I’m an Accountant and I Failed the Simplest Math: Moving to America.
- ngcooper
- Apr 17
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 21
It has been +15 years since I moved to the U.S., and +10 years since I figured that it was best to immigrate for the economic potential. Well, as a CPA and accounting grad, I'm embarrassed to say, the mental math I did couldn't have been more inaccurate!
I am writing this article and providing you a FREE calculator so you don't end up like me:
Moving for a +30% increase in salary, to cough up +$30,000 more per year!
By the end of this post, you should have all you need to determine if the obvious appeals of moving (whether across countries or across states) is actually as beneficial as it appears.
Chasing a Dream That Didn’t Add Up
Although I'm a proud Bahamian who loves my hometown of Freeport, the prospects of living in the U.S. seemed to offer me more:
physical safety
privacy
platonic relationships
prospects for marriage, and
financial opportunity or stability.
Recently, I learned that "achieving" my dream of stability by finally getting a green card, would be prolonged for at least another year. Have I contributed to the brain drain of my country by falling for a big lie - one I believed for over a decade??
The Security Illusion
On the island where I grew up, I knew where not to go to generally avoid violence, yet bullets often clapped off-key at night around all the apartments I afforded near major cities in the US. I found three pellets in my window the morning after I called 9-1-1, and was met with a "too busy - inbox full" message. I could not make this up!
In terms of privacy, I think everyone here's accepted that they're being monitored, directly and indirectly. The conveniences you gain in exchange for that right is just too great I guess.
I miss home.
Relationally, I'm not sure more friends was what I needed, yet this is an area where I've actually been extremely blessed in the U.S. - with people I consider family, and a spouse I call my wife (though I must call her 'partner' in some places for some reason). Culture varies region to region and state by state.
Lastly, with all my skepticism, financially, have I been better off?
"We should not be making this much money and yet feel so poor", my US colleagues lament.
Taking many factors I did not initially foresee into account, I sought to put the pen to pad and perform an actual analysis, and offer a tool maybe you or someone you know can use before moving from one state to another, or from one country to the U.S. You may refer to the calculator linked below, and duplicate and edit for your own use. Please note that it considers common hidden costs, but excludes hidden benefits (I mean I DO have a point to illustrate).
The Silent Wealth Killer
So, what were the results? The analysis showed that although the average salary for my profession at the entry-level was 30% higher in Atlanta, GA, USA, than in Freeport, GB, Bahamas. However, with tax considerations, the "real" take-home pay after the $15K raise would only be an ~$3K increase. Worth it?
Wait, there's more. Let's take into account the changes in cost of living.
How Moving to the U.S. Cost Me $300,000
Leaving my parent's home in the Bahamas alone to "afford" rent in the U.S., would cost me +$20K/year that I could have been investing. If I had used a reputable international online brokerage to invest that in a simple S&P500 Index Fund earning 10% annually, and lived at home for just 5 years (and invested no further), I would have about $316,800 now, and be a millionaire by 2040. And remember, this assumes I STOPPED investing after moving out.
Beyond normal costs, there are also so many costs to moving that no one (at least on your side of the fence) tells you about!
One-time moving costs (whether setting up a 1-bedroom flat from scratch or moving your stuff across state) average about $8K, immigration attorneys could charge up to the same, and don't forget building up your stash of favorite foods, drinks, seasonings, etc. I drove my little Prius in to GA, so I had to pay like $1,200 in Ad Valorem Tax too!
Thankfully, my monthly insurance, dining, and transport costs didn't vary too much - but they are things you should consider.
The Hidden Costs They Don't Tell Immigrants
Lastly, if you're coming from where I'm from, people lead you to believe you've made it! So much so, you can afford to fly back at least annually, blow some money into the economy, and maybe even financially support some family members. They call the latter the "Black Tax", which does not apply to me; because I happen to be, well, from privilege.
According to the math that A.I. helped me calculate, I would have $33,031 USD more to spend each year of my young adulthood had I just sat my behind home!
Was the Gain Worth the Loss?
So did my move to the US, make financial sense? Clearly not. But do I regret moving? Sometimes. When life is "lifing"- yes (the most effective therapy I have had is walking Bahamian beaches' shores), but when I zoom out and remember I met my wife here, it's a "HECK TO THE 'NO.'"
Further, if I didn't move, I don't think I'd be uncomfortable enough to learn, adapt, change, and grow.
In fact, one of the biggest of the new expenses (i.e., royalties to Uncle Sam, also known as taxes), I've learned to avoid and minimize, to the extent that I'm really better off overall.
It only took me 14 years!
But don't wait that long - check out my free resource "Axe Tax" linked below, or book an hour with me today!
Axe Tax: How to Avoid Taxes, Legally and Strategically as an Immigrant (COMING SOON)
I want to leave you with an insightful story as retold by John Bogle, inventor of the Index Fund, from his book Enough,
In ancient Persia, a wealthy farmer leaves his home to seek even greater wealth, and spends his life in a fruitless search for a perhaps mythical diamond mine. Finally, as age and years of frustration take their toll, he throws himself into the sea and dies, an unhappy pauper far from home. Meanwhile, back at his estate, the new owner, surveying his vast acreage, sees something in a stream, something bright, glistening in the sunlight. It is a large diamond, and turns out to rest atop the fabulous Golconda mine.
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