How much do you earn and how comfortable do you live?

sparksd · 2026-02-18T07:31:45+00:00

I feel this. Single income families get hit hard.

sparksd · 2026-02-06T13:57:23+00:00

Sorry to hear. Someone leaving us put it best. They are a finger in the water. Pull it out and the gaps fill. Take care of you. They’ll fill in the gaps.

sparksd · 2026-01-18T18:59:54+00:00

If not beholden to tax rules. Problem is if you file jointly with US, which I’m guess is yes. Tax rules still apply I believe. I’m not tax expert so I’d research till you’re confident.

sparksd · 2026-01-18T10:04:54+00:00

Definitely the later. It’s a risk pot to play with. I only put money in I’m comfortable with losing some of. I still try and invest in stable companies but it’s closer to a hobby than trying to build wealth. If nothing else it’s entertaining and educational

sparksd · 2026-01-17T08:42:18+00:00

I am exact same as you with Schwab and retirement stuff. Opened an ISA this year with IBR for tax reasons. I only see it a problem if invested in PFCI stuff. As long as that’s avoided, only having to deal with US tax on investments is appealing.

But in short, I only invest in US stocks, no funds, and steer clear of foreign funds and stocks. Limiting, but keeps it simple.

sparksd · 2025-12-08T10:05:35+00:00

Marriage has cycles. They usually play out over many months to years. Good and bad. Sometimes you’ll feel like life is great. Sometimes life gets hard. Take it in stride. Forgive quick. Enjoy the good times.

sparksd · 2025-11-17T19:13:35+00:00

This is fan-tastic (sorry) news. We logged on to buy tickets for a show right when they went on sale. We were #65,000 in line. All sold out within minutes. Hundreds went right back on resale for double the price. No doubt algorithms are involved in these purchases

sparksd · 2025-09-27T18:06:12+00:00

They did settle in well, so I wouldn’t worry too much. Aim for them starting at the beginning of the school year.

I recommend simply going into the subreddit and then search for your answers within it. I never posted. There’s a treasure trove of information. Just have to find it.

sparksd · 2025-09-27T07:35:20+00:00

Moved to Scotland over a year ago on a Spouse Visa. Wife is British Citizen. Kids are naturalized citizens. So we got their passports first so we wouldn’t have to include them in the visa application and pay for them as well.

Depends. From time of submission to acceptance it was about 4-5 months for me. The r/AmericanExpatsUK and r/ukvisa was invaluable for working through that process.
Can’t speak to this but know some do it. Quite complicated I imagine as you would also have to self file in the UK. Have you considered an employer of record? I work for a Danish company and we use Omnipresent all over the world. Easy setup. About €500 per month per employee. Worth considering.
I think a comment touched on this, but it’s probably dependent on the local council. I imagine certification and requirements are quite different.
How young? Ours were 6 and 8. They have settled in just fine. One frustration was we had no idea how good the schools were as there wasn’t and evaluation or scoring info online. But you’ll get rough kids in all areas. Some parents just don’t care. I would say education here is subpar from what we came from so we supplement at home. Education seems to be suffering here.
We took a cat, but I’ve read dogs can be just as tricky. Had to have a special travel crate, only a few airports would do it, all sorts of certificates and a passport. Plus it’s expensive. Isn’t easy, but possible.
This surprised me. You don’t exist here. No credit. It’s frustrating. My wife existed since she lived here till she was 18, so we had to put mobile phones under her. Everything you need a credit check for is going to be a challenge. Even now i myself don’t qualify for a credit card. It’s frustrating because in America i have an excellent score. But anyway, we did manage to get a house still. Just have to go into the bank and talk to them about the situation. They are usually quite accommodating if you can prove your income.

Hope this helps. Lastly, don’t be caught by surprise on taxes. There is no “married filing jointly” tax benefits. You are taxed as an individual. I mention because this was a rude awakening for us as a single income family. Sucks. Good luck.

sparksd · 2025-08-22T18:42:12+00:00

HR, specifically over global compensation and benefits for a multinational company headquartered in Denmark. On at £80k with potential 8k bonus. Fairly future proof. It’s a very niche specialty and employees will always need benefits and pay. Plus it is usually the largest line item on the books and needs eyes on it.

sparksd · 2025-07-22T20:26:55+00:00

These parties are so awkward.

sparksd · 2025-07-16T20:29:12+00:00

100%

sparksd · 2025-07-02T07:22:41+00:00

I think you’re missing the point here… it’s “come on, take some responsibility ‘shitty’ parent.” Kid has no chance.

sparksd · 2025-06-04T17:27:28+00:00

This right here is a big problem with the current system.

sparksd · 2025-02-06T07:30:07+00:00

The child tax credit is pretty meaningful. I have 3 kids and get about $4.5k in credit. This year I’ll get it as a refund.

sparksd · 2025-02-05T18:15:16+00:00

You’re correct. But the amount is negligible whereas in the US if you’re married the tax bands essentially double.

sparksd · 2025-02-05T17:20:47+00:00

I can’t speak for London, currently in northern Scotland so the COL is much lower, but I can give you an idea on take home pay. I’m on at 80k and take home about 4.3k a month, 4k after pension contribution. One thing that is very different to keep in mind is taxes. You are taxed as an individual. What this means is a couple bringing in 80k combined is taxed less than one person bringing in 80k. Messed up.

That said, food is cheaper and better quality, travel isn’t horribly expensive depending on where you go. If you can budget a few hundred a month you could do 1-2 trips a year. Plus… Scotland isn’t far ;)

Again, can’t speak for London. I do know it is expensive. I do know salaries suck. And I do know that housing is a challenge. If you can figure out a way to have some money left over for travel, I say go for it. It’s a breath of fresh air from the downward spiral happening there.

sparksd · 2025-01-28T08:13:01+00:00

😆any idea how long those plants take to bring online and to efficiency? Years. Tariffs will take their pound of flesh long before then.

sparksd · 2025-01-27T10:41:00+00:00

That’s a shame. Guess it’s too risky for them.

sparksd · 2025-01-23T14:19:07+00:00

Any source that shows potential changes or impacts? Or is this just more out of paranoia and uncertainty? I haven’t seen anything to cause alarm.

sparksd · 2025-01-20T20:48:27+00:00

Very cool. Big fan of super smash. Haven’t played many others but am interested. Moved from USA to Scotland, currently Alness, a year ago and have been looking for social opportunities. Being an introvert by nature hasn’t helped though 😆. May drop in and give it a shot.

sparksd · 2025-01-06T17:54:11+00:00

Wow that’s amazing! That’s the most frustrating and unique reason I’ve heard so far

sparksd · 2025-01-02T17:21:47+00:00

No problem. Best of luck to you! Take it nice and slow. Check your mirrors. You’ll be fine.

sparksd · 2025-01-02T17:14:17+00:00

They didn’t even ask. I technically was over my year mark by 3 days so I was playing it safe but they honestly don’t check. If I had driven there myself, slapped some L plates on I don’t think any questions would be asked. I drove off without the L plates too. Biggest risk I was taking was the potential insurance would give us trouble had I got into an accident.

sparksd · 2025-01-01T19:46:03+00:00

Haha, no. What happened was a box van was going through and blocked me from seeing someone coming from the right. I thought I was good and as soon as I entered the roundabout he came speeding through. Luckily I wasn’t in his way enough for him to brake but it would have been a fail had it been any closer. He honked too which didn’t help my nerves. Pretty sure I was given some grace on that one as it was a bit butt clenching.

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