Pay-cut to move to Knoxville (mortgage, vacation, income)

[Decepticon]

Just wondering if anyone that moved to the area is in a similar situation to me. I was offered a position for 20K less than I currently make, but the cost of living calculators estimate the cost of living at about 10-12k less than where I currently reside now (Carmel, IN). Has anyone taken a pay cut like this and moved, only to regret it? Does Knoxville just pay less in general because they know they can have their pick of candidates? Any help would be appreciated!

[hiknapster]

Yes, you will almost always take a pay cut moving here, and yes, they have a pick of candidates due to it being a college town, and now the influx of people moving into the area.

I've seen this concern time and time again on here.

Hoosier07 is moving from Michigan, I believe, is an engineer and has been in loooong negotiations with his prospective company.

[BarbG]

For my husband and I, it was a mixed bag.

I didn't have to take a pay cut, and am blessed to have found a wonderful paying job with a great corporation.

My husband had to take about a 20% pay cut himself, but his pay has increased over the last 1.5 years to almost where it was.

The cost of living here is less than where we used to live, so we were able to bridge that difference.

[hoosier07]

Wow, I'm in Greenwood, IN --- South side of Indianapolis. The cost of living according to my analysis is basically the same.....house is the same price, probably a bit lower since you're in Carmel.

I don't think the cost of living will be less than 5% lower than Indianapolis area. Take a trip there if you have not and you will see.

Good luck. I'm negotiating for the past 6 weeks.

[hiknapster]

I thought you would be along to answer her question!

And I thought you were in Indiana, being a hoosier and all!

[hoosier07]

Yeah right ! You thought I was a michiganian ! Well, I lived in the Detroit area for two years, does it count ? he..he..he...

BTW, they offer I got was a $10K pay cut from my current salary. I realize I could not accept it since my wife stays at home taking care of our 3 Year old and we want to have a 2nd child next year....she plans to get back into a work outside home when the kids are in the school age. Meanwhile, I have to help with most of the "dough" he..he..he....

Surprisingly the company asked to continue discussions, we exchanged e-mails again last week and key person returns from a 2 week vacation next week. Let's see.

[Caver]

I accepted a 21K pay cut to move to Knoxville. I do not regret it. My intention for moving here was to provide a better place for my family and young son to live in (as opposed to Orlando). I have no regrets. Cost of living is lower (although outside of housing not too much lower).

[suzycue]

Originally Posted by Decepticon

Just wondering if anyone that moved to the area is in a similar situation to me. I was offered a position for 20K less than I currently make, but the cost of living calculators estimate the cost of living at about 10-12k less than where I currently reside now (Carmel, IN). Has anyone taken a pay cut like this and moved, only to regret it? Does Knoxville just pay less in general because they know they can have their pick of candidates? Any help would be appreciated!

I have noticed that it really depends on the industry you are looking for. I have been researching jobs in the business area that require at least a Bachelors degree, and the pay is very close to what they pay here in Miami. Some are even higher. I found this site to be kind of cool, check it out!
KnoxJobs.tv - a brand new way to look for jobs

[sliverbox]

BTW, they offer I got was a $10K pay cut from my current salary. I realize I could not accept it since my wife stays at home taking care of our 3 Year old and we want to have a 2nd child next year....she plans to get back into a work outside home when the kids are in the school age. Meanwhile, I have to help with most of the "dough" he..he..he....

hmmm.. well when you put it that way, then you're talking about a 5 year period where you'll have a single income. Now if you were with a wife who was going to be miss permanent housewife, and never returning to work, then that would be different. So worse case scenario is that you all might have a few 'lean' years but as soon as your wife starts working, you would be in perhaps decent shape? 10k doesn't sound like an amount that would make a gigantic difference.But you might have to buckle down a tad. If you got what you think the house would sell for now, would you basically be able to buy with no mortgage in TN? You mentioned the prices were about the same.

Perhaps you could move to TN and live in a small starter home and put the rest of the money into a CD or savings account. Then when your wife starts working, you could sell what you bought and move up. No guarantees, but I bet the first house would at least sell for what you paid for it, and likely more. Besides, small children don't know the differences anyhow.

Those are just some mild brain farts. Not professional advice.

[ussjts]

My wife and I had to take a pay cut when we moved here from South Carolina. My wife is a registered nurse and we thought that she would make more here, but we were wrong.My pay cut was not as bad as her's was. The cost of living is just about the same. We stayed in a very good neighborhood and possibily moved into one even better very quiet and very great schools.