u/4StarsOutOf12

Hey everyone

I am looking to relocate from an area of somewhat high cost of living, to an area of decently lower.

For numbers' sake - the area I am aiming to move to is a 28% cheaper cost of living than where I am now, and my current salary is 63k.

How do you find jobs with realistic offered salaries in the new location when going from high cost of living to lower? Most of the job listings I find that are similar to my position range from 48k to 56k. I figure if the cost of living is 28% lower, then this will not be as drastic of a cut...however, my mother advised me to keep looking for jobs within my current salary range *or higher* because she believes you should always get a 20% pay increase when switching companies (I don't know how true that is anymore as it seems like a very generous and outdated value)

Any insight into this kind of adjustment would be appreciated!

I am looking to relocate to Roanoke and found a job in Blacksburg...does this commute seem reasonable?

Hey everyone

This might be a big ask but boy am I overwhelmed with this decision - it NEEDS to be figured out.

I'm looking for an area in the US (Canada is also a possibility) that is within a mountainous or heavily forested environment and that is somewhat affordable (i know "affordable" is subjective so I will touch on that in a bit).

My partner and I lean left/progressive but I understand asking for rural will usually give us the opposite and we are fine with that.

I lived near Mount Shasta, CA so I am very familiar and comfortable with a tiny town and being secluded (my town of Weed was 3,000 people). I absolutely loved it there, and is a possibility but I'd like other recommendations. I also lived in Denver/Boulder and while it was fun there, it just wasn't hitting the same as CA - I think it wasn't rural enough for me. I'm currently in the suburbs of Chicago and I just have to get out of here, this concrete and manufactured suburbia is killing me slowly...I feel like I'm wasting my life.

Some other preferences:

- somewhere that I can backpack and hike every weekend

- nearest Walmart or major store is within about an hour's drive

- I'd rather it have too cold a winter than too hot a summer

As for affordable (please do not judge). I make around 65k and my partner 50k, so combined = not great. I will earn about 20k more in the next year or two with additional professional developments, and my partner is going to school to earn a degree that will hopefully raise their pay too. These salaries are also relevant to Chicago suburbs and cost of living. We currently live within our means but actually pretty comfortably.

The move wouldn't happen for another couple years and we'd probably aim to rent for that first year in the new town then soon purchase a home. In the mean time we would love to take trips to visit places and get this destination settled.

States we are considering and would like to learn more about: Michigan, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oregon, North Carolina, Vermont, Maine - these are just what's on the radar but are definitely not limited to

Any and all input is really appreciated. We're starting to feel like a fish just circling its bowl with no direction or end in sight!