$100k salary, packing up from Portland

change
El Paso, TX cityscape

if you left portland

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

$1,437

less monthly outlay than Portland

El Paso sits well below Portland on cost. Same paycheck, a noticeably lighter month.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

36% cheaper than Portland(vs $2,285/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$625/mo less in state tax than Portland

vs 7.5% in Portland

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$1,437 more than Portland

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

04a house here

$231k

57% cheaper than Portland

vs $543k in Portland

05metro size

872k

vs 566k in Portland

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Portland barely cracks 145 pleasant ones. Summer asks for something in return: 60 days top 95° here, 0 in Portland.

Things to do run about even with Portland.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

8% lower than Portland

vs 71/100 in Portland

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

·walk score®

93/100

5% lower than Portland

vs 98/100 in Portland

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

550% more than Portland

vs 2 nonstops in Portland

04 · see also

in the same ballpark as el paso:

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