same $100k income, fresh start from Wichita

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El Paso, TX cityscape

swapping out of wichita

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

$175

cheaper each month than Wichita

El Paso and Wichita 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

26% more expensive than Wichita(vs $1,173/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$475/mo less in state tax than Wichita

vs 5.7% in Wichita

03after rent

$6,860/mo

$175 more than Wichita

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

04a house here

$231k

4% more expensive than Wichita

vs $221k in Wichita

05metro size

872k

vs 653k in Wichita

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

222

pleasant days a year, in el paso.

Wichita keeps to 164 pleasant days a year. Warm, not extreme: 60 days clear 95°, vs 30 back in Wichita.

1.7× the events of Wichita, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

65/100

25% higher than Wichita

vs 52/100 in Wichita

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

·walk score®

93/100

35% higher than Wichita

vs 69/100 in Wichita

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

13

18% more than Wichita

vs 11 nonstops in Wichita

04 · see also

cities that play in el paso's register:

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