with $100k coming in, swapping out of San Francisco
changea dispatch from
birmingham
AL
33.52°N
86.80°W
Birmingham was built on steel and reshaped by the civil rights movement, and you can feel both stories in the city. The Civil Rights Institute is essential, the food scene (Highlands Bar and Grill, Hot and Hot Fish Club, plenty more) is one of the most acclaimed in the South. The Vulcan statue, the largest cast-iron statue in the world, looks down on the city from Red Mountain. Younger than its reputation suggests.
the verdict
cheaper each month than San Francisco
Birmingham is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
a quick ledger.
$1,407/mo
55% cheaper than San Francisco(vs $3,146/mo)
5%
$358/mo less in state tax than San Francisco
vs 9.3% in San Francisco
$6,510/mo
$2,098 more than San Francisco
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$261k
79% cheaper than San Francisco
vs $1239k in San Francisco
1.2M
vs 4.6M in San Francisco
field notes, weather & such.
171
pleasant days a year, in birmingham.
San Francisco has the edge here, logging 312 pleasant days a year. Warm, not extreme: 28 days clear 95°, vs 0 back in San Francisco.
65% fewer events than San Francisco. The pace eases up.
61/100
27% lower than San Francisco
vs 83/100 in San Francisco
Closest outdoor draw: Oak Mountain State Park, 12.8 mi.
79/100
20% lower than San Francisco
vs 99/100 in San Francisco
20
82% fewer than San Francisco
vs 111 nonstops in San Francisco
neighbors of birmingham on the map of tradeoffs:
compare birmingham with:
