$100k a year, no longer in Wichita

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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

$465

the monthly cost of moving past Wichita

Asheville costs more than Wichita, 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

48% more expensive than Wichita(vs $1,173/mo)

02state income tax

4.5%

$100/mo less in state tax than Wichita

vs 5.7% in Wichita

03after rent

$6,220/mo

$465 less than Wichita

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

04a house here

$430k

94% more expensive than Wichita

vs $221k in Wichita

05metro size

417k

vs 653k in Wichita

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

201

pleasant days a year, in asheville.

Wichita only logs 164 pleasant days.

1.9× the events of Wichita, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

66/100

27% higher than Wichita

vs 52/100 in Wichita

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

·walk score®

63/100

9% lower than Wichita

vs 69/100 in Wichita

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

8

27% fewer than Wichita

vs 11 nonstops in Wichita

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