$100k salary, packing up from Mobile

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Charleston, SC cityscape

swapping out of mobile

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

$810

the monthly cost of moving past Mobile

A real premium for Charleston. Worth it only if the city itself is the whole point.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

53% more expensive than Mobile(vs $1,302/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$125/mo more in state tax than Mobile

vs 5% in Mobile

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$810 less than Mobile

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

04a house here

$432k

123% more expensive than Mobile

vs $194k in Mobile

05metro size

849k

vs 412k in Mobile

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

Mobile has the edge here, logging 225 pleasant days a year.

A month here packs 1.7× the events of Mobile.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

14% higher than Mobile

vs 59/100 in Mobile

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

·walk score®

92/100

33% higher than Mobile

vs 69/100 in Mobile

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

300% more than Mobile

vs 5 nonstops in Mobile

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