same $100k income, fresh start from Gainesville

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Asheville, NC cityscape

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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

$468

pricier each month than Gainesville

Asheville costs more than Gainesville, and you'll feel it. The upside has to come from somewhere other than your budget.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

6% more expensive than Gainesville(vs $1,645/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$375/mo more in state tax than Gainesville

vs 0% in Gainesville

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$468 less than Gainesville

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

04a house here

$430k

36% more expensive than Gainesville

vs $317k in Gainesville

05metro size

417k

vs 350k in Gainesville

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Gainesville gets 206 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 11.7× more on the calendar than Gainesville.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

5% higher than Gainesville

vs 63/100 in Gainesville

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

·walk score®

63/100

31% lower than Gainesville

vs 91/100 in Gainesville

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

60% more than Gainesville

vs 5 nonstops in Gainesville

04 · see also

neighbors of asheville on the map of tradeoffs:

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