$100k a year, no longer in Rochester

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El Paso, TX cityscape

if you left rochester

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

$548

less monthly outlay than Rochester

El Paso is the easier version of your monthly budget. Lower rent, lighter monthly outlay.
landable, recorded on the el paso entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

4% cheaper than Rochester(vs $1,534/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$487/mo less in state tax than Rochester

vs 5.85% in Rochester

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$548 more than Rochester

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

04a house here

$231k

15% cheaper than Rochester

vs $273k in Rochester

05metro size

872k

vs 1.1M in Rochester

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Rochester only logs 147 pleasant days. Heat is the cost: 60 days top 95° vs Rochester's 1.

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

65/100

12% higher than Rochester

vs 58/100 in Rochester

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

·walk score®

93/100

35% higher than Rochester

vs 69/100 in Rochester

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

28% fewer than Rochester

vs 18 nonstops in Rochester

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