Would you accept a new job if it meant giving up 1/3 of your income?

[Jodi-FL]

but you'd be closer to family (currently 1000 miles away from anyone) and we would be in the same town with my in-laws, who need help in their aging status, (and we love them so much we would love to be closer), and 2.5 hours from my mom/step-Dad, who live at the beach (and my step-Dad is always stressed when we come for a week with all 7 kids, it would be great to go 2-3 at a time, or just have them come visit us) and we could re-unite with all our original friends (as in the ones we had from college/early marriage who all stayed in the original town, while we moved away 12 years ago) and our church.

 

we're not used to the salary we make now, as a big chunk of it was a raise dh just got in January (and so far we've had to replace the brakes on our van in Jan. and replace the pool pump in Feb.--both have cost what the raise has been).

 

but. what we make is only in the 5 digits. and the new job is 1/3 less what we make now. and we have 7 kids. and real estate is high there.

 

but we'd be close to parents. we could take real vacations rather than just trekking to our parents every summer. we'd be near great field trips (finally!) after years of being in the middle of nowhere with no good museums around. I'd be 600 miles closer to my sister who is losing her eye sight.

 

I want it to work. I'm just wondering if it will be too hard and if we'll regret it. Help me be objective.

[PariSarah]

But I'd have to run the numbers.

 

How does your budget look on paper? Can you find a house where the mortgage would be about a quarter of your take-home pay? How much would you have to cut back in other areas? Have you taken a thorough look at what your budget would look like?

 

If it were just a matter of living a little more frugally and getting a LOT of relationship-type benefits in return, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Or maybe if my parents were entering the "needs help" stage and this would let me take care of them or some such. But I wouldn't put us in scary financial territory just to be near family. I'd find other ways of maintaining the relationships.

[RoughCollie]

If I could make the finances work, I'd do it in a jiffy.

 

I think that's what you need to do first -- get a real clear idea of what your living situation would be like there -- not only estimated salary (estimate low rather than high), but as close to actual costs (estimate high rather than low) as you can figure. Make a budget with those figures and see if it can be done.

[lynn]

Some things to consider from my experience. What is the cost of living adjustment to where you would be moving, taxes, insurance etc. Is it equal to where you live now? Would you be better off moving or worse than the 1/3 less salary? Places and people change over time, do you have high expectations that things will be just as you left them that may not be met when you return? Have you kept up with all those friends? Would your in-laws welcome the assistance or be indifferent if you were there all the time? Just some things to think about.

[Michelle T]

And add in extra for emergencies, savings, and extras.

 

We did take a pay cut, in expectation that it would eventually lead to a much higher paying position.

 

But it was very, very hard for a few years, and we had to get help from family.

Michelle T

[Scarlett]

But I'd have to run the numbers.

 

How does your budget look on paper? Can you find a house where the mortgage would be about a quarter of your take-home pay? How much would you have to cut back in other areas? Have you taken a thorough look at what your budget would look like?

 

If it were just a matter of living a little more frugally and getting a LOT of relationship-type benefits in return, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Or maybe if my parents were entering the "needs help" stage and this would let me take care of them or some such. But I wouldn't put us in scary financial territory just to be near family. I'd find other ways of maintaining the relationships.

 

What she said. :)

[8filltheheart]

Saying 1/3 is not a realistic evaluation of moving. There are numerous factors to consider. Cost of living is hugely variant across the country. Making 2/3 the salary in TN vs. NY would actually still be making more $$. :)

 

We recently moved from TN to VA with no significant salary change. The cost of housing here is much higher. However, our health insurance is significantly better (and with children with medical conditions like ours, we spend significant $$ on meds and appointments). My dh was actually working in GA so we were already paying state income tax + the high sales tax in TN (no state income tax). After working through all the numbers, we decided that our standard of living would go down but the benefit of dh having a job he really liked outweighed the financial issues.

 

I think you need to assess the entire picture.....income tax, sales tax, personal property tax (another thing VA has and TN doesn't), housing costs, college lottery money, state college tuition, etc. Then see if you budget will actually work within the financial framework you have.

[Aubrey]

1. Can you make it on 1/3 less, or will you barely make it? Iow, will you end up helping your il's, or will they end up having to help you?

 

2. Real vacations--you won't have to spend them going to see your il's, but what about your parents? 2.5 hrs can still be far. Also, will you have $ for vacations after the pay cut?

 

3. I think being close to family is wonderful, but if you've never done it or haven't done it in a while, you might be surprised by the amt of time they take. They invade on hs'ing time. They plan holidays & dinners out & *expect* you to be there. We only deal w my il's (most of the time), & they're GREAT! (Just like the cereal, lol.) Anyway, they can still be a little unaware of our schedules. It's not a huge deal, & it's worth it to be close to them, just fyi.

 

I think it sounds wonderful, but it is a lot to think about. And of course, all of this varies greatly (for better & worse, lol) depending on the age of your dc. Good luck!

[Ottakee]

How would the job be for dh? Would it be a solid, steady position? How would the hours be? Room for advancement? Would he ENJOY the job?

 

Also, would this change your tax bracket---that might make it less of a pay cut if you would then qualify for more deductions and/or a lower tax rate.

[Sweetpeach]

Hmmmm, each families circumstances are different.

 

We took a 50% pay cut 4 years, and we've never looked back. There are all kinds of ways to make money in the margins!

 

We flipped property, lived with less and made it work. I would never, ever go back to the life we had to live to make lots of money. (That sounds like a vow . . . yikes . . . )

 

It would be a highly unlikely circumstance that would encourage us back to the crazy of corp life and lots of $$$$$.

 

Be blessed,

Tricia

[Daisy]

If you crunch the numbers and can survive on that 30% less, then you bet. I'd be out of SoCal and closer to family so fast it would make your head spin. I'd love for my kids to actually experience what is feels like to be around grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles.

[Cathycam]

We took a huge pay cut to move here...it wasn't quite 1/3 though...more like 1/4.

 

Housing is less, but we bought a larger home so we ended up with a bit more of a house payment.

 

It hasn't been painless....but it was a God thing for us...we did crunch the numbers very carefully though, I'll be honest.

[LizzyBee]

If the salary were enough to allow us to live decently, yes, I would.

[Kris]

In the situation you describe, if we thought we could even remotely pull it off, I'm sure we'd do it in a second.