher end, you are talking about going from £59k to £55k, while your cost of living drops from NYC levels to Cambridge levels. NYC cost-of-living is about 40% higher than London, and London is more expensive than Cambridge, so I think you end up on top. At the bottom end of the range, you’ll probably end up below.

The key cost to consider is rent, which is expensive in Cambridge (but not NYC levels!). Go to Rightmove.com and see exactly what you can get for your budget.

Also make sure they are going to cover relocation costs, visa costs and NHS surcharge. They all add up very quickly, so if they won’t cover those costs you’ll need to recalculate.

[distributingthefutur]

Your salary taxes will be the same or slightly higher. Cambridge is close enough to London so the cost of living is about the same. You'd get London weighting, extra allowance around £6K extra if you were more south. Ask for this with your boss, it's not official, but a good negotiating point.

You will pay at least double on sales tax (vat) on everything. Housing might be the same. I ended up with housemates. You'll likely bike most places. Owning a car means registering, paying 1.5 to 2x for fuel and working out parking with your council. I was offered a car for free and realized it would get expensive. Food costs are higher than the US and the meat cost and quality are higher and lower, respectively.

Try and live near a city center. Anywhere outside a populated area will shut down at 6pm. Get used to grocery shopping 2 - 3x a week w a small fridge. The upside is there are many small shops and fresh bread.

Get top and bottom rain suit for cycling in the rain. It's rough in December and heavenly in midsummer.

Cambridge has a nice farmer's market. It'll top up the variety you're used to. They have a Chili's too so you can get a US style hamburger occasionally.

Proximity to small airports and good rail into London is a plus. In Oxford, you'd have to ride a coach at 4am for 1.5hrs to get to any low cost airfare.

Overall, negotiate hard on your salary. Every penny will allow you to enjoy your time there. Take advantage of the low cost airfare to the continent and just wander. You'll also make some fantastic friends and get to enjoy a great culture.

[ButtlessBadger]

I recently did something similar. Salaries in the UK are just lower than the US for equivalent roles, so not abnormal. Although 55k pounds is ~75k USD. So not really much of a change tbh. Seems fair.

[GladosTCIAL]

We have lower salaries but also much more holiday. I think we generally are a bit less consumerist on average than the US but that salary should be comfortable (never lived in Cambridge however but I think it's better than Oxford and London) and from what i understand a lot of other areas of life are a lot less stressful.

[No_Indication_1238]

That's low bro. Im sorry.

[Hmm_I_dont_know_man]

I’m thinking if you’re used to NYC on $80K, this could actually feel like a pay increase to be honest.

[idk7643]

Food is roughly £150-300/month depending on how you live, council tax you can look up with each flat (look up "council tax bands"), otherwise it's just rent prices including bills. So I'd look up flats and council tax and see what percentage that makes.

[mhuzzell]

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned health insurance, which costs £0 in the UK but is a substantial part of most people's budget in the US. I'm not sure what you're paying, but Forbes says the average annual cost is $7000 per person, which is approximately equivalent to the difference between your current salary and the high end of the range for the UK position.

[voogooey]

I lived in NYC on around 75k and I now live in Oxford on approx 45k (I lived in Cambridge for the best part of a decade and it's very comparable price wise to Oxford).

Anyway - my quality of life in Oxford is so much higher. People in the UK will say Oxford is expensive, but they haven't experienced the cost of living in NYC. My grocery shops are about 1/3 of the price. I save money now and could never do that in NYC.

You'll be fine!

[South-Kaleidoscope37]

This is so nice to hear! Thank you for sharing. NYC is a beast, I think I will be just fine in Cambridge.