Pay Rates relative to Cost of Living in a Town

[John David Hickey <jdavid -at- FARABI -dot- COM>]

Greetings!

There's been some talk here about money for a couple of weeks. Oh, how we
love to talk about our moolah (or whine about our lack thereof)! <g>

Someone said "What's the point of making $100,000 dollars if your house
costs $300,000" or something like that. I've been in Montreal (Quebec) for
about 5 years now, and since I know what the cost of living is here (it's
all based on how much a pint of Guinness is in the Pub), I know what my pay
rate should be.

But what if I were to move to Boston? Or New York? Or Abu D'habi? How do I
find out what the cost of living is so I can determine my pay rate? If the
cost of living in Abu D'habi is twice of what it is in Montreal, should I
ask for twice the rate I'm getting here?

I'm always afraid of asking too much to scare off a potential cash cow, but
I'm also afraid of asking for too little and getting ripped off.

So here are the questions:
1. How do you determine the cost of living in a town?
2. How do you adjust your pay rate relative to the cost of living?

---
Be seeing you,

Dave

jdavid -at- farabi -dot- com
Montreal, Quebec

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