$100k salary, packing up from New Orleans

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Albuquerque, NM cityscape

if you left new orleans

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

$118

the monthly cost of moving past New Orleans

Almost a wash on cost. The case for Albuquerque is about what you'd do there, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the albuquerque entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,489/mo

8% cheaper than New Orleans(vs $1,612/mo)

02state income tax

5.9%

$242/mo more in state tax than New Orleans

vs 3% in New Orleans

03after rent

$6,353/mo

$118 less than New Orleans

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

04a house here

$351k

36% more expensive than New Orleans

vs $259k in New Orleans

05metro size

924k

vs 962k in New Orleans

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

205

pleasant days a year, in albuquerque.

New Orleans edges ahead with 235 pleasant days. Summers run hot, though: 34 days above 95° vs New Orleans's 3.

Lighter on events: New Orleans packs 2.3× more into a month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

81/100

47% higher than New Orleans

vs 55/100 in New Orleans

Closest outdoor draw: Sandia Mountain Wilderness, 13.4 mi.

·walk score®

94/100

4% lower than New Orleans

vs 98/100 in New Orleans

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

23

41% fewer than New Orleans

vs 39 nonstops in New Orleans

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