$100k salary, packing up from San Jose

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Charleston, SC cityscape

instead of san jose

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

$1,717

less monthly outlay than San Jose

Charleston is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
landable, recorded on the charleston entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,987/mo

43% cheaper than San Jose(vs $3,470/mo)

02state income tax

6.5%

$233/mo less in state tax than San Jose

vs 9.3% in San Jose

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$1,717 more than San Jose

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

04a house here

$432k

76% cheaper than San Jose

vs $1796k in San Jose

05metro size

849k

vs 1.9M in San Jose

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

212

pleasant days a year, in charleston.

San Jose gets 283 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine.

San Jose hosts 1.5× more events.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

67/100

4% lower than San Jose

vs 70/100 in San Jose

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

·walk score®

92/100

3% lower than San Jose

vs 95/100 in San Jose

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

20

31% fewer than San Jose

vs 29 nonstops in San Jose

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