Will you be able to earn the same amount anywhere you move?

I said 55-75. I'm fresh out of college and am looking for the 35-40k range. I can live quite well on 35k, but I think for a family man/woman 55k or more is well paid. Me, single and relatively low in debt, 35k is just fine.

Good cash flow is relative to what makes you happy. I always admired people who made a living doing things like chartering fishing boats for a living. No one to report to but themselves pretty much, work is mother nature and they all seem pretty happy.

If you're stuck in corporate America however dealing with the BS that comes with it working for a soulless entity the answer is 'as much money as possible'.

I choose the Gaz option.

Yes

I can pick up and work from home 100%

This. A shitty job will make you rethink a 6 figures.....but probably not upper 6 figures. Either way, It never feels like enough.

I remember back in the early 80's meeting an American dude in cancun who had a para-sailing business. He had a boat, a parachute and a beach. I was instantly envious. I should have learned something from that.

Fact: The more more money you make, the more bullshit you are likely to put up with.

I was making $150k by the time I was 25. Now I make less than half that working twice as hard and I'm 10x as happy.

That means your happy-work-per-dollar ratio has gone up by a factor of 50.

Actually you might be surprised and no I was not accounting for married I was using single rates.

CA has a top state tax rate of 9.3% + 1.2% for CA state disability insurance(tax). The CA disability phases out around 95K

State bracket
0-~7K 1%
7K-~17K 2%
17K-~27K 4%
27K-~37K 6%
37k-~47K 8%
>47K 9.3% (ok it's 10.3 for over 1million but that's not relevant here)

FICA caps at 106,800 at 6.2% and Medicare tax is 1.45 with no cap

Fed single bracket
0-~8K 10%
8K-~34K 15%
34K-82K 25%
82K+ 28%(assuming we are dealing with numbers under 171K)

at 150K you'd owe

CA state 70+200+400+600+800+9579 = 11649
CA disability(since you hit cap) = 1140
FICA = 6622
Medicare = 2175
Federal = 800 + 3900 + 12000 + 19040 = 35740

Total 11649 + 1140 + 6622 + 2175 + 35740 = 57326

57326/150000 = an effective tax rate of ~38% So you're right I did overestimate the effective tax by ~2% or ~$3000. While deductions will help lower that some, most high incomer earners lose the state tax deduction because CA's high income tax rate forces them into AMT. Which is the most F'd up part of AMT. I can't be avoiding taxes by paying state tax......

I dunno. Any time you have to deal with customers you're going to deal with hassles, even when they're supposed to be happy and relaxed. Ever seen people on a cruise start screaming at the waiter because the tenderloin portion was too small?

I spent a summer in Durango, CO as a kayaking guide. It was crap money and I slept on a mattress on the floor, shared a filthy bathroom with 2 other guys but I loved kayaking so I thought it would be cool.

There were trips I spent chasing fat ladies down the river because they were inverted weeble-wobbles when inside a kayak in the water, and on the rapids, good lord. These people should have been in much wider flotation devices but at the end of the day it was fun and we were a tight group who enjoyed working together and were genuine friends.

That's what I miss about the job. I find people uptight and rigid in cooperate American. Don't get me wrong, the money is a lot better but it would be nice to find a happy medium. Or better yet, such a great job at 6 figures.

Yeah, I can deal with that and bad mediocre money.

I can remember when I lived in Columbia in 1990 and just knew if I could make 8 bucks an hour I'd be set. I was paying 350/month to live in an apt in Prathersville. Now I live in a town of 2000, make over 60K not counting the benefits. I should be living like a king. I'm not, but I sure have some nice shit and a nice house.

It's amazing to sit back and think how having an extra 10 bucks then was really something and now I don't think anything about dropping a hundy on something stupid. It's a mindset and honestly, the more you make the more you spend for the most part.

So now I'm trying to go backwards.... find a lower paying job where I can get by and live off my business. Of course, I don't need the expensive vehicle, the HDTV and flatscreens, the pool table...I like that stuff though. So I'll put up with corporate america and all the bs until I can keep the toys and be happy with my job.

Being well paid is making whatever amount will make Scarlett Johansson want me.

I live in San Diego, which is known for high cost of living, and even here I think a well paying job would start at 60k up to 70k. If you are making a above 70k you have a great paying job. Just for some perspective, when my wife and I first got married I made around 43k plus a company car a year. With that some we could afford: 1 used vehicle, 1700/month mortgage, cable, internet, two cell phones, and food for the family. She was a stay at home mom, and we had two kids. Now we definitely lived check to check, no question there. If you had bumped up that salary by 20k, we would be living very comfortable. So in San Diego, I would say 60k is the threshold for a well paying job.

WOW, where do you live Compton?

I agree 100%, If I made 70k dollars I would be a BOSS. If my pay went up to 54k tomorrow I would mess my pants. I make no where near that money, although I live pretty good on my money,I could live much better on that money. I would still live how I live now, I would just stockpile money away.

Whatever pays the bills and leaves enough left over to play with.

this

75k? shittin in tall cotton.

True