A Dollar When I'm Hard Up

Questions from the Chronicle forums. . . .

I recently found an ad for a T-T job at a university on the West Coast that in many respects could be considered my dream job if not for the salary. In terms of numbers, I live in an area where the cost-of-living index is around 90, and the university is in an area where it's around 160. At the same time, the salary they offer is 35% below what I am making now, and according to CNN Money, they would have to offer me 2.5 times as much as they do now if I wanted to maintain my current lifestyle. I'm going to pass on this job, but I still wonder how these universities can get away with such offers? Has it become so much of a buyer's market that some applicants are willing to accept anything?

And the answer is. . . . Yes!