Would you follow your job given these circumstances?

[GTaudiophile]

1) Let's say you work for a devision of ACME, Inc. in Atlanta, GA, making $10,000/year. Let's say ACME Corporate in NYC decides that they are closing their Atlanta office but your job will be moving to Washington DC and you are invited to follow the job to the new location.

2) Given this information, you go to Google and search for "cost of living calculator" and use one like this to determine what your comparable salary in the new location should be. Given the information in #1, your new yearly salary in San Fran "should" be around $13,500.

3) So you tell ACME Corporate in NYC that you expect a 35% salary increase.

4) ACME Corporate says no way!

Given the following PROS...

ACME, Inc. is really a foreign government entity.
Your job is extremely unique.
You are actually decently-paid (not great) in Houston (not the $10K mentioned in the example).
You work according to the employment law of this foreign government.
You have upwards of 26 vacation days per year.
Your job is somewhat fun.
Your job serves a good cause.
You have built the operation up for the past two years and no one else in the country can bring the same experience to the job.*
Your job is not high-pressure.
Your job would allow you to work on a Master's Degree part-time with relative ease.
Washington DC is a much better place to live than Atlanta (in some ways, not in others).

And one CON...

They refuse to adjust your salary to the cost of living in the new city.


What would you do?

 

[MrDudeMan]

ask for less of a raise

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Bigsm00th
ask for less of a raise

What if a 6-10% increase is under consideration?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Play hardball with them....tell them that if they want to keep you, they'll have to pay a cost of living raise, a bonus, and moving costs for you to relocate. And tell them their fools if they don't do it.

If they don't, it's not worth it. There's no need in taking a decrease in pay right now with the cost of living and inflation both on the rise.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
1) Let's say you work for a devision of ACME, Inc. in Houston, TX, making $10,000/year. Let's say ACME Corporate in NYC decides that they are closing their Houston office but your job will be moving to San Francisco, CA and you are invited to follow the job to the new location.

2) Given this information, you go to Google and search for "cost of living calculator" and use one like this to determine what your comparable salary in the new location should be. Given the information in #1, your new yearly salary in San Fran "should" be around $13,500.

3) So you tell ACME Corporate in NYC that you expect a 35% salary increase.

4) ACME Corporate says no way!

Given the following PROS...

ACME, Inc. is really a foreign government entity.
Your job is extremely unique.
You are actually decently-paid (not great) in Houston (not the $10K mentioned in the example).
You work according to the employment law of this foreign government.
You have upwards of 26 vacation days per year.
Your job is somewhat fun.
Your job serves a good cause.
You have built the operation up for the past two years and no one else in the country can bring the same experience to the job.
Your job is not high-pressure.
Your job would allow you to work on a Master's Degree part-time with relative ease.
San Francisco is a much better place to live than Houston.

And one CON...

They refuse to adjust your salary to the cost of living in the new city.


What would you do?

This happened to me but since I'm in the US on a VISA I had no choice than to move.... or leave the country within 10 days.
:thumbsdown:

edit: The work description you posted is actually 99% correct too. :Q
The only thing wrong is that the new town blows compared to the old one.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: Bigsm00th
ask for less of a raise

What if a 6-10% increase is under consideration?

hmm well its hard to tell without the actual numbers. if you are making 100k/year then i dont see the need for anything close to 42%. granted, i dont know much about california because id never want to live or go there, so i really have no clue. dont decrease your standard of living too much just to stay with that company if you think you wont still be happy is my best advice.

 

[ironcrotch]

man, that's tough. Especially since they won't budge on the cost of living. Maybe a 35% raise is too steep, maybe ask for a little bit less. But if you're good enough I would just quit and find another job. Don't forget that the process of moving in itself is expensive and daunting.

 

[ahurtt]

Maybe you should start by asking for a cost of living increase but not quite the full amount? Also, as I understand, in Texas there is no state income tax to pay. Is that correct? That's something else you'd have to factor in moving to CA where there would be a state income tax. What is the ACTUAL percentage increase you'd have to ask for to cover the full cost of living increase. I assume the 42% you mentioned is just hypothetical, but what is the real number? I think the company is right to say "no way" if you ask for a 42% increase. . .that's a HUGE jump. Maybe you should try to find out what other employees who live in the san fran area who are employed by your company are making, and ask for that amount instead.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
This happened to me but since I'm in the US on a VISA I had no choice than to move.... or leave the country within 10 days.
:thumbsdown:

So if you didn't pay off your VISA in 10 days you'd have to leave the country? Switch to Amex Blue....they have low interest rates and an awesome website.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: ironcrotch
man, that's tough. Especially since they won't budge on the cost of living. Maybe a 35% raise is too steep, maybe ask for a little bit less. But if you're good enough I would just quit and find another job. Don't forget that the process of moving in itself is expensive and daunting.

Yeah, that's the other thing. . .make damn sure the company pays for all moving expenses. Though they may take that expense into consideration when deciding if and by how much to adjust your salary. If they won't even pay for the move, I'd definitely tell them to go F themselves.

 

[Feldenak]

Getting relocated out of ATL GTaudiophile?

 

[franksta]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
1You have built the operation up for the past two years and no one else in the country can bring the same experience to the job.

If that's true then they'll regret not accommodating your move.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i would take a pay cut to not have to live in houston

 

[GTaudiophile]

The numbers and cities in my OP are all hypothetical. The real cities are Atlanta and Washington, DC.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
This happened to me but since I'm in the US on a VISA I had no choice than to move.... or leave the country within 10 days.
:thumbsdown:

So if you didn't pay off your VISA in 10 days you'd have to leave the country? Switch to Amex Blue....they have low interest rates and an awesome website.

LOL! Dude... I think you know what I mean.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: franksta

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
1You have built the operation up for the past two years and no one else in the country can bring the same experience to the job.

If that's true then they'll regret not accommodating your move.

There are really three people who know how to do the job that we do. My boss retires in October, leaving myself and my assistant. We're it. The situation in my OP applies to the two of us.

 

[Rill22]

I'm in a very very similar situation, and this 50/50 crap with the poll isn't helping.

 

[Chiller2]

If those are the cities you could probably find areas nearby (Virginia) that would match or be lower than your current cost of living but it will probably mean a commute of possibly an hour or more, But I don't live in that area so I am not sure of that.
The bottom line is if you cannot afford to live on what you make then you better find another job or make a change in your lifestyle.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: Rill22
I'm in a very very similar situation, and this 50/50 crap with the poll isn't helping.

Wow. Glad I am not the only one! Let me know what you decide. You can always PM me!

 

[talyn00]

Would they cover relocation expenses?? I would ask for a cost of living increase, 35% sounds like quite alot, ask for a lower amount.

 

[DaShen]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: Bigsm00th
ask for less of a raise

What if a 6-10% increase is under consideration?

That isn't a bad idea. If no, then screw them.

 

[FoBoT]

CA is very very expensive, especially SF area. i would have to get double my current salary to move to SF CA from kansas city

tell them to pound salt and/or pack sand

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: talyn00
Would they cover relocation expenses?? I would ask for a cost of living increase, 35% sounds like quite alot, ask for a lower amount.

Coverage for relocation expenses is probable but not certain.

The real cities are Atlanta to DC.

 

[krmarks]

I would give them some data to back up your claims of a comparable salary for your job. Give them irrefutable(sp?) data and see what they do. No way in hell would I let them hold my career hostage based on them moving locations.

 

[Connoisseur]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile

Originally posted by: talyn00
Would they cover relocation expenses?? I would ask for a cost of living increase, 35% sounds like quite alot, ask for a lower amount.

Coverage for relocation expenses is probable but not certain.

The real cities are Atlanta to DC.

GT, if you're looking to move to DC look in the suburban areas of Maryland (ex. Springfield) that lie just outside of DC. They have a pretty efficient train system down there that can get you in and out pretty quickly. You might be able to get much lower rates for housing, food etc. if you don't actually live in the city.