same $100k income, fresh start from Des Moines

change
Asheville, NC cityscape

instead of des moines

Asheville

nc · metro 417k

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

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$345

more expensive each month than Des Moines

You'd pay for Asheville. The question is whether the days are worth the difference.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

37% more expensive than Des Moines(vs $1,268/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$125/mo less in state tax than Des Moines

vs 6% in Des Moines

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$345 less than Des Moines

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

04a house here

$430k

44% more expensive than Des Moines

vs $300k in Des Moines

05metro size

417k

vs 737k in Des Moines

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Des Moines keeps to 151 pleasant days a year.

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

66/100

20% higher than Des Moines

vs 55/100 in Des Moines

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

·walk score®

63/100

19% lower than Des Moines

vs 78/100 in Des Moines

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

53% fewer than Des Moines

vs 17 nonstops in Des Moines

04 · see also

if asheville appeals, also worth a look:

compare asheville with: