One of the ways to measure your financial success is to look at your salary. But that doesn't give you the complete image of your financial situation. This is because your salary isn't an accurate account of your discretionary income.
Disposable income is what you bring home for saving or spending after taxes. Discretionary income is what's left after you've paid the bills and put some money into your savings and retirement. It's the money you can spend as you wish on things your enjoy, rather than what you must.
There are factors that influence your discretionary income. What you have left over from your salary to use as you wish depends on your cost of housing, cost of transportation, how much debt you have, the cost of food in your area and the expense of your utilities. These items can vary, depending on where you live.
Phil moved from a large city in California to a small town in Idaho, and was unhappy that his salary was smaller.
In California, his salary was higher, but Phil spent more than half of his income on the rent of his apartment, utilities and groceries, as well as transportation, which was considerable, since he lived a considerable distance from his office. But in Idaho, he lives in a larger home, but it costs less than a third of what he paid in California. He also lives closer to work, so he's cut down on transportation costs. The cost of food and utilities are also less.
So even though Phil's salary is less, after taking a look at the big picture, he realizes that in California, though his salary was higher, he spent nearly half of his income on the basics of survival. In Idaho, although his salary is smaller, he is spending less on survival and therefore has more discretionary income. He and his family can now afford to go out to dinner or a movie occasionally.
So before you go off chasing a higher salary, consider the area. You may be able to enjoy a better quality of life with a lower salary. Salary isn't the end-all, be-all of income.