Moving to USA for work - which state to live in?
Hi all,
I am a principal at a PE firm in Canada and my employer is a global company that is going to sponsor my wife and I to move to the States. I have a pretty sweet situation where I am allowed to work permanently remote so I wanted to get some insight into where the best places are to live...I know this is very subjective but it would need to be somewhere on or near the west coast.
My company is based in Los Angeles, but once again, I don't need to be going into the office.
What states would provide a good quality of life and also not crazy taxes? Everyone says California has a high tax rate, but in Toronto I am paying 53.53% in income tax and have a crummy little old house off the highway. I imagine my USD income would go a lot further living in like Nevada lol
I have some family in San Diego so we may go visit them soon and I hear that's a beautiful city, but once again, in a higher tax state.
Thx for your help.
Are you more a winter or summer person?
Been down similar path and have many friends the same. Will not lie its going to be hard if you really like Toronto and plan to have kids soon to find a state that has low taxes and many of the current things you enjoy. If you dislike Toronto hah then you can for sure look into Texas (Austin mainly), Florida, Washington.
I have lived in San Diego truly if you come from up north you should live near the beach (especially if no kids yet) so that can be pricey. But if you do not live near the beach its a waste. So look at cost of places like Solana Beach/Del Mar/North PB/Birdrock to legitimately see what cost of living there in a nice area is for sure. Like if you going to live more inland its cheaper but why then be in SD. If you plan to have little ones soon, Orange County is a very nice place to live and would be not far at all from LA if need to visit.
Adding Encinitas to this list
^^ so niche and so right. Encinitas is awesome.
Thanks so much for the feedback. I do not like Toronto - super overpriced. I like skiing, and the ski in Canada is garbage unless you go out to Alberta or B.C.
Thanks, that is helpful. Toronto is beyond crazy overpriced now was just back couple months ago as I mentioned is basically Orange County or higher prices if you live south of Eglinton I would say now. n up.That said, I assume you still enjoy the safety/more-central thinking ways of Canada possibly. Also Toronto is a large city and has lots of food/entertainment options, if that does not matter to you than again lots of places open.
As you enjoy winter sports and skiing think you should for sure spend some time in Denver and Seattle, maybe when you go visit San Diego see if you can get there and see it for yourself. Truly, I think Denver is the best option if you really want to make skiing a part of your weekly routine. Denver has lots of food options and stuff going on still and the taxes/housing is still somewhat reasonable. Seattle is more pricey. AZ/NV you are starting to really move away from the things Toronto/Canada has and as a winter person you do not want to experience 100+ in the summertime.
Mammoth Mountain in California is one of the best mountains I’ve been to. Would recommend if nearby in CA
I think Denver is the sweet spot. It's a cosmopolitan city and reasonably priced, close to plenty of outdoor activities including skiing, and well-connected to international transport links.
I-90 is dogshit
Worst airport in the country
Hey, feel free to PM me. I live in San Diego, California and know the areas inside and out. I am in the process of house hunting/qualifying, so have been house shopping lately.
Happy to help by any means possible.
Easy - Denver
Blah blah mountains skiing weather affordability whatever. You probably already know all of this about Denver.
Denver is in a unique area where they are experiencing explosive commercial growth. The city is still relatively small but in the next ~20 years will be larger with strong national presence. I am not saying it is going to be New York but more like an Atlanta. The benefit of this is that you can still get some smaller city feel (e.g., safe, the community is large enough but also small enough as to be easy to develop a presence in and be comfortable in social circles). You are basically riding the wave of a city's growth and getting all of the benefits. I think it would be a phenomenal place to raise a family because you can still get "suburban bubble" feel without having to be out of the city itself (e.g., Cherry Creek) where there is a safe and nurturing environment for kids, but for you and your wife there is a reasonable amount of culture currently (e.g., music, food, etc.) that will only continue to trend up, and the commercial development of the city is along the same trendline.
Easy if you like skiing - Wyoming/Montana
If it were me I'd avoid Denver, the traffic getting out to the mountains is brutal
Yeah I would go Wyoming for sure. Lived in Colorado for a bit and Denver is a bit over hyped and is pretty pricy right now.
Some states my wife was interested in: California, Oregon, Utah, Colorado.
Again if you can skip the big city of Toronto feel. A place like whitefish MT > Utah truly. Similarly north of Portland.
Oh on immigration, with the new administration in and your level (PE Principal, partner track my guess). Make sure you do make it clear to the company you want to move to the USA long-term get that process/thought in your heads. When Trump left he basically made it easier for people at your level to easily immigrate and now with administration change your wife gets sponsorship easier. So really no point in waiting in 3 years and then deciding this is probably best setup for you to get that green card fast.
Please don’t alert people to *********, MT, I would prefer it not turn into Boz Angeles
Avoid Utah if you don’t want to be controlled by the mormons. Very cool state if mormons didn’t live there.
Are you planning on staying in USA long term? Will your employer sponsor a greencard? If the answers are yes and yes, then you could try renting an apartment for 6 months in 2 to 3 places before deciding where you want to drop permanent anchor. Keep in mind 7 states in USA have no state income tax.
Somewhere not overpriced, not crowded with traffic, great quality of life (you can get a decent place for not that much money) and most importantly, away from NOISE. Personally not a fan of glitz and glamour (London, NYC) at this stage of my life. Early 20s were different.
No idea what that state in US is. But if you and your wife are there and have 2/3 family / friends, you can make it happen. I would want to avoid NY
You've gotten some good answers - agree renting an apartment for 6 months at a time is a good start.
And while some states have no income tax, check with a tax professional if this is really important to you. California is one of the chiller states and generally won't come after you on taxes for working out of state for a CA employer (NY will tax remote workers all day long) but should definitely run your setup by someone who knows the complex state-to-state rules. Washington and Nevada are the only tax-free states on the west coast anyway - but having lived in a tax-free state, you pay a lot of it back in other ways (real estate tax is insane, $ to register a car was 10x price vs a state with taxes) so don't move somewhere you don't like just to avoid taxes.
Denver is a nice city with lower COL, lots of stuff to do, busy finance community. Nevada the COL is low for a reason, Vegas/Reno are not somewhere you'd want to be as a working person, the Tahoe area is really nice but obviously expensive. Utah has a very religious Mormon population, definitely not everyone's cup of tea.
Orange County. Irvine/Tustin. A bi pricey but worth it. Spent 5 years there as a student.
Heard Bozeman, Montana is great?
I don't think I could live in Montana or Wyoming. Aren't the main cities a bit sleepy? They also look freezing cold (potentially worse than Toronto).
Yeah dude... some of the comments here are ridiculous. You're coming from a major metro, your wife would kill you if you moved to Montana. If you have family in San Diego, give it a really hard look - it's a great smaller city. Very active lifestyles and sunshine 24/7, and reasonably close to your office in LA if you had to visit occasionally. Also short flight to Utah / Colorado if you want to take ski trips.
There's no reason for you to look in San Francisco, but worth a visit to get a feel for the city and more south, Monterrey is one of the prettiest places in the world but expensive.
Phoenix / Scottsdale is another great option if you want to be in the Southwest, similar climate to San Diego but without the benefit of the ocean. Great golf, and a short flight to the major ski destinations.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you want all the seasons and to live in the mountains, Denver is a decent option. I wouldn't look at Salt Lake City, the Mormon culture would be a shock.
If you strictly want to pay lower taxes, Texas may be your best bet. Austin has a growing tech scene and is pretty trendy now, some lakes and rolling hills so people are pretty active, but with a rapidly growing COL. Dallas is a solid option for raising a family, central location in the US makes trips easy, but not much to offer in terms of outdoor activities (it's on the plains). If you're not working in Dallas though it may be hard to get plugged into the social scene. Also don't be fooled, Texas gets some crazy weather - hot as balls in the summer and still freezing cold in the winter.
If you're not set on the Western US, Florida is another good option. Would check out Tampa or St. Pete vs. Miami, which is getting absolutely insane in terms of housing. Doesn't seem like you're sold on staying in the Northeast part of the continent (NY or Boston), given the cost. Probably makes more sense to stay on the western US though given the time difference to your work.
Texas, Florida
If you have Denver questions, DM me. I still love it, but a lot of people are heading to Wyoming or Montana. All of my family is here so that makes it easier.
if you want to ski and be in a city, denver. skiing in tahoe is also good but bay area taxes are worse than toronto. don't come to the SE USA, skiing is garbage. great on other measures but carolinas, GA, FL either have no access to mountains or trash access to skiing, but beautiful mountains otherwise
Thanks everyone. We have narrowed down our list to Orange Country / San Diego Country, Denver-area, and finally Salt Lake area. Our number one choice is San Diego Country.
Everyone says life in California is expensive but I suppose it is all relative to what you're coming from. This would be a huge improvement in life and costs over Toronto.
I've been in Tel Aviv and Montreal for the past few years, is Toronto really THAT expensive now?
Want a house in a good area in Toronto? Better be ready to spend 2.5m with 20% minimum down as cash. Also it will be an old house and semi-detached.
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