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Subject:Comparing Apples to Apples From:Karen Kay <karenkay -at- CADENCE -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 29 Dec 1995 12:13:16 -0800
Lavonna asked a very good question about comparative salaries. When I
was an academic in a small Midwestern town, I made a certain amount of
money; according to the web page Lavonna mentioned, I'd have to double
my salary to have the same standard of living where I live now, in
Mountain View, CA. Obviously, I don't make twice as much. But I'm able
to save a lot more money. (I even have a car now, and I didn't then.)
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Part of this is that food
and rent in my teeny tiny town were fairly cheap, but I also *left*
that teeny tiny town several times a year. And that cost real-world
money. I've mostly left here for Portland, and that was about
$100. Also, clothes cost real world money no matter where you buy
them. That's something that web page doesn't seem to take into account.
I think that the cost of buying a house is the basis of that web
page. And it's true, I maybe could have bought a house in my teeny
tiny town on my teeny salary. And I'd have to double that (at least!)
if I hope to buy a house here. But the odds of finding a job that pays
more than $75,000/yr. are pretty small.
