Y’all, let’s be real. Living in Washington, DC or right across the border in Virginia or Maryland, is super expensive. I don’t blink at $12 cocktails and $1650 rent. And it gets really old when you’re trying to be frugal, or plan for financial goals like owning a house or starting a family. I’ve written before about needing a professional change, and about realizing that I no longer like living here and need to move. But what I didn’t realize was how freeing those decisions would be. Searching for a new job when I know I’m going to relocate anyway opens up some fantastic opportunities for domestic geoarbitrage.
Turns out, experience does make a difference!
First off, a job search revelation. It turns out that once you have real world experience (even if it doesn’t seem all that translatable to other job opportunities), people think you’re super legit. By the time I graduated from college, I had submitted my resume over 200 times. That had gotten me a handful of interviews, which in turn produced a total of four pretty shitty job offers. It was demoralizing. I took an internship that didn’t pay a living wage for the area because it was the only offer I had gotten in the industry I wanted to work in. It all worked out in the end, and I found another job I loved 6 months later, but the whole process was frustrating.
This time around, I know what makes me happy, and I know what I’m looking for. So I’m not applying for every random position that comes along; I’m being picky. I’m still casting a relatively wide net–I’ve submitted 20 applications. Of those, four have fallen through. But 6 have led to interviews already. It feels great to have really cool and dynamic companies recognize that I have something to offer to their mission.
The Magic of Domestic Geoarbitrage
One of the main criteria of my job search, other than whether I’d enjoy the work and it would pay decent, is where the job is located. I’d love to find something where I can work remotely full-time, but so far that hasn’t panned out. Instead, I’ve been focusing on jobs in cities that would have a lower cost of living than DC. Which is a pretty low bar to set…but it does mean that I’m not applying for jobs in Manhattan. Or San Francisco. No thank you.
I’m also looking at smaller companies or organizations that might not be able to pay my current salary. At the very least, I’ve had to answer several interviewers who were overly persistent about asking the minimum salary I expected. The beauty of this is that I could accept a lower salary in a lot of these places and still have it be a relative raise.
Umm…Duh.
Okay, I know that everyone in the FIRE community talks up geoarbitrage (and even a bit about domestic geoarbitrage and not just moving to Thailand) and I’ve always known it was a thing. But it’s one thing to know that on a logical level, and it’s another to experience it. See, when a company schedules a phone interview with me, I’ve gotten in the habit of looking up real estate in that city. Which is silly because it’s not like I have the job yet, but it’s also super fun to look at all the pretty things I could afford if I didn’t live in a ridiculously expensive area. And seeing all those pretty things has me chugging the domestic geoarbitrage Kool-Aid…
Things like two bedrooms. Or, if I’m feeling really fancy, three bedrooms! One for me, one for guests, and one for an office. I could have a small spot outside for a garden. And I could live in a central location so that walking or biking to work was a viable option. I could have a view, or a porch, or square footage that breaks four digits. None of these are unreasonable, and I hate housework and yard work, so I don’t think I’ll go crazy, but it’s actually really exciting. And the prices make me think that I might actually be able to buy something nice and low maintenance before I’m 30.
But I know that simply looking at real estate is not exactly a scientific way to judge affordability. I have been using the power of the internet as well (because of course the internet is always right).
Show Me The Numbers
I’m getting these numbers by using online cost-of-living comparison calculators. I recognize that these are probably not an exact science, but it’s a good gut check. Here’s an example showing some of the cities I’m considering, as well as the salary I’d have to make to break even compared to my current job, where I make $78,000. I’ve pulled numbers from a couple of different sources on the internet—if you’ve come across another comparison tool that you like, let me know! These are all cities that I’ve heard good things about and that I think I’d be happy in. Any others I should add to the list? Or anything I should know about the ones on the list currently? Let me know!
| City | CNN Money | Bankrate | NerdWallet |
| Des Moines, IA | $49,667 | $47,713 | $47,252 |
| Richmond, VA | $53,278 | $50,423 | $49,249 |
| Cleveland, OH | $56,167 | $53,771 | $51,299 |
| Bozeman, MT | $55,667 | $54,568 | $52,350 |
| Madison, WI | $59,667 | $55,524 | $54,873 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $58,167 | $57,490 | $55,504 |
| Omaha, NE | $51,111 | $48,510 | $48,303 |
| Little Rock, AR | $53,611 | $50,583 | $49,617 |
| Denver, CO | $62,111 | $58,234 | $57,133 |
| Boise, ID | $51,278 | $48,245 | $47,147 |
| Portland, OR | $71,722 | $68,807 | $66,016 |
| Seattle, WA | $82,667 (!!) | $74,546 | $74,321 |
Most of these are so much lower than what I’m making (other than the Seattle line! Wow!). That’s reassuring, especially if I’m able to find a job that doesn’t involve an absolute salary cut. Fingers crossed…
All this to say that more than ever, I’m so excited about the decision to find a new job, and I can’t wait to take that leap. I’m ready to explore a new city, and decorate a new place, and meet new people. It’s energizing and also a little scary, but in the best possible way.