same $100k income, fresh start from Roanoke

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Asheville, NC cityscape

next stop after roanoke

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

$252

more expensive each month than Roanoke

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

26% more expensive than Roanoke(vs $1,382/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$104/mo less in state tax than Roanoke

vs 5.75% in Roanoke

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$252 less than Roanoke

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

04a house here

$430k

45% more expensive than Roanoke

vs $296k in Roanoke

05metro size

417k

vs 314k in Roanoke

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Roanoke only manages 179 of those.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 2.9× more on the calendar than Roanoke.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

4% lower than Roanoke

vs 69/100 in Roanoke

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

·walk score®

63/100

33% lower than Roanoke

vs 94/100 in Roanoke

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

11% fewer than Roanoke

vs 9 nonstops in Roanoke

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