on $100k a year, leaving Hagerstown

change
Charleston, SC cityscape

swapping out of hagerstown

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

$258

more each month than Hagerstown ran you

You'd pay for Charleston. The question is whether the days are worth the difference.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

25% more expensive than Hagerstown(vs $1,587/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$142/mo less in state tax than Hagerstown

vs 8.2% in Hagerstown

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$258 less than Hagerstown

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

04a house here

$432k

34% more expensive than Hagerstown

vs $321k in Hagerstown

05metro size

849k

vs 305k in Hagerstown

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

Hagerstown only manages 160 of those.

128% more happening than in Hagerstown.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

20% higher than Hagerstown

vs 56/100 in Hagerstown

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

·walk score®

92/100

5% higher than Hagerstown

vs 88/100 in Hagerstown

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

900% more than Hagerstown

vs 2 nonstops in Hagerstown

04 · see also

neighbors of charleston on the map of tradeoffs:

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