on $100k a year, leaving Montgomery

change
Asheville, NC cityscape

instead of montgomery

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

$321

pricier each month than Montgomery

Asheville costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

26% more expensive than Montgomery(vs $1,376/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$42/mo less in state tax than Montgomery

vs 5% in Montgomery

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$321 less than Montgomery

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

04a house here

$430k

103% more expensive than Montgomery

vs $212k in Montgomery

05metro size

417k

vs 385k in Montgomery

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Montgomery only manages 181 of those.

A similar weekend lineup to Montgomery.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

50% higher than Montgomery

vs 44/100 in Montgomery

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

·walk score®

63/100

3% higher than Montgomery

vs 61/100 in Montgomery

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

167% more than Montgomery

vs 3 nonstops in Montgomery

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as asheville:

compare asheville with: