Walking Out (job)

Taking a pay cut is psychologically tough, but being miserable at work is far harder.

I hope you like golf.

Will the cost of living go down with the move too, you should factor that into your decision.

Remember with pay cut also comes a tax cut...

I went to Edinburgh and St Andrews once about 27 years ago. It seemed nice. Do it.

Seriously though, any chance to go and visit before making a decision?

pro-rate your hours, pension, benefits, cost of living blah blah blah and you sometimes find a higher baseline wage isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I've been offered a few things this last year that want more than my current 35 hours a week, so don't work out at a huge pay increase when you factor that in.

I did, and I would again. I'm happy with all aspects of my current job, for the first time in my career. It's surprising how meaningless a salary becomes when you're not happy every day.

A long-term illness was the catalyst for leaving my (mediocre) job and relocating back to where I grew up. During and immediately after my illness I lived with my parents whilst job hunting, so it gave me a safety net (which maybe you don't have) but it let me be more bold when it came to securing a job.

I started a new job and hated the company, so left after a few months. I then searched for another job whilst unemployed, but luckily I work in software development, which is constantly in high demand.

I aced a 3 stage interview with another company (the HR rep told me I was "a word beginning with S" for walking out of my previous role... first time I've been insulted my an HR rep) but despite acing the interview process, the company decided they weren't ready to hire new staff... so you have to be prepared for companies wasting your time.

I then interviewed for another company who loved me, offered me a very high salary, but it became apparent one of the managers was an arrogant prick, and the work would likely have been long hours and stressful, so I turned down the role... much to the horror / disbelief of my family.

Then, once again, I aced another interview process for my current job, and I'm so glad I held out for the right company. I like the work, they listen to my recommendations rather than order me around, and crucially I work with a great bunch of people.

If an interview feels "off" as you described, and you hear alarm bells, your intuition is probably correct, and you're better off declining the role and interviewing elsewhere. It's all about listening to your own intuition, weighing up your interviewers as people, and asking the right questions. Ignore other people's opinions... only you will know when you're found the right company.

Best thing I ever did was walking out of my IT job in London, and moving back to my home town. I'm earning >10 grand a year less but my daily commute went from 3.5hrs a day on the train, to half an hour on a pushbike on a nice little cycle track through a park. Plus I'm not spending 400 quid a month on train fares.

Do the maths to see if you can afford it, but don't forget to take into account your potential quality of life. There's no point earning loads of cash if you're miserable all the fucking time and have no time to spend it.

Thanks everyone,

Guess it all comes down to quality of life like you say. I am permanently miserable the only real positive is I have been saving plenty. That savings can make the move relatively easy if we go for it. The other half doesn't earn as much as me and we think her salary won't change much but given the lower cost of living she will be net positive. For myself it isn't so clear. We don't need my current salary but given things are getting more expensive it is difficult to say.

Maybe I should just quit to give more time to a job search and the planning/logistics of moving.

To give you some balance, I took a near on £20k pay cut to go the opposite way (Scotland to South East) 12-15 years ago. The lack of quality of life (and the shitty weather) made it an easy choice. I've not looked back since.

I think if I took a pay cut now I'd probably go below the living wage, especially come Aptril.

But, I would say, look at the cost of living as a factor. Look at your combined household income and from the sounds of it, your current job sound like a pain in the arse, factor in the value of your time as well. You may be getting paid more now, but is the extra money worth being miserable for? Factor in your partner moving jobs, them being happier might be worth more than the money lost. Lot's of angles to look at. I suppose the amount we are paid is a status thing, but ultimately doesn't really matter as long as you can afford a comfortable life and should really be a trade off between financial and mental well being.

Having once gone from a comfortable but soul destroying job to £0 pa myself, I honestly think everyone should do the same at least once in their life. It acts as a reset and gives you the chance for a new start.

Just think how happy the team would be.

If I could, I would do it in the blink of an eye, Job and Fife.