How Much Pay Incrase To Move Family?

[lucyem]

Curious, how much would you need in increase in pay/lowering of expenses would you need to move your family to a different part of the US?

Dh is unhappy in his job situation. Presently doing the job of 3 people, literally since the other two left. He no longer has time to do much of what he was hired to do and loves, just trying to keep up. No chance of a raise any time soon or if ever. No growth potential. But the quality of life here for the kids is really great. On the other hand once they graduate high school dh and i will leave. Though thats 10 years out. Has a job offer in a different part of the country. Not much pay increase but huge reduction of taxes. Major growth potential and work since the area has more of what he does. Yearly raises. We do not know the area well. Dh would have to go alone until our house sold, and who knows how long that would be. On the plus side instead of 24 hour drive to disney it would be 14. . Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

 

[dpswift]

I am not sure. We have had similar thoughts. I would find out more about the potential city and what is has to offer. Other considerations are how good are the schools? Would you have to pay more for private school if the quality of public are low? What is the everyday cost of living compared to where you are now? In some areas a huge raise can be lost in things that you might not think of like water and utilities.

We have been considering moving closer to Florida where my father winters. He has been spending more time there than here these past few years and it just seems too far if something were to happen. Since we would like to be there we would probubly move for an equal lifestyle. My biggest concern would be my 11 year old as he has just now become more social and I am not sure how he would handle a move friend wise.

Therefore as far as cost of moving I feel that the other parts of life are bigger considerations. I worked with a woman who live here less than 6 months and left to move back.

Good luck with everything

 

[pyrxtc]

We just moved for a better job and less pay. we thought the trade off was worth it. The job has better growth opportunity and is more stable.

 

[alice99]

You say it'll be 10 years until your kids graduate from high School.
They are at the age where a move will not be so traumatic for them, I'd go now, not wait.
My husband and I consider doing this move 3 times a year , but stay here anyway.
Our home cost us 450K and our taxes are almost 13K... but we can't leave yet b/c of the kids, they are 14 and 15 years old.
Whatever you decide good luck!

 

[Darcy03231]

What is the cost of living in the new area? If it's a lot more, a small raise isn't going to help. If its less a small raise could really mean a big one.

I live in an area where the cost of living is pretty high. I could move elsewhere, make the same amount of money (or even less) and still come out ahead if I moved to an area with a lower cost of living.

 

[lucyem]

What is the cost of living in the new area? If it's a lot more, a small raise isn't going to help. If its less a small raise could really mean a big one.

I live in an area where the cost of living is pretty high. I could move elsewhere, make the same amount of money (or even less) and still come out ahead if I moved to an area with a lower cost of living.

The cost of living according to online calculators is less in the new place. But the COA calculators never take completely into consideration our super high property taxes where we are. It varies by town. Our property taxes would be about 75% less.

 

[Swimalie]

I agree to look in to the new area's schools to help with the decision. We were offered a free house in another state. Totally free vs an area we don't like, expensive area and a mortgage. But the other state's schools are horrible and we would have to send our son to private school which, once we looked in to it, would cost more than our mortgage now so we turned the offer down.

To me, though, taking a pay cut to get to a job that has more potential, good schools, good cost of living, etc is worth it.

 

[Darcy03231]

The cost of living according to online calculators is less in the new place. But the COA calculators never take completely into consideration our super high property taxes where we are. It varies by town. Our property taxes would be about 75% less.

Well, from what you've posted it sounds like a good opportunity for your family, as long as the school system is good or the savings allow you to afford private school.

DH and I plan to move from our area when we retire, mainly due to the COL. Our retirement monies will go a lot further in other areas. Plus, I don't want to deal with the snow anymore!

 

[gojoe]

I've been in a similar situation for the past 10 year. I won't go into details about my job but very stressful, low pay and no way out. We've decided to move but I'm 10 years older now job prospect are slim. My stepdaughter is off to college in the fall, my daughter and her family is in the Orlando area. We have no reason to stay. Cost of living in RI is thru the roof.
This job has really taken a toll on me. I'm not going to give you advice. Just consider how your husband will be in 10 years if he's still at his job.

 

[tvguy]

Uprooting my family wouldn't be worth it. Had three employers in the past 36 years, when I need to change jobs, I was able to find a job here, and even considered a career change over a move. But we are a 2 income family, and any move would involve finding 2 new jobs as well as uprooting the family.

Looking at the folks I work with who did the opposite, I'd say at the very least I am financially ahead of them, even when the new job involved a pay cut.

 

[eliza61]

In your situation I'd be gone.

1) dh hates his job. 10 years is a horribly long time to have to go some where day in and day out that you hate. It affects every thing in your life. I got a new position with a promotion and I hate it. I'm staying at most another 2 years then I'm outta here.

2) no chance of advancement. another huge negative for staying. NO incentive for growth. hasta la vista

3) huge reduction in taxes. I live in NJ, my property taxes for last year were 10,590 bucks. and I do not, repeat do not live in a huge mcmansion. not only that, my dh just passed away and I found out that life insurance in this state, yep i'll be taxed on it. I am so outta here in 4 years. Oh and in NJ you have to pay a goofy "exit" tax on your salary for moving.

No question about it, in the scenerio you described I'd be talking to a realitor. I can't wait until my youngest graduates from college, I'll have a lot more flexibility to where I want to move but I'm moving.

 

[scrapquitler]

Curious, how much would you need in increase in pay/lowering of expenses would you need to move your family to a different part of the US?

Dh is unhappy in his job situation. Presently doing the job of 3 people, literally since the other two left. He no longer has time to do much of what he was hired to do and loves, just trying to keep up. No chance of a raise any time soon or if ever. No growth potential. But the quality of life here for the kids is really great. On the other hand once they graduate high school dh and i will leave. Though thats 10 years out. Has a job offer in a different part of the country. Not much pay increase but huge reduction of taxes. Major growth potential and work since the area has more of what he does. Yearly raises. We do not know the area well. Dh would have to go alone until our house sold, and who knows how long that would be. On the plus side instead of 24 hour drive to disney it would be 14. . Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

It would depend on the COL where I currently live vs the COL where I might be going to. I live in a high COL area now, and we would potentially move for no pay raise or possibly even a pay cut if it were a desirable move lifestyle wise and to a lower COL area...we'd still potentially be better off (where I live now, property taxes are $5K on a $200k house, if we had a job offer in an area where there was $2K taxes and the equivalent of my current $200K house cost $75K, I'd be way ahead with the same or lower salary).

It just really depends, and for us lifestyle would probably override finances in making the decision.

 

[DawnM]

We moved almost 8 years ago now from a HCOL area to a LCOL area. We took a large DECREASE in pay. Dh's pay was cut about 35% and mine was cut 100% as I stopped working when we moved. Overall, with me stopping work, we took about a 65% pay cut.

But we still have a larger house, yard, and standard of living here. Part of that is because we had $$ left over from the sale of our CA house to plunk down on a house here, the other part is because housing is a lot less here.

Dh's salary is finally up to what it was in CA. I am still not working, by choice.

Now, were we to move BACK, we would need a significant increase in pay to make it worth our while financially.

Dawn

 

[mamahas5]

We moved across the country 10 months ago for DH's better paying job ( we have some family nearby as well). Besides an annual increase of about $15k, he has much better opportunities now for promotions. He loves his new job (same line of work as before). COL is about the same here, and we are renting out our old house because financially it didn't make sense to sell last year. We have 2 in middle school, 1 in K, and 2 babies. Schools here are lightyears above the ones we came from! So far we're happy with our decision even though we miss DH's family we left behind.

 

[Pigeon]

I wouldn't focus on taxes all that much. While you have concern that COL calculators don't take into account your current high property taxes, you need to be careful about the property taxes in your new area as well.

In my area, the taxes vary pretty widely from one school district to another. I'm in a very good district with moderate property taxes. The town next to us has great schools, but I'd be paying two and a half times what I pay now if I lived there in a house nearly identical to mine. There are also some urban districts near us with horrible schools and tax rates that are easily triple what I pay.

Unless you know exactly where you'd move, you might be in for a surprise.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

If the job is a good fit and you can live with the school system, go for it.

We've btdt from more than one perspective. As a kid, my dad took a 2 yr position in a higher COL state b/c it was required to move up the ladder. Everyone we knew told us we were in for 2 yrs of he!!. He managed to keep us there 4 yrs and we cried when we had to come back (I was 11 when we moved there, almost 15 when we came back). But coming back was right for the family - my gma was ill and we needed to be closer to family. Again, the move was good and I never would have met my dh of almost 25 yrs if we stayed up north.

As an adult, we've made the decision to "uproot" our kids and move them. Not just to another state, we went to a different continent. I stopped working, so now that we are back, we are still down on income (though dh has had a couple of promotions and good raises since then). Both times, the move was right. The kids now understand that the US is not the only thing out there. They enjoy traveling and aren't afraid to be somewhere they don't speak the language or know the culture. Being back here has definite good sides as well.

If the job is right for your dh, and he's as unhappy as he seems to be, go for it.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

It will be easier to move when your kids are younger. Looking at it another way besides finances, do you want to be desperate to move in 5 years, but then have kids in HS, and you don't feel you can uproot them?

My DH was unhappy with his job 5 years ago. I didn't think he was serious about moving, and he'd promised me we'd never move to NH (his mother lives in NH). So, when he interviewed in NH, I said to ask for a 25% increase and extra vacation time--what did he have to lose? We weren't moving to NH!

Um, I've now lived in NH for almost 5 years. FTR, we're an hour from MIL--close enough to visit, but she can't just drop by. It actually works out well, as she's north of 80 now, and needs a little more help.

One of the selling points for us, in addition to the salary bump/COL (compared to NY), was that our kids would be entering 8th, 6th, and K (youngest was 2). We realized that 2 of the three would be starting in a new school anyway, while the oldest would have a year to adjust before starting HS. Moving wasn't easy, on any level, but we were all glad we did. Even my oldest, who was royally peeved at the time, can see how she personally benefited from a bigger school district with a much more challenging curriculum.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Based on what you stated I wouild move in a heart beat. Ten years of working a job you hate, with no potential for advancement, would be motivation enough. Let hubby go and rent something for a few months. Most cities have several good school districts.

 

[msmama]

Some things you dont mention - do you have ties to your current location?

Are you nearby family/close friends now that can watch your kids for you? If not, factor in the cost of a babysitter (including time to find said babysitter).

I've moved cross country and back several times now. I've never had a support system to speak of so moving is pretty easy for me as I have no real ties anywhere.

I would NOT buy a house outright - like others have said. Plan on renting for awhile until you figure out, specifically, where you want to be.

 

[StephMK]

Could you post the potential new area? I'm sure you would get responses on the good/bad of that area. We left family behind 6 years ago for DH to take a position with a pay cut but much better stability. We left a high COL area with excellent schools for a low COL area with excellent schools and slower pace. We pay the same real estate taxes but our house is much bigger for half the cost of our old house, similar age and neighborhood.

I absolutely hate living away from family and the winters here but everything else has been a huge improvement. DH is so happy & loves his job. The commute is so much better also. The kids were 7th grade, 1st & PK when we moved. They are happy and oldest DD was able to have opportunities that weren't available in our old district.

Good luck, change is never easy, especially to move, but it sounds like a good opportunity.