on $100k a year, leaving Boise

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Asheville, NC cityscape

from boise

Asheville

nc · metro 417k

photo: Ken Jacobsen / pexels

a dispatch from

asheville

NC

35.58°N

82.55°W

Asheville is what happens when a mountain town and an art school have a baby and raise it on craft beer. Downtown packs more breweries per capita than almost anywhere in America, plus buskers on every corner and Art Deco buildings the Depression accidentally preserved (the city went broke before it could tear them down). The Biltmore, America's largest private home, looms on the edge of town like a stone-carved flex. Remote workers keep showing up, which is how you know.

metro417k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$164

below Boise's monthly cost

Asheville and Boise land close on cost. The reasons to move are about how you'd live, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

3% cheaper than Boise(vs $1,794/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$108/mo less in state tax than Boise

vs 5.8% in Boise

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$164 more than Boise

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

04a house here

$430k

12% cheaper than Boise

vs $490k in Boise

05metro size

417k

vs 827k in Boise

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Boise only logs 166 pleasant days.

Things to do run about even with Boise.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

20% lower than Boise

vs 82/100 in Boise

Closest outdoor draw: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 74.8 mi.

·walk score®

63/100

34% lower than Boise

vs 96/100 in Boise

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

50% fewer than Boise

vs 16 nonstops in Boise

04 · see also

same energy as asheville, different zip code:

see also

charleston

more flight options

turn the page

see also

greenville

$21/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

reno

$205/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare asheville with:

CharlestonGreenvilleReno