105. Cross Border, Cross Country: 1,000 Miles of RV Life as a British Expat in America

Moving to America is a big leap for any British expat. Moving to America and then towing your home across it in an RV is another thing entirely. One month and more than 1,000 miles into his cross-country adventure, Plan First Wealth's JB is back with his first report from the road.

In this Cross Border, Cross Country episode of Expat Wealth, Richard Taylor, Chartered Financial Planner and founder of Plan First Wealth, catches up with JB as he travels from New Hampshire through Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina to Greenville, South Carolina. JB hands out his state report card: New Hampshire's surprisingly British charm, the history packed into Washington DC (including the newly opened Lincoln undercroft), and Baltimore's easy-going NFL Sundays. Richard explains how Sir Christopher Wren's rejected plan to rebuild London after the Great Fire may have gone on to shape the layout of DC.

Then come the realities of RV life. There's interstate undertaking, a near-miss on wet grass at a Harvest Hosts stop outside Philadelphia, American driving tests that are over in about three minutes, and a tight-knit RV community gathered around outdoor projectors for the football. For anyone weighing up the cost of moving to the US, JB shares the real numbers: $50 to $80 a night for campgrounds and around $870 a month on diesel.

The conversation then turns to money and meaning. Richard and JB explore why expats are so hungry for experiences, why travel shows up in nearly every expat retirement plan, and how one client's family trip to the Maldives became a memory his family will treasure forever. JB also shares what has surprised him most in his first month of cross-border financial planning: how smoothly US custodians handle moving and consolidating assets, and how simple IRAs and 401(k)s are compared with the UK pension system.

Whether you're moving to America, already living the British expat life in the US, or looking for financial advice on retiring into a life of experiences, this episode is a candid, funny look at building a life and building wealth across borders.

--

Expat Wealth is supported by Plan First Wealth. Plan First Wealth is a Registered Investment Advisor serving fellow expatriates and immigrants living across the US on matters such as retirement planning, investment management, tax planning and non-US asset management.

https://planfirstwealth.com/

--

Expat Wealth is affiliated with Plan First Wealth LLC, an