$100k salary, packing up from Lafayette

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El Paso, TX cityscape

from lafayette

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

$109

below Lafayette's monthly cost

El Paso and Lafayette land close on cost. The reasons to move are about how you'd live, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

11% more expensive than Lafayette(vs $1,332/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$250/mo less in state tax than Lafayette

vs 3% in Lafayette

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$109 more than Lafayette

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

04a house here

$231k

16% more expensive than Lafayette

vs $200k in Lafayette

05metro size

872k

vs 414k in Lafayette

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Lafayette barely cracks 211 pleasant ones. Summer asks for something in return: 60 days top 95° here, 7 in Lafayette.

500% more happening than in Lafayette.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

51% higher than Lafayette

vs 43/100 in Lafayette

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

·walk score®

93/100

9% higher than Lafayette

vs 85/100 in Lafayette

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

333% more than Lafayette

vs 3 nonstops in Lafayette

04 · see also

same energy as el paso, different zip code:

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