on $100k a year, leaving Fort Collins

change
El Paso, TX cityscape

instead of fort collins

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.

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$864

under Fort Collins, every month

El Paso runs on a fraction of Fort Collins's budget. Same paycheck, real lifestyle upgrade.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

25% cheaper than Fort Collins(vs $1,971/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$367/mo less in state tax than Fort Collins

vs 4.4% in Fort Collins

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$864 more than Fort Collins

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

04a house here

$231k

60% cheaper than Fort Collins

vs $572k in Fort Collins

05metro size

872k

vs 371k in Fort Collins

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Fort Collins only logs 177 pleasant days. Heat is the cost: 60 days top 95° vs Fort Collins's 11.

30.0× the events of Fort Collins, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

6% lower than Fort Collins

vs 69/100 in Fort Collins

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

·walk score®

93/100

8% higher than Fort Collins

vs 86/100 in Fort Collins

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

92% fewer than Fort Collins

vs 169 nonstops in Fort Collins

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