Lifestyle and Leisure
US v UK cost of living
Business visa consultant Amanda-Jo Nicholson used to live in Britain and now lives in Florida
Here she tries to compare her cost of living in both countries, but finds it a hard thing to do. It's easy for me to say that, in general, the cost of living in Florida is much lower than that which I used to experience in the UK. This is something people may have heard before, though some individual bills can be – or at least seem – higher in the US. Health insurance is one example which will spring to many people's minds immediately. Though it is understandable to feel that health insurance is free in the UK, my feeling is that if you compare the 11 per cent National Insurance payment paid from every individual's salary each month in the UK with a contribution to the cost of a health insurance plan here, there is often very little difference between the two expenses. In mine and David's case we actually pay less here towards our medical cover – as a percentage of our earnings – compared with our NI contributions in the UK.
One easy comparison to make in expense terms is between Petrol (Gas) prices in the two countries. This is roughly four times higher in the UK than it is in the US. Another comparison that can be drawn is the cost of eating out which we have found, in general, is cheaper in Florida than it is in the UK. Though this of course very much depends on where you choose to go. Another comparison that favours our US lifestyle is with the purchase of household items. We have found that even good quality furniture is generally cheaper here than it is in the UK. However, in contrast to this, we have also noticed that house insurance and property taxes can be higher in the US. This is especially true if you live on the coast.
Having thought about these particular expenses – which can be roughly equated to everyone's situations – when I sat down to try and compare my living expenses in the UK and US I actually found it quite a difficult thing to do. Ultimately the only way I can compare the cost of living between the countries is from my own individual circumstances and experiences of living in Central Florida. This may mean that it would be a very different comparison if someone were to compare their life in London, or New York even, to my life in Florida. The bills and expenses you pay anywhere vary greatly depending on where you are in the UK, and this is just the same in the US. It's easy to look at what I pay for things in the UK and what I pay here in the US, but the only real way this has any meaning is if I also give a little background – by explaining how many people are in our household and how our lifestyles compare, and so on.
There are two adults in our household (myself and my husband Brian) and it's also worth noting the type of house we live in. In the UK we had a three-bedroom, two-bathroom detached stone house and in the US we have a four-bedroom, three-bathroom property with pool. Another factor which makes it hard to equate our living costs is that we lived in Leeds in the UK, while here we are in central Florida. Having said that it is cheaper to live in the US than it is the UK, the only proof I can give is my own living expenses. However, though the comparison between my expenses favours my life in the US, I urge people to bear in mind the following factors and consider if it would be a similar scenario if they were to relocate:
1. Location
2. Petrol – I have a 40 mile commute to work and back, and I am not running a commercial vehicle.
3. Water – our irrigation systems in Florida is not on "reclaimed" water – the bill would be far lower if it was. Also, in the UK we were not on a water metre.
4. We are a household of two adults, so food and health insurance reflects this.
5. Air conditioning in Florida is run from the electricity metre – so adds to this cost.
6. Car Insurance is based on two "average family-size cars".
I have given all amounts in US dollars using the exchange rate of £1 to $1.96.
My UK council tax bill averages $235, compared to $350 for property tax in the US. For water we paid $101.92 in the UK, compared with $68 in Florida. In Leeds my monthly spend on petrol was around $960, compared with $240 per month in the States. Electricity cost me $68.60 per month, on average, in the UK, and it is around $131 here in Florida. The gas bill was $72.52 per month in the UK, compared with around $45 in the US. Every month we spent around $1,176.00 on food in England, and we now spend around $800 per month. We consider our health insurance to be our National Insurance contributions, plus a $294 private plan, and in the US we pay $330 monthly. The telephone cost us $60 per month in the UK and it is $30 here; TV/Cable was $98 in the UK and is $105 here; while car insurance was $196 in the UK and is $166.66 in Florida.
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