on $100k a year, leaving New York

change
Eugene, OR cityscape

swapping out of new york

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

$1,695

lighter monthly cost than New York

Eugene is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
landable, recorded on the eugene entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,799/mo

46% cheaper than New York(vs $3,329/mo)

02state income tax

8.75%

$165/mo less in state tax than New York

vs 10.73% in New York

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$1,695 more than New York

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

04a house here

$456k

38% cheaper than New York

vs $739k in New York

05metro size

381k

vs 19.5M in New York

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

206

pleasant days a year, in eugene.

New York barely cracks 171 pleasant ones.

New York hosts 144.7× more events.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

75/100

4% lower than New York

vs 78/100 in New York

Closest outdoor draw: Willamette National Forest, 47.5 mi.

·walk score®

97/100

3% lower than New York

vs 100/100 in New York

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

9

96% fewer than New York

vs 215 nonstops in New York

04 · see also

same energy as eugene, different zip code:

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