same $100k income, fresh start from Chattanooga

change
Columbus, OH cityscape

instead of chattanooga

Columbus

oh · metro 2.2M

a dispatch from

columbus

OH

39.96°N

83.00°W

Columbus is Ohio State on autumn Saturdays (the Horseshoe holds 100,000+ and they all wear scarlet), German Village's cobblestone streets and brick cottages, and a Short North gallery scene that punches well above its weight. It's quietly become a test market for the rest of America because the demographics line up so neatly. The food scene leans young, weird, and good. 'Buckeyes' here can mean either the football team or the chocolate-peanut-butter candy.

metro2.2M

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$319

more each month than Chattanooga ran you

Columbus costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
landable, recorded on the columbus entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,511/mo

1% cheaper than Chattanooga(vs $1,524/mo)

02state income tax

3.99%

$333/mo more in state tax than Chattanooga

vs 0% in Chattanooga

03after rent

$6,490/mo

$319 less than Chattanooga

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

04a house here

$350k

9% more expensive than Chattanooga

vs $322k in Chattanooga

05metro size

2.2M

vs 580k in Chattanooga

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

171

pleasant days a year, in columbus.

Chattanooga only manages 167 of those. Cold snaps are part of the year: 29 days below 20° here, 5 in Chattanooga.

5.0× the events of Chattanooga, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

57/100

17% lower than Chattanooga

vs 69/100 in Chattanooga

Closest outdoor draw: Alum Creek State Park, 16.2 mi.

·walk score®

85/100

4% higher than Chattanooga

vs 82/100 in Chattanooga

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

32

300% more than Chattanooga

vs 8 nonstops in Chattanooga

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as columbus:

compare columbus with: