A new role in a new city is one of the biggest calls you'll make, and the offer letter is the easy part. The number that matters isn't the salary, it's what's left after the move resets your cost of living, your taxes, and the one-time hit of getting there.
The lifestyle math nobody runs
A $150k offer in a city that's 25% pricier than where you live now isn't a raise, it's roughly a wash, before you've paid to move. The first thing to figure out is the equivalent salary: what you'd need to earn in the new place to keep the exact life you have today. If the offer is below it, the "raise" is a cut in disguise.
Our relocation tool runs this for you, cost of living, housing, state tax, and the one-time cost of the move, for both candidates weighing an offer and employers trying to make a fair one.
The one-time costs that get forgotten
- The move itself, movers, travel, deposits, getting set up.
- Selling and buying a home, if you own. The commissions and closing on both ends can dwarf the moving truck.
- The overlap, the stretch where you're carrying two places.
- A lease break, if you rent.
Add them up and ask how many months of the new pay it takes to earn them back. That number tells you a lot.
What the numbers don't show
The other career in the house. The kids' school year. The parents you help care for. The friends you lean on. None of it shows up in a salary, and all of it decides whether a move sticks. Be honest about it before you sign, not after.
What to ask for
If the role is worth it, the relocation package is negotiable, and a good employer expects to help. Know what the move actually costs before you discuss it, so you're asking for a real number, not a guess.
Run the math first. Then decide with your eyes open.
