Currently living in Los Angeles, want to move family. TONS of questions!

[Copanut]

A nurse that crunches numbers? Whoda thunk?

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Thank you. I like to crunch numbers. It gets me in trouble here on CD at times. Not looking for a job, already have one. But thanks.

Not surprised you get in trouble. Facts can get in the way of simple adherence to an informed, bias point of view.

Keep crunching, even when I don't like your results

[Wants2MoveNOW]

Originally Posted by Katiana

And the average salary for a web designer in LA is $78K. ($81K in Denver) So, if the OP's husband is earning 3/4 the salary of web designer in LA, he'll make $46,500 in Pgh. Salaries depend on a lot of things, education and experience among them.
Web Designer Salary in Los Angeles, CA | Indeed.com
Web Developer Salary in Denver, CO | Indeed.com

Actually, the same website as above says $72K for Pittsburgh.
Web Developer Salary in Pittsburgh, PA | Indeed.com

It also says: Average Web Developer salaries for job postings in Pittsburgh, PA are 20% lower than average Web Developer salaries for job postings nationwide, (with LA being 2% higher than nationwide) So, doing a complicated mathematical analysis here, the OP's husband would be earning $58,800 per the national average (for his exact job with his same employer); and ~$47K in the exact same circumstances in Pgh.

So if he makes 70K out here in LA, when he applies for jobs out in Pittsburgh, he should expect to get less? Bummer. I know he's going to have a hard time with that. He started out at 40K, and has worked his way up to 70K... i'd be pissed if I got a 20-30K pay decrease.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

So if he makes 70K out here in LA, when he applies for jobs out in Pittsburgh, he should expect to get less? Bummer. I know he's going to have a hard time with that. He started out at 40K, and has worked his way up to 70K... i'd be pissed if I got a 20-30K pay decrease.

Possibly. Who knows? He might get a promotion.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

So if he makes 70K out here in LA, when he applies for jobs out in Pittsburgh, he should expect to get less? Bummer. I know he's going to have a hard time with that. He started out at 40K, and has worked his way up to 70K... i'd be pissed if I got a 20-30K pay decrease.

It most likely would be in the 55k-60k range. But that is an above average salary in our area. You'd still be in the same "class" but you'd be making a different salary.

[cooky01]

My wife and I were born & raised in a big foreign city.
While Pittsburgh doesn't offer as much shopping or exciting night life, its cost of living is great for a young couple to raise a family.
You get a lot more for less, so even if your husband needs to take a small pay cut, it may turn out better at the end.
Doing a quick Monster search yields web design results that pay $50K - $90K.
So it's very possible he can maintain the same salary even here in Pittsburgh.

Every city has different regions/areas.
You just have to pick what makes the most sense for you.
We're in a safe & decent neighborhood (Warrendale/Cranberry), and it takes me only 30 min to commute.

How about have your husband start interviewing for jobs, to narrow down the possibilities?
A friend of mine did that, and his choice was easy - to pick between a small town in the middle of no where, or Columbus, OH, which is actually very similar to Pittsburgh, if not better.

[r3dwolf]

Originally Posted by Wants2MoveNOW

So if he makes 70K out here in LA, when he applies for jobs out in Pittsburgh, he should expect to get less? Bummer. I know he's going to have a hard time with that. He started out at 40K, and has worked his way up to 70K... i'd be pissed if I got a 20-30K pay decrease.

Took a 15k pay cut transferring from D.C. metro to here. Here, I can afford a house, an extra car, to put my son in day care, etc. In D.C., none of those things were possible. I pay less for my mortgage here than I did for my smaller rental in D.C. Metro, and so on.

Salaries are tuned to cost of living. They are not absolute numbers. That being said, depending on his abilities he could land anywhere within the numbers you've been talking about. If he's a developer, and not simply a graphics guy, he has a much better chance of earning well. Its impossible to swing a dead cat without hitting a web designer any more.