What About This Lubbock? (Howe: fit in, rent, house)

[cobolt]

I know the cost of living there is low or lower than where I am. I used to live in AMarillo so I have some frame of reference. My big frustration is that in looking for employment in Lubbock, I can't seem to find anything that pays more than low 30K. That's a pretty big paycut for me. My major reason for wanting to leave where I am (aside from the 9 months rain out of the year) is the fact that I'll never be able to afford a home here. However, I figured with adjusted cost of living etc, that 40-45K would be more in line with what I would be looking for in Lubbock.

So my question is, and I dont' know how relative or subjective this is: Can someone live a decent life on 32K a year?

[juggler]

Do you have a family to support, or is it just yourself? You can live a decent life on $32K in Lubbock if it's just you. One of Lubbock's big claims to fame is it's really low cost of living.

Have you gone to one of the various cost of living calculators online to see how your current salary should translate with a move to Lubbock? That will give you a better idea of what you should expect to make.

Are you currently living in my neck of the woods (Pac NW)?

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by juggler

Do you have a family to support, or is it just yourself? You can live a decent life on $32K in Lubbock if it's just you. One of Lubbock's big claims to fame is it's really low cost of living.

Have you gone to one of the various cost of living calculators online to see how your current salary should translate with a move to Lubbock? That will give you a better idea of what you should expect to make.

Are you currently living in my neck of the woods (Pac NW)?

Yes, I"ve done ALLl the cost of living calculators and they say around 47K, so I'm being generous and putting it at 40-45K.

Yes, it's just me.

Yes, I'm in your neck of the woods and not too happy.

[TT Dave]

Like juggler said above, you can have a pretty decent life there since it's just you (assuming you don't have too many debts that would dig into that lower salary). Do you have a career that might allow you to move into a higher paying job later? If so, then maybe you could just rent for a while and buy a house later on when you get a better paying job that might put you in that 40-45K range, or you might just buy a smaller, older home that might fit into the low 30k salary range. Either way, like you said above, the cost of living will be lower in Lubbock than where you are now.

[cobolt]

Originally Posted by TT Dave

Like juggler said above, you can have a pretty decent life there since it's just you (assuming you don't have too many debts that would dig into that lower salary). Do you have a career that might allow you to move into a higher paying job later? If so, then maybe you could just rent for a while and buy a house later on when you get a better paying job that might put you in that 40-45K range, or you might just buy a smaller, older home that might fit into the low 30k salary range. Either way, like you said above, the cost of living will be lower in Lubbock than where you are now.

I have no debt. I planned on renting about a year to make sure the job works out and to look for a home on my time. As it stands now, I can save quite a good chunk for retirement whereas with the Lubbock job, savings would be cut considerably. I'm not sure if there is the chance to move into a higher paying position ( I would think so) and what the timeframe would be for that. I'd have to find out more during the interview, but they want to know if I am good with the salary, because there is no point in going through with the interview if I'm not.