If either of the job offers in London are not from a US-based company, you will not only pay local income tax in the U.K. but also income tax to the USA. The USA is about the only country that thinks it has the right to tax you to death for working in another country when the business is not based in the USA.
Thank you for that bit of info midlifebear. You and a couple others here (mostly yhtang and jason) are keenly aware of this fact (and have been reminding me to consider this when making my final decision). And because of the tax bracket I fall under anyway, that is quite a bit of loot to just be handing off in a year that I will never get back. I would be better off just using the amount I save in taxes- by staying here in the states -for a vacation to London, lol. Actually, it is the very reason why I turned down a similar offer- from one of the London based companies -before. Yes the amount they were going to pay me seemed to be great, but after all the taxes, and cost of living adjustments, I would be making much less then I would taking any job here in the states. Now one could argue this is where good negotiations come in, but those can only get me so far. Speaking of which...
EagleCowboy, in your pursuits, are negotiations a part of your process? Or are you simply given an amount, and not allowed to deviate from it? In my experience, my personal friends who make under a certain amount in our group do so not because of any lack of opportunity or luck. It is because they either jumped at the first offer given to them, or they were to afraid to ask for more- for what ever reason (the latter happened to me a few years ago, then I found out after I got the job just how high they would have gone. Talk about mad...lol). One of the first business lessons my mom ever instilled in me was to know how much I am worth. Today, that means keeping up to date with what ever the going rates are for my job type, and level of experience. Sometimes it might mean me going into an interview and making the potential employer feel/believe that if they don't snatch me up now, someone I am already in talks with might get me before them (even when that might not be the case). The point is, once you know how much you are worth, and what others in your position are going for, you will know what range or figure you can comfortably play in/ask for, without fear of rebuke and such. At the end of the day, any little gain, is still a gain.
Something else to keep in mind is that recruiters already know how high/much they are authorized to go/offer you. And their job is to get you as cheaply as possible (this is how many of them earn their commissions in the first place). So they will do what ever to sell you on how good that first offer is; even lie sometimes. But again, this is where research and knowledge about their payment practices, and what you are worth in general, comes into play. Remember, most of what I am speaking about applies to somewhat technical, contract, and or managerial work. So make sure to find out what practices work best for the industry you work in.
Aside from that, Thanks again everyone for all the input. I will keep you all posted on any developments.
Regards,
T.D.
P.S. headbang8, to answer your last question (and soley within context of London); Family, friends, my current sideprojects/ventures, and my personal time- and in that order.
Ciao-
T.
