How do I accurately price myself when moving from a small to large city?

I am wondering how to price myself.

I've moved to Los Angeles from Vermot. I have worked in a marketing agency for ~5 years, design studio/freelance for 2, as well as other projects taking over responsibilities like branding, creative direction, design, and production (small agency, lots of hats) with large international brands.

Because I have experience with large clients, I feel I have more value than somebody who has worked as a designer for a place that needs design, rather than produces design. I hope that sentence made sense.

Looking for freelance, I've checked out Creative Circle just so I can get a start and pay the bills for now. Seeing my experience, I was priced out at roughly $30/hr or $65,000 - $80,000 annually. I am aware that the creative staffing agency needs to shave some off the top for their pockets but I am unsure how much.

I also am unsure of how to price my work when living in a large city. The cost of living certainly different between Los Angeles and Vermont with rent, utilities, and everything. For being at an agency for ~5 years in Vermont, I only made around $xxxxx. I tell my friends in NYC/LA/PDX that and they look at me bug-eyed.

Thanks for the help!

Great design resource

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) Submitted January 29, 2018 at 06:37PM by mpf315 http://ift.tt/2GrNPGR