on $100k a year, leaving Baltimore

change
El Paso, TX cityscape

swapping out of baltimore

El Paso

tx · metro 872k

photo: Gene Maysonet / pexels

a dispatch from

el paso

TX

31.76°N

106.49°W

El Paso has the Franklin Mountains running right through the middle of the city (which is rare), with hiking trails inside city limits and the desert wide open just past the suburbs. The Mexican food is exceptional in ways that the rest of Texas doesn't quite match (it's true regional border food). Ciudad Juarez is literally next door across the Rio Grande. The light at sunset is unreal.

metro872k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$1,078

lighter monthly cost than Baltimore

Move to El Paso and the monthly math gets easier. Baltimore's rent is the headline; El Paso's is a footnote.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

21% cheaper than Baltimore(vs $1,868/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$683/mo less in state tax than Baltimore

vs 8.2% in Baltimore

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$1,078 more than Baltimore

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

04a house here

$231k

44% cheaper than Baltimore

vs $412k in Baltimore

05metro size

872k

vs 2.8M in Baltimore

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Baltimore barely cracks 168 pleasant ones. Heat is the cost: 60 days top 95° vs Baltimore's 4.

55% fewer events than Baltimore. The pace eases up.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

2% lower than Baltimore

vs 66/100 in Baltimore

Closest outdoor draw: White Sands National Park, 72.1 mi.

·walk score®

93/100

5% lower than Baltimore

vs 98/100 in Baltimore

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

82% fewer than Baltimore

vs 72 nonstops in Baltimore

04 · see also

neighbors of el paso on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

roanoke

more things to do

turn the page

see also

lexington

more things to do

turn the page

see also

huntsville

more things to do

turn the page

compare el paso with:

RoanokeLexingtonHuntsville