Graduating? Moving? Here's Decision Help

A Tale of Two Cities

It's no surprise that not all cities and their living costs are equal.  It then follows that salary offers and their buying power vary greatly by city.  

Sadly few of us moving to a new city stop and think about the wide swings in standards of living we might encounter.

New graduates contemplating two different cities in which to live don't consider this phenomenon either.  

Do you want to avoid mistakes, create a leg up on negotiation tactics?  Then this article is tailor-made for you or your upcoming graduate.

Do you want to know what the cost of living is in any particular city?  Then this article is also for you.  

"My child was so excited to be heading to CA.  He is working out his spending plan, just like your course teaches, and put in the $ amount it takes to get an apartment - with 4 roommates no less.  I nearly fell through the floor.  His "apartment rent" (just his 1/4 portion) is MORE than my house payment.  My house has a front and back yard, and more square feet than his apartment.  I nearly fainted.  I do not, by the way, live in a mansion."

So before salary negotiations are over, and before a particular new city is selected, it makes sense to compare costs in just living from day to day in each city.  

By the way, what did the student in the above example do?  He realized the need to snap up a roommate.  Good decisions follow good research.  

• Your Tyler, Texas salary offer:  $50,000

• Your New York City (Manhattan offer) would need to be:  $114,469

Yes, that's right.  For NYC to "match" the spending power/offer of Tyler, it has to offer you $64,469 MORE.  Someone alert the media!  That's a BIG difference.  Why such a gap?  In NYC, your groceries will cost 55% more, housing 368% more, utilities 46% more, transportation 29% more, and health care 16% more just to name a few comparisons.  Of course, these numbers held at the time I did my research.  But you get the idea.  This  difference must be considered.  

What if your graduate (or you) have 2 offers to consider?

If both positions are equally desirable, then comparing the salary offers becomes even more crucial.  

Assume there is a salary offer of $60,000 in Oklahoma City, OK, then what would the Top 10 cities for Post-Graduates (per apartment guide.com) offer need to be to EQUAL OKC? (numbers will change over time, of course)

        Oklahoma City, OK offer >>> $60,000

        The "Top 10 City" offers would need to be:

So, the conclusion is obvious.  The offer from Oklahoma City for $60,000 might be the best offer on the table.  If NYC offered $100,000, and OKC stuck with their offer of $60,000, then OKC STILL beats NYC in terms of money offer/buying power by almost $7,000 NYC dollars.  Explaining this to your nearly-flown child might be a challenge, but it certainly is a topic worth covering.  

So how can you do this calculation for yourself?