Salary or pay cut to move to Phoenix

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by NOEL123

@wannabeaTexan - I thought my salary is pretty standard in Phoenix, isn't it?

@TallTraveller - Appreciate for the encouragement and yes, the firm is a well known international co'.

Is there any public transportation in Gilbert or I have to drive around? I heard the car registration is expensive, how expensive?

While not standard, per se, $128k (or $115k after they accept your 10% less offer) is comfortable (depending on existing expenses) in Gilbert. Gilbert was listed as one of the most affluent mid-size cities with a median income of around $88k if I remember correctly. Vehicle registration isn't that bad...but if you are not used to paying it then it can come with some sticker shock. It depends on the value of the car exactly how much. My 2012 truck is still $200 per year to register. Also keep in mind that we have some of the highest automobile insurance rates in the country.

The biggest issue I have with taking a pay cut is it will take years to get it back.

[NOEL123]

@MN-Born-n-Raised - We were visiting Horse shoe, around noon time and it was hot bec of the open space.
We were driving around Phoenix for a week, and the weather in the morning and night was really nice. Everybody has their own poker face, cold is my poker face...LOL

@phx1205 - We are fine with the housing costs, have certain price ranged in mind. We did roaming around Chandler and Gilbert when we were there in June 2018. It'll be a better lifestyle overall, that's important to us as well.

@KurtAZ - Pay cut is a sensitive topic but I have done my homework about the company itself. Their salary raises about 3-5% per year.

[phx1205]

Originally Posted by NOEL123

@MN-Born-n-Raised - We were visiting Horse shoe, around noon time and it was hot bec of the open space.
We were there for a week, and the weather in the morning and night was really nice. Everybody has their own poker face, cold is my poker face...LOL

@phx1205 - We are fine with the housing costs, have certain price ranged in mind. We did roaming around Chandler and Gilbert when we were there in June 2018. It'll be a better lifestyle overall, that's important to us as well.

@KurtAZ - Pay cut is a sensitive topic but I have done my homework about the company itself. Their salary raises about 3-5% per year.

Sounds like the move is a no-brainer to me. Good luck and come back with specific questions as you zero in on your preferred area to live or questions on things to do.

[wannabeaTexan]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Back to the $$'s. I find it off that they would ask how much less you would take. TDid you tell them how much you hate the cold? Could they see how anxious you wanted to get out their? If so, I want to play poker with you. If they offer you less than 10% and come back and settle at 10% less, expect to get lousy wages for the coming years.

Additionally, it really is smart money to rent for a year. Although it is a PITA, you may not like the people you are working with or 100 other reasons. If your next gig is in north Scottsdale, now you have a terrible commute. YMMV.

Good point about the salary...it's a little suspect. Maybe the company really wants OP though and are willing to give more than they budgeted for the position or just want to keep it in line with other employees. Bonus could be to offset the salary difference they're considering. Who knows. Years ago, I stepped out of my comfort zone and negotiated a bit of a higher wage for a new job. Weeks later at an off-site team building thing, the hiring manager told me I could've held out...he would've given me more. Gee thanks. Then I moved up later, but they didn't negotiate salaries for internal moves. Recruiter said the pay increase from what I was currently getting was a good deal anyway.

The commute issue is a good point too. Kind of depends on knowing yourself and what you will and will not deal with at work.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by NOEL123

@KurtAZ - Pay cut is a sensitive topic but I have done my homework about the company itself. Their salary raises about 3-5% per year.

Mine did too until they found an excuse not to for the past couple of years...surprisingly we beat our earnings expectations and the executives got a fat bonus...but you know...

[bobspez]

I was offered a transfer to a position in Phoenix 40 years ago, while I was working in NYC. We were there two weeks to check it out. My wife really liked it there. I turned the job down for two reasons. The heat in summer was just too hot for me. We were there in May and it was already in the mid 90's. Second reason was the job market overall didn't seem that good. I figured if the job didn't work out I wouldn't be able to get anything comparable. A few years later I was facing a 30% reduction in salary when my NYC company did away with the night and weekend shifts. Just before the changes went into effect I got another job in NYC at a 15% increase from what I had been making. I spent the next 27 years at the new company. I don't believe I would have had that option had I taken the position in Phoenix.

Although it's 40 years later the heat is still the same. And although I don't kow how good the job market is in Phoenix, consider what do you do if the position for some reason doesn't work out.

[KurtAZ]

40 years ago...the Phoenix Metro was a much different place...both in demographics, size and business climate. We still don't have as many HQs as a city this size SHOULD have but it is getting better. Good advice though...if there are only a handful of positions open for your career path...what happens if you get laid off or hate the job that you moved across the country for?

[goolsbyjazz]

Originally Posted by bobspez

I was offered a transfer to a position in Phoenix 40 years ago, while I was working in NYC. We were there two weeks to check it out. My wife really liked it there. I turned the job down for two reasons. The heat in summer was just too hot for me. We were there in May and it was already in the mid 90's. Second reason was the job market overall didn't seem that good. I figured if the job didn't work out I wouldn't be able to get anything comparable. A few years later I was facing a 30% reduction in salary when my NYC company did away with the night and weekend shifts. Just before the changes went into effect I got another job in NYC at a 15% increase from what I had been making. I spent the next 27 years at the new company. I don't believe I would have had that option had I taken the position in Phoenix.

Although it's 40 years later the heat is still the same. And although I don't kow how good the job market is in Phoenix, consider what do you do if the position for some reason doesn't work out.

This is very good advice.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by bobspez

I was offered a transfer to a position in Phoenix 40 years ago, while I was working in NYC. We were there two weeks to check it out. My wife really liked it there. I turned the job down for two reasons. The heat in summer was just too hot for me. We were there in May and it was already in the mid 90's. Second reason was the job market overall didn't seem that good. I figured if the job didn't work out I wouldn't be able to get anything comparable. A few years later I was facing a 30% reduction in salary when my NYC company did away with the night and weekend shifts. Just before the changes went into effect I got another job in NYC at a 15% increase from what I had been making. I spent the next 27 years at the new company. I don't believe I would have had that option had I taken the position in Phoenix.

Although it's 40 years later the heat is still the same. And although I don't kow how good the job market is in Phoenix, consider what do you do if the position for some reason doesn't work out.

You should always consider what the local economy supports relative to your specific industry and skill set, the good news on Phoenix is our employment base isn’t highly concentrated in 1 or 2 industries, there’s a highly diverse mix of jobs here that has continued to improve over time. I had similar concerns relocating to Phoenix 16 years ago, I’ve found there is a lot more opportunity here than most people think. Phoenix is often criticized for not having a lot of Fortune 500 or 10000 HQs, but that doesn’t mean those companies don’t have jobs here. A few major examples include/

State Farm- HQ is IL but Tempe is a regional HQ with 3,000 or so employees.
Amazon- HQ is Seattle but several thousand employees are located in the valley
CVS- HQ is in Rhode Island but large operations centers exist in multiple locations in the valley.
Quicken- HQ is Detroit, I believe, yet over 1000 people work in their soon to be relocated downtown Phoenix facility.
Chase Bank- HQ is NY, but again 1000s is jobs in the valley including the naming rights to the d’baks park.

Tech Roles- continue to grow exponentially in the valley with major operations for Intel, GM technology, Go Daddy and something like 8,000 others according the the PBJ technology report.

If you take time to look past most of the biased opinions about Phoenix and have a skill set that’s in demand here, you can do quite well.

[Obadno]

In this job market there is absolutely no reason to take a pay cut