Salary Question.

[cedardryad]

This is for future reference when I decide to move. So far I've been lucky when I apply for new jobs, I always get paid higher then my last job. But I'm planning on moving next year and I'm afraid that if I relocate to another state and get the same job that I won't get the same pay I am now. I researched my job in the state I want to move to and they offer $4 dollars less. I know that doesn't seem like a lot but I've worked jobs that did pay $4 less then my current job and it did make a difference.

So is there a way that during an interview I can ask to get the same amount of money I get paid at my current job? Since I work for a hospital I can't really just transfer and have a job guaranteed for me since I'm not a doctor or nurse. At job interviews I was never asked about salary requirements and I don't know what to request or if I should be the first to bring up the subject.

[Matt Algren]

Look for a cost of living calculator. People in New York (for example, since you're in Brooklyn) are paid quite well compared to someone in the Midwest, but the excess is eaten up by relative cost of housing, transportation, etc.

I have no idea how accurate any of these are, but start here (http://www.google.com/search?q=cost+of+living+calculator&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS227US227&aq=t).

[Dark Galaxy]

People in New York (for example, since you're in Brooklyn) are paid quite well compared to someone in the Midwest, but the excess is eaten up by relative cost of housing, transportation, etc.

It's true. When wages of the same jobs, are lower in a different location, usually the cost of living is lower too. I had a friend tell me how much it cost to rent an apartment in the midwest, and I about crapped my pants because it was so cheap!

[cedardryad]

My friend Willie told me about a place he wants to get in NC its $600 a month with amenities and it's a house. I was about to cry, that is so unheard of over here.

[Darediva]

It's going to make all the difference WHERE you move. I pay $800 a month on the mortgage of a 1500 square foot single level house with a two car attached garage in Arkansas. I doubt you could find anything that cheap that was decent along most of the east coast, and certainly not out in California. But then, the wages here are not nearly as good as they are in NY, either. You really will have to do some research to find out what the wages are like where you'd like to move. Chambers of commerce generally have a good sampling of the labor rates. Check those out.

[TomStillwell]

This is for future reference when I decide to move. So far I've been lucky when I apply for new jobs, I always get paid higher then my last job. But I'm planning on moving next year and I'm afraid that if I relocate to another state and get the same job that I won't get the same pay I am now. I researched my job in the state I want to move to and they offer $4 dollars less. I know that doesn't seem like a lot but I've worked jobs that did pay $4 less then my current job and it did make a difference.

So is there a way that during an interview I can ask to get the same amount of money I get paid at my current job? Since I work for a hospital I can't really just transfer and have a job guaranteed for me since I'm not a doctor or nurse. At job interviews I was never asked about salary requirements and I don't know what to request or if I should be the first to bring up the subject.

You live in NYC right? The cost of living there is insane.

We're seeing a trend among lawyers to pick Chicago over NYC when deciding on their first firm. Essentially it is the same salary but half the cost of living. It's much easier to pay off those student loans when your one room apartment doesn't cost $2000 a month or whatever the going rate is these days in NYC.

[LewisH]

don't have a state income tax. That makes a pretty big difference as well.

[cedardryad]

My main worry is since the cost of living is cheaper where I want it will still balance out because I get paid less. I don't want to struggle to make payments on my first home. I found some places that are decent that are between $800 to $600 mortgage. But if I will only get $800 at most a month that is pretty scary. I'll work something out.

[Mysterio]

don't have a state income tax. That makes a pretty big difference as well.

Except in Texas, 1) You pay more sales tax at the register and 2) In some areas, property taxes are much higher.