on $100k a year, leaving Columbus

change
Charleston, SC cityscape

swapping out of columbus

Charleston

sc · metro 849k

photo: Connor Scott McManus / pexels

a dispatch from

charleston

SC

32.78°N

79.94°W

Charleston is pastel rowhouses, cobblestone streets, the smell of pluff mud at low tide, and shrimp and grits that should be illegal everywhere else. The historic district is a working postcard, the food scene punches way above its size, and the porches are made for sitting. Spoleto Festival every spring brings world-class arts. It's small, dense, and absurdly photogenic.

metro849k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$807

more each month than Columbus ran you

Charleston doesn't pretend to be affordable. Move here for what Charleston is, not for what it leaves on your monthly ledger.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

57% more expensive than Columbus(vs $1,264/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$84/mo more in state tax than Columbus

vs 5.49% in Columbus

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$807 less than Columbus

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

04a house here

$432k

108% more expensive than Columbus

vs $208k in Columbus

05metro size

849k

vs 329k in Columbus

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

Columbus barely cracks 177 pleasant ones.

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

67/100

43% higher than Columbus

vs 47/100 in Columbus

Closest outdoor draw: Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge.Wilderness Area, 19.4 mi.

·walk score®

92/100

18% higher than Columbus

vs 78/100 in Columbus

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

1900% more than Columbus

vs 1 nonstops in Columbus

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as charleston:

see also

reno

$620/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

asheville

$415/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

greenville

$436/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare charleston with:

RenoAshevilleGreenville