4 ms·

How much of a paycut is acceptable for a given drop in COL? Ex. SF to Dayton, OH: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=cost+of+living+comparison+san+francisco

• asdff 6y ago
  Personally, I wouldn't accept a cut. However, depending on how the employer calculates COL, I wouldn't be surprised if pay for new hires follows in lock step.
• np- 6y ago
  It doesn't scale as simply as that. Imagine you were making $100k with $60k in expenses in the Bay Area. That means your discretionary income is $40k. Then you move to Ohio and make $50k with $20k in expenses. That's $30k in discretionary income. So, even though the Bay Area is 3x more expensive, and you're only earning 2x the salary, you're still taking more money home at the end of the year by accepting the job in the Bay. In this scenario you need to look at absolute cost, not relative cost. (Obviously there are also other factors to take into account like quality of life, etc - but that's highly dependent on the individual)
  • oldsklgdfth 6y ago
    > It doesn't scale as simply as that. My question fails at the lower end. I was imagining 200-300k Bay area salaries. Is that reasonable? It seems like if you want to move to a low cost area, there is a salary that is smaller but provides you the same discretionary income.