Cost of Living
Cost of Living
Cost of Living
There is life and there is a cost to living it. “Cost of Living” is something that is often on other peoples’ minds. But the people who think most about the cost of living are job seekers. Particularly those student affairs job seekers who are looking for their next opportunity and want to determine “if it’s worth it?”
What is the “cost of living?” How does it factor into whether or not you take on a new job; relocate to a new city; or stay right where you are?
This article will answer what the “cost of living” is and why it’s important to consider for your career, your personal life, and your student affairs job search. Cost of living comparisons and considerations will be shared and discussed. Cost of living increases examined as part of your overcall compensation. This article also covers other aspects related to your costs of living that you may not have thought of before. This article closes on some tools that you can use to calculate your cost of living in order to make more informed decisions about your career development.
What is “cost of living?”
Simply, the cost of living is the amount of money you need to sustain a certain standard of living. Those costs include very basic expenses such as housing, food, taxes, and healthcare. Even with this said, the cost of living could vary widely from professional to professional; from city to city; and from state to state.
Someone living in a studio apartment in New York City will likely have a higher cost of living than someone who lives in a town house in Omaha Nebraska. Yet, one has much more space than the other.
That means that cost of living is highly relative to not only your location; but your established standards of living; housing arrangements; and other critical and important factors that go into maintaining your way of life.
The compensation package is what we often turn to first when we’re examining the cost of living. These are the wages that your institution pays you to perform the duties outlined in your job description. However, the biggest factor tied to cost of living happens to be geography. Densely populated metropolitan areas are going to have a greater cost of living compared to rural ones.
Why is cost of living important?
One of the reasons cost of living is important is to maintain a reasonable standard of living in and around where you live and work. But another reason that student affairs job seekers often don’t take into account is wealth accumulation. Wealth is important for reasons such as contributing to your retirement accounts; taking care of a partner; and providing for a family.
Of course this includes daily necessities such as rent and food. But also includes other items you may not immediately think about such as healthcare, entertainment, transportation, and travel. Many student affairs professionals will focus on their salary as the main way of gauging whether or not a compensation package meets the needs of their standard of living.
However, higher education, and student affairs are often industries and fields that aren’t the most competitive in salary. However, that doesn’t mean that this is a field to give up on. Generous benefits and other forms of support are available to help maintain your standard of living. You just need to know what to look for; where to look; and how to ask for it.
This is especially true when searching for a new job. Often institutions in those highly populated metropolitan areas will pay you more for the same kind of work. There are reasons for that. Living in cities is much more expensive than other options. Cost of living in cities is high. But if cities aren’t your thing then you could also consider living in a more rural area or a place with a lower cost of living.
Cost of living comparisons and considerations
There are many comparisons and considerations when it comes to determining your cost of living expenses. Your research into cost of living comparison should be done carefully and not be taken lightly. Your cost of living is often one of the most critical decisions to make when considering a new position.
Geography after all is one of the first aspects that student affairs job seekers take into account when weighing the pros and cons of a new position. If they can land a position in an area they want with an agreeable cost of living then why consider other offers?
Of course a significant number of job seekers are also looking for work in major metropolitan areas such as Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and Seattle, where the cost of living will be significantly higher compared to other destinations. This in addition to greater costs associated with commuting, living, and staples such as groceries and utilities. As such, this makes these desirable locations much more costly.
Of course there will be job seekers who are interested in taking the next step up in their careers. For them, they need to determine if the cost of living in the new location justifies the salary being offered for the position. An equivalent salary in a new location might not be enough to maintain a standard of living. Even a significant increase might be offset by greater cost of living expenses. This is why cost of living must be taken under consideration as a major factor for choosing whether or not to move for a job.
Relocation considerations
Of course, considerations can be made about how to account for cost of living at the new location. Sometimes, cost of living isn’t that much different from what a job seeker is earning right now. Sometimes it could be remarkably different. But often, job seekers don’t figure out the other costs associated with re-location.
We often think about common moving expenses such as renting a truck, buying some boxes, and packing up our furniture. In the best of circumstances, student affairs job seekers can offset the costs of this move by taking on a new higher paying position that will also provide re-location expenses.
However, job seekers also need to determine the other expenses surrounding a move. Such as if the move is warranted by someone who wants to stay closer to their childhood home with friends and family. Perhaps there is the added cost of moving with a spouse or partner who also needs to uproot their professionals lives. These are other “expenses” that aren’t always considered when examining a relocation opportunity.
Perhaps one of the biggest costs to relocation is the “opportunity cost.” That is, by making this choice and taking the opportunity to relocate, you have inevitably said “no” to other opportunities that may come up. This may paint you into a corner if you decide to relocate for great new opportunity; but may not provide other outlets for upward mobility.
These are considerations that you should take into account when considering the cost of living at your new location as well as the cost of re-locating there. In addition you should also consider if the institution has historically paid cost of living increases.
Cost of living increases
Cost of living increases are incremental increase in employees’ pay in order to keep pace with inflation. These are typically (though not always guaranteed) raises that are given every year or every other year. These cost of living increases will be critical in order for student affairs job seekers with close margins to maintain their standard of living in high cost of living areas.
Typically these cost of living increases are meant to keep up with increases in housing (rent); groceries; and transportation. However, the way that these increases are implemented and distributed varies widely. For public universities these are often decided at the state level. Whereas at private universities these are done at the board of directors, president, or cabinet level.
Student affairs job seekers can benefit by asking their hiring manager or human resources representative the status of these cost of living increases; when they have been offered in the past; and their schedule for implementation in the future. This is particularly important for high cost of living areas since costs of necessities can rise significantly and steadily over time.
Cost of living increases shouldn’t be confused with merit raises though. These increases in compensation are often awarded to employees based on meeting or exceeding the standards of performance for their jobs. The way that merit increases are awarded vary widely: so make sure that you also discuss this with your hiring manager or human resources professional in order to receive an accurate and thorough answer.
Other needs to consider with cost of living
The biggest expenses associated with cost of living is the price of housing, groceries, and transportation. However, there are other things to consider as well. One of which is the type of institution that you plan on working for. The types of compensation can vary widely between public and private institutions. In some areas the difference in compensation can be significant.
Another is the cost of both healthcare and insurance of your new locale. Sometimes this could be a large expense depending on both the location and your individual need. Someone who is re-locating by themselves and are in relatively healthy condition will probably not be a large consumer of healthcare services. This is compared to student affairs job seekers who are relocating with a family and require coverage for a partner and several dependent children.
Additionally, pet lovers will need to take into account the needs of their animal companions. Does the new location offer veterinary services and access to other needs for your pet? What is the average price of food, kennels, grooming, and other support services?
Other expenses related to new job may be upcoming technology capital expenses. This could be for new and upgraded smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers if your new position requires that you remain connected. If so, you may be able to negotiate for an institution owned laptop or phone for you new position.
Lastly, you’ll want to consider other discretionary expenses at your new location. These include entertainment and recreation expenses such as dining, movies, and the performing arts.
Tools
Calculating your cost of living can often be burdensome. However, there are tools out there that can aid in your search. Here are some options:
-Smart Asset Cost of Living Comparison https://smartasset.com/mortgage/cost-of-living-calculator
-Best Places Cost of Living Calculator https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/
-Numbeo Cost of Living https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
Takeaways
This article answered what “cost of living” is and why it’s important to consider for your career, personal life, and student affairs job search. Cost of living comparisons and considerations were shared and discussed. Cost of living increases were also covered as well as some other insular expenses that you might not immediately include. This article closed with some tools that you can use to calculate your cost of living in order to make a more informed decision about your career development.
I hope that you found this article useful! If you need some additional help on your student affairs job search, then check out the eBook The Student Affairs Job Search: A Comprehensive Guide available here.
Happy searching,
References
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Cite this Article
Eng, D. (2020, May 19). Cost of Living. Retrieved MONTH DATE, YEAR, from https://www.jobhakr.com/blog-1/2020/5/19/cost-of-living
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