Help!I live in Cleveland, Ohio and I’m trying to move to NYC. I work in fundraising development and just received word about a great job at a prominent theater. I know the cost of living is different there and I make high twenties here. This particular person only wanted to offer me high twenties there for the same job. What’s the deal? Share your wisdom because I’m clueless.Laurel

But before you ask them, go online and do a bit of research. Look at the apartment listings on the Village Voice‘s website and get a ballpark idea of the rent situation; figure out how much it will cost you to move; sketch out a monthly budget based on the way you live now, and mark it up twenty-five percent (everything but everything, from cigarettes to cabs to movie tickets, costs more here). Once you’ve armed yourself with information on how much it will cost you to live here comfortably, ask them if they can cough up a figure closer to mid-thirties.

Development jobs here pay quite well, depending on the organization and on what you do for them. I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t come up a bit on the hiring price. If they don’t, you should probably turn down the job, or you’ll spend the next two years racking up credit-card debt and eating beans from the can. Trust me.

Share!