with $100k coming in, swapping out of Phoenix

change
Asheville, NC cityscape

swapping out of phoenix

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

$166

pricier each month than Phoenix

A small premium for Asheville. Worth it only if the rest of the city earns it back.
landable, recorded on the asheville entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,738/mo

0% more expensive than Phoenix(vs $1,739/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$167/mo more in state tax than Phoenix

vs 2.5% in Phoenix

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$166 less than Phoenix

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

04a house here

$430k

6% cheaper than Phoenix

vs $458k in Phoenix

05metro size

417k

vs 5.1M in Phoenix

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Phoenix only manages 181 of those.

But the calendar thins out: Phoenix stays 5.7× busier.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

0% lower than Phoenix

vs 66/100 in Phoenix

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

·walk score®

63/100

35% lower than Phoenix

vs 97/100 in Phoenix

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

91% fewer than Phoenix

vs 91 nonstops in Phoenix

04 · see also

same energy as asheville, different zip code:

compare asheville with: