$100k salary, packing up from Milwaukee

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El Paso, TX cityscape

if you left milwaukee

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

$553

below Milwaukee's monthly cost

You'd feel the difference in El Paso. Not life-changing money, but real breathing room next to Milwaukee.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

2% cheaper than Milwaukee(vs $1,504/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$523/mo less in state tax than Milwaukee

vs 6.27% in Milwaukee

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$553 more than Milwaukee

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

04a house here

$231k

41% cheaper than Milwaukee

vs $394k in Milwaukee

05metro size

872k

vs 1.6M in Milwaukee

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Milwaukee only logs 149 pleasant days. Heat is the cost: 60 days top 95° vs Milwaukee's 0.

But the calendar thins out: Milwaukee stays 2.3× busier.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

7% higher than Milwaukee

vs 61/100 in Milwaukee

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

·walk score®

93/100

5% lower than Milwaukee

vs 98/100 in Milwaukee

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

57% fewer than Milwaukee

vs 30 nonstops in Milwaukee

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