$100k salary, packing up from Daytona Beach

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Albuquerque, NM cityscape

instead of daytona beach

Albuquerque

nm · metro 924k

photo: Lad Fury / pexels

a dispatch from

albuquerque

NM

35.08°N

106.65°W

Albuquerque is green chile on everything, the Sandia Mountains turning pink at sunset (the name literally means watermelon), and the Balloon Fiesta in October when 500+ hot air balloons fill the sky. The old town adobes feel like the 1700s, the food fuses Native, Mexican, and Spanish in ways you won't get anywhere else. Breaking Bad fans will recognize half the city, and locals are good-natured about it.

metro924k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$196

more each month than Daytona Beach ran you

Barely costlier than Daytona Beach. If Albuquerque pulls you in, it's the life it offers, not the price tag.
landable, recorded on the albuquerque entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,489/mo

17% cheaper than Daytona Beach(vs $1,784/mo)

02state income tax

5.9%

$492/mo more in state tax than Daytona Beach

vs 0% in Daytona Beach

03after rent

$6,353/mo

$196 less than Daytona Beach

gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.

04a house here

$351k

6% more expensive than Daytona Beach

vs $331k in Daytona Beach

05metro size

924k

vs 722k in Daytona Beach

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

205

pleasant days a year, in albuquerque.

Daytona Beach gets 212 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. Summers run hot, though: 34 days above 95° vs Daytona Beach's 11.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 3.0× more on the calendar than Daytona Beach.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

81/100

29% higher than Daytona Beach

vs 63/100 in Daytona Beach

Closest outdoor draw: Sandia Mountain Wilderness, 13.4 mi.

·walk score®

94/100

21% higher than Daytona Beach

vs 78/100 in Daytona Beach

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

23

1050% more than Daytona Beach

vs 2 nonstops in Daytona Beach

04 · see also

neighbors of albuquerque on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

spartanburg

$5/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

greenville

more things to do

turn the page

see also

spokane

$460/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare albuquerque with:

SpartanburgGreenvilleSpokane