Cost of Living Between Cities...Sources?

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

My next role will likely take me to a city with significantly higher cost of living. I'm likely going to get an offer in the next week, and want to prepare myself.

I've gone online to look for different "cost of living indicators" and calculators, which are all over the place. Some saying 15% increase some 47%.

Anyone on here with experience able to share if there is any "gold standard" metric to use as a starting point in negotiations?

Want to be sure any move won't impact standard of living, but also not making some repidicuoous COL adjustment demand.

Appreciate the help.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

I'll also add that my name is not Shaka Smart or Ben Howland.... So this is unrelated to the MU Coach search

[Real Chilly Podcast]

As a site selection consultant, I'd say I could be of much assistance.

Obviously the more accurate you want the projections to be, the more information you'd have to contribute.

Do you mind saying where to where you're moving?

[Coleman]

My next role will likely take me to a city with significantly higher cost of living. I'm likely going to get an offer in the next week, and want to prepare myself.

I've gone online to look for different "cost of living indicators" and calculators, which are all over the place. Some saying 15% increase some 47%.

Anyone on here with experience able to share if there is any "gold standard" metric to use as a starting point in negotiations?

Want to be sure any move won't impact standard of living, but also not making some repidicuoous COL adjustment demand.

Appreciate the help.

Care to share which city you are coming from/going to?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Is this a transfer within your same company, or a totally new company?

If it is a transfer, your HR department if they are worth their salt will have some good access to that COL impact.

If it is a new company, that's a little more dicey to ask, but depending how comfortable you are with them it is possible to say that you want to weigh all the impacts and seek their assistance.  It might even get you a bump up.

Otherwise. there are many on the internet but not sure how good they are.

http://andybrandt531.com/2013/02/essential-cost-of-living-calculators/

[Wareagle]

I would focus on the things that are easy to prove, like housing costs for comparable units.  Don't forget to ask if they will pay a relocation bonus as well.  Moving expenses are easy to get a quote for.

[Coleman]

You can check real estate sites like Zillow for average rents. That is a good place to start.

[Eldon]

By far the greatest source on cities is this www.city-data.com.

This website should prove invaluable.  It has data that you probably did not know existed.

Note that you can also get information broken down on a neighborhood level so you can break a neighborhood down by racial makeup, % living in poverty, crime rate, and even median rent in that neighborhood.  Not only does it give you the cost of living index for any city in the US, but it also does so at a highly disaggregated level (e.g., how much do utilities cost in Milwaukee compared to, say, oh I don't know, say, Richmond).  The site even has a cost of living calculator.  Much of the data comes from the Census, but the Census website is difficult to navigate.


The website also has a forum/message boards.  The forum has other ideas on how to improve the city.  I just checked and the Richmond forum has no mention of Shaka Smart.
  
Note that you could also ask the Scoop community.  I recently took a last-minute trip to Baltimore, asked Scoop for suggestions, and like John Dawson in OT, they came up huge.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

As a site selection consultant, I'd say I could be of much assistance.

Obviously the more accurate you want the projections to be, the more information you'd have to contribute.

Do you mind saying where to where you're moving?

thanks man - just sent u a direct message. Milwaukee to Boston.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Is this a transfer within your same company, or a totally new company?

If it is a transfer, your HR department if they are worth their salt will have some good access to that COL impact.

If it is a new company, that's a little more dicey to ask, but depending how comfortable you are with them it is possible to say that you want to weigh all the impacts and seek their assistance.  It might even get you a bump up.

Otherwise. there are many on the internet but not sure how good they are.

http://andybrandt531.com/2013/02/essential-cost-of-living-calculators/

within the same company... Good idea; hoping to come in with a solid case ahead of time... I'm of the opinion that HR rarely helps (no offense to anyone in that career)

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

I would focus on the things that are easy to prove, like housing costs for comparable units.  Don't forget to ask if they will pay a relocation bonus as well.  Moving expenses are easy to get a quote for.

so just start with current budget, then modify for what I think it will be line by line?

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

By far the greatest source on cities is this www.city-data.com.

This website should prove invaluable.  It has data that you probably did not know existed.

Note that you can also get information broken down on a neighborhood level so you can break a neighborhood down by racial makeup, % living in poverty, crime rate, and even median rent in that neighborhood.  Not only does it give you the cost of living index for any city in the US, but it also does so at a highly disaggregated level (e.g., how much do utilities cost in Milwaukee compared to, say, oh I don't know, say, Richmond).  The site even has a cost of living calculator.  Much of the data comes from the Census, but the Census website is difficult to navigate.


The website also has a forum/message boards.  The forum has other ideas on how to improve the city.  I just checked and the Richmond forum has no mention of Shaka Smart.
  
Note that you could also ask the Scoop community.  I recently took a last-minute trip to Baltimore, asked Scoop for suggestions, and like John Dawson in OT, they came up huge.

wow - this is tremendous... I'll have to dig in once I get back in front of army laptop. Appreciate this!

[Eldon]

wow - this is tremendous... I'll have to dig in once I get back in front of army laptop. Appreciate this!

Happy to be of service.

Looks like others have also made the same move

http://www.city-data.com/forum/boston/1344712-interested-possibly-moving-milwaukee-boston-thoughts.html

Also, if you do end up making the move, I would suggest reaching out to the MU Boston alum chapter/club president.  I moved from Milwaukee to Philadelphia and the MU alum club has proven to be a great resource, eg, social gatherings, info on the city, and more generally, people extending a genuine offer of willingness to help get acclimated to the new surroundings.

Good luck

[Marquette Gyros]

within the same company... Good idea; hoping to come in with a solid case ahead of time... I'm of the opinion that HR rarely helps (no offense to anyone in that career)

You're right... 95% of the decision making on internal relocation is done by the hiring manager, in my experience. HR just facilitates what your boss wants to accomplish.

I'm on my fourth tour of duty with the same company. I got sweet deals twice, got absolutely screwed once, and rejected a terrible offer to move to NY, not in that order. Came out most ahead with my last move.

Keep the following things in mind:

- Don't get too excited about compensation. If whatever cost of living calculator says that Boston is 40% more expensive than MKE, don't expect a 40% lockstep raise. They're probably transferring you because even with a 10-20% raise, promoting and moving you is cheaper than hiring someone externally who resides in that market, or because they can't find anyone for your role.

- With that said, because they're likely saving a bit of cash on your base comp, they'll be more flexible with other negotiations. And trust me -- everything is on the table. A couple of things to consider:

1) Get, and maximize, your relocation trips.

2) Do you own a house in MKE? Get realtor fees and such covered at minimum. If you don't, Boston's cost of housing is so much higher that it's possible for short-term corporate housing to be on the table.

3) A relocation bonus is nice, but there's never really a standard amount for these sorts of things. So get ready to negotiate.

When I was young, stupid, and moving, I asked for $5k from my old boss... thus began the negotiation, and I ended up with $2500. (You don't have much leverage after you've already accepted.)  CA state thievery on bonus taxes cut that to $1,250. And I had to buy EVERYTHING to furnish an apartment. Credit card debt after moving for work sucks. Avoid it.

4) Much better than a relocation bonus is a relocation "pot". After moving up the food chain and being asked to move again, I was given a set amount of money from which I paid movers, covered some shipping expenses, etc. My bonus was the original amount, minus all of those expenses. Plus the firm hooked that up and has a discount. Again, much, much better.
 
5) Finally, drive your car to Boston -- expense your hotels and food, plus the firm has to pay you for mileage, at $0.50 per mile or whatever the hell the reimbursement rate is these days. Plus, free road trip. Hmm, what's better: shipping your car with money from the pot, or taking a nice drive in good weather and getting paid for it?


Good luck man. It can be a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't trade my experiences in these four very different cities for anything.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

And sixstrings03 there are plenty of MU Alums in Boston.  Drop the Marquette Club President an e-mail and they'll be able to offer you some local guidance or reference you to another alum who can help.  I get e-mails at least once a year from an alum moving to Connecticut looking for a little guidance. 

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

You're right... 95% of the decision making on internal relocation is done by the hiring manager, in my experience. HR just facilitates what your boss wants to accomplish.

I'm on my fourth tour of duty with the same company. I got sweet deals twice, got absolutely screwed once, and rejected a terrible offer to move to NY, not in that order. Came out most ahead with my last move.

Keep the following things in mind:

- Don't get too excited about compensation. If whatever cost of living calculator says that Boston is 40% more expensive than MKE, don't expect a 40% lockstep raise. They're probably transferring you because even with a 10-20% raise, promoting and moving you is cheaper than hiring someone externally who resides in that market, or because they can't find anyone for your role.

- With that said, because they're likely saving a bit of cash on your base comp, they'll be more flexible with other negotiations. And trust me -- everything is on the table. A couple of things to consider:

1) Get, and maximize, your relocation trips.

2) Do you own a house in MKE? Get realtor fees and such covered at minimum. If you don't, Boston's cost of housing is so much higher that it's possible for short-term corporate housing to be on the table.

3) A relocation bonus is nice, but there's never really a standard amount for these sorts of things. So get ready to negotiate.

When I was young, stupid, and moving, I asked for $5k from my old boss... thus began the negotiation, and I ended up with $2500. (You don't have much leverage after you've already accepted.)  CA state thievery on bonus taxes cut that to $1,250. And I had to buy EVERYTHING to furnish an apartment. Credit card debt after moving for work sucks. Avoid it.

4) Much better than a relocation bonus is a relocation "pot". After moving up the food chain and being asked to move again, I was given a set amount of money from which I paid movers, covered some shipping expenses, etc. My bonus was the original amount, minus all of those expenses. Plus the firm hooked that up and has a discount. Again, much, much better.
 
5) Finally, drive your car to Boston -- expense your hotels and food, plus the firm has to pay you for mileage, at $0.50 per mile or whatever the hell the reimbursement rate is these days. Plus, free road trip. Hmm, what's better: shipping your car with money from the pot, or taking a nice drive in good weather and getting paid for it?


Good luck man. It can be a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't trade my experiences in these four very different cities for anything.

VERY helpful - thank you; hadn't considered some of these

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

And sixstrings03 there are plenty of MU Alums in Boston.  Drop the Marquette Club President an e-mail and they'll be able to offer you some local guidance or reference you to another alum who can help.  I get e-mails at least once a year from an alum moving to Connecticut looking for a little guidance. 

definitely - if/when this becomes official; will be plugging in with folks over there

[Wareagle]

so just start with current budget, then modify for what I think it will be line by line?

It's not a bad place to start, like someone else said, city-data is a great source.  I would also consider asking coworkers what they got/negotiated since you are staying with the same company.