with $100k coming in, swapping out of Roanoke

change
El Paso, TX cityscape

if you left roanoke

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

$388

less monthly outlay than Roanoke

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

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

7% more expensive than Roanoke(vs $1,382/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$479/mo less in state tax than Roanoke

vs 5.75% in Roanoke

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$388 more than Roanoke

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

04a house here

$231k

22% cheaper than Roanoke

vs $296k in Roanoke

05metro size

872k

vs 314k in Roanoke

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Roanoke barely cracks 179 pleasant ones. Heat is the cost: 60 days top 95° vs Roanoke's 2.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 2.5× more on the calendar than Roanoke.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

6% lower than Roanoke

vs 69/100 in Roanoke

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

·walk score®

93/100

1% lower than Roanoke

vs 94/100 in Roanoke

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

44% more than Roanoke

vs 9 nonstops in Roanoke

04 · see also

same energy as el paso, different zip code:

see also

lexington

more things to do

turn the page

see also

huntsville

more things to do

turn the page

see also

tallahassee

more things to do

turn the page

compare el paso with:

LexingtonHuntsvilleTallahassee