Hi, I'm considering an in-company transfer to a new city and I need advice on the pay cut. I've put the high-level info about my current spot and the new spot.
Me
26 yo, single, relatively free to do whatever the hell I want
Current
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Salary: 110k
Rent: 2000/mo
Pros: I'm already here, high salary, decent work location close to cheap(ish) housing
Cons: Far from all family ($350 off-season plane trip or 3-day drive), hate my work, mostly driving rather than biking because of poor infrastructure and bad urban planning, high rent, local government drama
Offer
Location: Austin, TX
Salary: 90k
Rent: ~1700 probably equivalent
Pros: Very close to all family - easy weekend trips, better renting options near work for walk/bike, office is nice and I love the team from small business trips I've done
Cons: Moving will be expensive, lower salary, I'll have to fight with HR to let me take the cut (HR is weird...), Austin is experiencing a population boom and will likely become more expensive in the next few years.
I think, adjusting for COL I'll probably lose about 2-3k in my savings over the course of a year (including the 401k match loss due to smaller salary to take the percentage from).
So the question is if the benefits are worth the dollar amount loss. My actual savings percentage will likely go up but the total amount will go down. Any thoughts? Advice?