$100k salary, packing up from San Diego

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Charleston, SC cityscape

if you left san diego

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

$1,137

below San Diego's monthly cost

Charleston sits well below San Diego on cost. Same paycheck, a noticeably lighter month.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

31% cheaper than San Diego(vs $2,890/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$233/mo less in state tax than San Diego

vs 9.3% in San Diego

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$1,137 more than San Diego

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

04a house here

$432k

57% cheaper than San Diego

vs $1010k in San Diego

05metro size

849k

vs 3.3M in San Diego

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

San Diego has the edge here, logging 332 pleasant days a year.

Noticeably quieter than San Diego. About 76% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

11% lower than San Diego

vs 75/100 in San Diego

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

·walk score®

92/100

7% lower than San Diego

vs 99/100 in San Diego

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

64% fewer than San Diego

vs 55 nonstops in San Diego

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