$100k salary, packing up from Lubbock

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Charleston, SC cityscape

if you left lubbock

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

$1,144

more each month than Lubbock ran you

Charleston is the expensive option. The argument has to be entirely about the place, not the price.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

44% more expensive than Lubbock(vs $1,384/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$542/mo more in state tax than Lubbock

vs 0% in Lubbock

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$1,144 less than Lubbock

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

04a house here

$432k

105% more expensive than Lubbock

vs $211k in Lubbock

05metro size

849k

vs 360k in Lubbock

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

Lubbock barely cracks 186 pleasant ones.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 5.1× more on the calendar than Lubbock.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

1240% higher than Lubbock

vs 5/100 in Lubbock

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

·walk score®

92/100

33% higher than Lubbock

vs 69/100 in Lubbock

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

186% more than Lubbock

vs 7 nonstops in Lubbock

04 · see also

if charleston appeals, also worth a look:

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