I'm curious what cities are listed as having the highest salaries? Maybe it makes sense to move there? What's the actual difference compared to my city, if you know specifically?
The main thing is to calculate not by salary, but by salary minus cost of living, otherwise moving to an expensive city might leave you with the same amount of money in your pocket or even less. Salaries are higher in Moscow and St. Petersburg regions, but everything's more expensive there too - apartments, food, transport, and the difference in income often gets eaten up by expenses. Add the cost of moving, changing your social circle and job on top of that, and the payoff becomes questionable, especially if you already have a decent job and place to live in your city.
Moving makes sense only if the salary increase substantially offsets rising prices for housing, food, and utilities. As noted above, Moscow and St. Petersburg offer higher salaries, but everything costs more there too. Besides these two, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and Kazan pay pretty well - the gap between income and expenses can be more favorable there than in the capitals. It all depends on your field: some people can relocate easily, while others will have to search long for a job in their specialty, which cuts into your budget.
Before you start planning a move, check job listings in the city you're interested in - find out what people actually earn in your field. Then compare it against expenses: apartment rent, transportation, groceries. Sometimes it turns out that moving won't make you rich at all. One more important thing: how attached you are to a city and your social ties. If you're leaving family, friends, a doctor you trust, that costs something too in terms of comfort and time.
To be frank, the question isn't quite formulated correctly - because whether you should relocate doesn't really depend on salary alone. Yes, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk salaries are higher than the national average. But previous answers rightly pointed out the expenses - that's only half the story. The other half is that you won't have social connections there, friends, acquaintances who help you get through the higher cost of living, share an apartment with you, give advice and just offer support.
Plus, the situation varies across different industries. If you're a specialist in IT or finance - then yeah, the income difference between a major city and a small town can be substantial and actually offset the increased expenses. But if your specialty isn't in high demand in megacities or the market's already flooded with people competing for the same salary - relocating might not give you anything at all.
Before you start packing, do the math for real: how much will your income actually grow, what will housing cost (not just rent, but conditions too - would you want to live in a dorm with roommates or in a tiny room in a bedroom), food, transportation. And be honest with yourself - are you ready to leave what you have now. Sometimes it turns out that in a small town with a low salary but cheap living, you're better off than in a megacity with a high salary and astronomical expenses.
That's all correct about expenses, but I'll add - even within expensive cities there's a huge difference between the center and the outskirts, and a lot of people move there while working remotely or for a specific company that pays well in that particular city. If your specialty is in demand everywhere equally, it's worth doing the math: take the average salary for your position, subtract rent and basic expenses, and compare it to what you have left at home. Often it turns out that the raise isn't worth changing your climate and your circle of friends.
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