$100k salary, packing up from San Jose
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
below San Jose's monthly cost
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
59% cheaper than San Jose(vs $3,470/mo)
5%
$358/mo less in state tax than San Jose
vs 9.3% in San Jose
$6,510/mo
$2,422 more than San Jose
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$261k
85% cheaper than San Jose
vs $1796k in San Jose
1.2M
vs 1.9M in San Jose
field notes, weather & such.
171
pleasant days a year, in birmingham.
San Jose edges ahead with 283 pleasant days.
A month here packs 1.5× the events of San Jose.
61/100
13% lower than San Jose
vs 70/100 in San Jose
Closest outdoor draw: Oak Mountain State Park, 12.8 mi.
79/100
17% lower than San Jose
vs 95/100 in San Jose
20
31% fewer than San Jose
vs 29 nonstops in San Jose
in the same ballpark as birmingham:
compare birmingham with:
