Stop, Look and Compare Before Accepting That New Job

You’ve aced the interview, you’ve landed the job at the modular home factory. All bases have been covered.
Or have they?  There‘s one minor detail
that may be major if you do not stop to count the cost. This detail is
comparing the cost of living from the city where you live to the city where
your new job is located.

By doing a cost of living
comparison, it will help you ascertain what it will take to move from one city
to another, while maintaining your standard of living. For example, if you move
from Dallas to New York City, will you be able to maintain the same lifestyle
with your new job and salary even if you’ve received a substantial salary
increase?  How much home can you purchase
in comparison? If it is not comparable to the square footage you are used to,
can you live with that?  You have to ask
yourself these questions. No two people are the same. We all have varying
standards of living. One person might be content to live in a smaller space
while another will not handle the transition well. Make sure to count the costs,
financially as well as mentally and emotionally.

Sometimes, in the excitement
of a new job and location, people do not think about the details. It can lead
to sticker shock when they arrive at their new destination. On the other hand,
they may be pleasantly surprised if they can get more bang for their buck in
housing and lifestyle, even with their same salary.

Steve Reed, an economist at
the Bureau of Labor and Statistics cautions not to use a ‘state to state’ cost
of living comparison because it just isn’t useful. He says, “The cost of living
in Eureka, California
is different from Los
Angeles, California.”  What is much more helpful and accurate, is
doing a city to city comparison.  For
example, if you live in Elkhart, Indiana and receive a job offer in Birmingham,
Alabama, you would find out the cost of living
in Birmingham is approximately 7.4% lower than Elkhart. What this means
is hypothetically, if you’ve been earning 50K per year in Elkhart,
you would need to earn approximately $46,312.00 in Birmingham. The chart may even reveal
scenarios such as Birmingham typically pays
their employees 0.5% more than employees are paid in Elkhart. This sweetens the deal even more.
The bottom line here would be if you took the same type of position in Birmingham that you had in Elkhart, you would likely earn $50,270.00,
all things compared.  By visiting a website
to check the cost and comparison of the city you live in compared to the city
you will be moving to, you can get a good idea of the price difference for
groceries, housing utilities, transportation, health care, etc. 

By doing your homework up
front, you will know what to look for and what to expect with few surprises.
It’s good to have an approximate estimate of what you’ll be up against. It’s
prudent to count the cost of all things and compare the city you live in to the
city you‘re moving to. That way there will be no surprises, and your transition
to your new position will be smoother. 
Below is a website you can visit to get you started on your comparison
journey. Remember, it always pays to count the cost.

www.bestplaces.net/col

Cathy L. Sage is President of
Robert Sage Careers, LLC; an Executive Search Firm and Job Board Publisher that
specializes in the Factory Built Structures Industries. Cathy Sage can be
reached at (727) 504-5350 or [email protected].  For more
information about the company and to visit the job board, access

http://www.robertsagecareers.com.