$100k salary, packing up from Columbia

change
Eugene, OR cityscape

swapping out of columbia

Eugene

or · metro 381k

photo: Tim Mossholder / pexels

a dispatch from

eugene

OR

44.05°N

123.09°W

Eugene is Track Town USA (Hayward Field is the spiritual home of American distance running), the University of Oregon, and a hippie-academic-outdoorsy culture that's been here since the '60s and isn't going anywhere. The Willamette and McKenzie rivers meet just outside town. Saturday Market downtown has been running for over 50 years. Coffee and craft beer are taken seriously. Misty in winter, glorious in summer.

metro381k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$436

the monthly premium over Columbia

Eugene costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
landable, recorded on the eugene entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,799/mo

16% more expensive than Columbia(vs $1,551/mo)

02state income tax

8.75%

$187/mo more in state tax than Columbia

vs 6.5% in Columbia

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$436 less than Columbia

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

04a house here

$456k

79% more expensive than Columbia

vs $255k in Columbia

05metro size

381k

vs 857k in Columbia

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

206

pleasant days a year, in eugene.

Columbia only manages 189 of those.

A month here packs 1.4× the events of Columbia.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

75/100

36% higher than Columbia

vs 55/100 in Columbia

Closest outdoor draw: Willamette National Forest, 47.5 mi.

·walk score®

97/100

14% higher than Columbia

vs 85/100 in Columbia

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

9

10% fewer than Columbia

vs 10 nonstops in Columbia

04 · see also

if eugene appeals, also worth a look:

see also

pensacola

$776/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

reno

$620/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

greenville

$436/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare eugene with:

PensacolaRenoGreenville