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I live in Miami, Fl and have been visiting and spending much of my summers over the past 4 years in the Raleigh metro area. In fact, I like the area so much that I would like to move if a suitable job becomes available. I am in the education/administration of athletics field. I am pretty familiar with the various jobs, job descriptions, and range of pay in general for various positions. Well, from looking at various job postings from different sites, jobs in general pay low.
In Miami the pay rate in general is below average compared to many other major cities. Well, in general, I find the pay in Raleigh to be even lower. It is a shame because I really like the area and may eventually move to the area. However, with the jobs I have seen posted over the last year, I have noticed the pay is really low considering the scope of responsibilities and requirements in many of those jobs. People, lifestyle, lack of congestion, superior customer service, and quality of life in general compared to Miami is so much superior in Raleigh. I am aware that in many aspects the cost of living is a little less in Raleigh compared to Miami; but not much less. In fact, housing prices have gone down quite a bit in Miami making it almost comparable to Raleigh.
A while back I came to the conclusion that moving to Wake County or the surrounding area would be a tradeoff. I may be trading making less money; actually making considerably less money in exchange for a better quality of life. As long as I am willing to accept those trade offs and I am fine with it and won't hurt financially, I do not mind. However, as much as I would like to make the move NOW! I may have to actually wait and plan accordingly when it comes to finance before I can or am willing to make that tradeoff. If I can plan it right and afford it, I will be willing to make those tradeoffs within the next few years as I am not ready to that now. However, if pay was a little higher in the Raleigh area I would be making that move ASAP. The reality though is that the pay in many of the careers in Raleigh are below average.
It's all relative, move to a place that has a cheaper cost of living, and salaries are likely going to be lower, to compensate. Move to a place that has a higher cost of living, and salaries are likely to be higher as well.
According to it a $50K salary in Miami would match a $46K job in Raleigh because of Cost of Living variables. You can plug in your own numbers to get a better picture.
My sister is a nurse and she looked around here at jobs and they pay was shockingly lower than where she lives in Richmond, VA; the real estate there, on the other hand, seems to be a bit cheaper. Pay is low for my line of work as well. I don't believe the cost of living here is all that much cheaper. We didn't get much more for our money on a house (and we moved comparably much farther in the burbs to get it), food and gas cost more, and we have to drive farther. But, yeah, quality of life is head and shoulders above where we were before. It's worth it.
According to it a $50K salary in Miami would match a $46K job in Raleigh because of Cost of Living variables. You can plug in your own numbers to get a better picture.
As far as 50k in Miami would match 46k in Raleigh because of cost of living sounds accurate. However, from what I have seen the disparity in salaries for comparable jobs is wider. Obviously not in all fields, but what I have seen a $50k job in Miami pays about $40-$45k in Raleigh. Even on the lower end jobs(not that I am looking for those)while browsing, jobs that pay about $9-$10 an hour in Miami pays about $7.50-$8.00 in Raleigh and the job in Raleigh requires more experience or credentials. Maybe this has something to do with many people wanting to move to Raleigh and employers having leverage. Who knows.
As far as 50k in Miami would match 46k in Raleigh because of cost of living sounds accurate. However, from what I have seen the disparity in salaries for comparable jobs is wider. Obviously not in all fields, but what I have seen a $50k job in Miami pays about $40-$45k in Raleigh. Even on the lower end jobs(not that I am looking for those)while browsing, jobs that pay about $9-$10 an hour in Miami pays about $7.50-$8.00 in Raleigh and the job in Raleigh requires more experience or credentials. Maybe this has something to do with many people wanting to move to Raleigh and employers having leverage. Who knows.
I think it may have more to do with the fact that from what I've read alot of people are out of work in the Raleigh area. My husband made about the same here but it ended up being more of a loss then we figured. The COL calculator I used was for city to city but I recently found one from zip code to zip code. I think that is way more accurate. Of course we didn't come from a more expensive area so the income tax, home prices, grocery/gas/utility prices are slamming us. BUT, we leave next month so except for the mortgage we're stuck with it doesn't matter anyway.
I was visiting relatives in West palm recently and I noticed the price of all groceries and the majority of household goods were MUCH cheaper than NC. For example toliet paper was literally half the price non-sale price.
Something to keep in mind. You'll be taking a pay cut, paying income taxes, and paying more for general goods....
I noticed this almost 3 years ago: factoring in the prevailant wages I think the cost of living in the Triangle is quite high.
I also believe that on should not put to much stock in the online calculators. I have found that they might be inclusive of enough factors to be accurate.
I was visiting relatives in West palm recently and I noticed the price of all groceries and the majority of household goods were MUCH cheaper than NC. For example toliet paper was literally half the price non-sale price.
Something to keep in mind. You'll be taking a pay cut, paying income taxes, and paying more for general goods....
Thats interesting...right next to the one of the wealthiest cities in the country. I know that groceries are significantly more than in the midwest.
(I'm glad I'm wearing flame retardant clothing.)
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