$100k salary, packing up from Santa Maria

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Eugene, OR cityscape

if you left santa maria

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.

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$1,599

below Santa Maria's monthly cost

Eugene runs on a fraction of Santa Maria's budget. Same paycheck, real lifestyle upgrade.
landable, recorded on the eugene entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,799/mo

46% cheaper than Santa Maria(vs $3,352/mo)

02state income tax

8.75%

$46/mo less in state tax than Santa Maria

vs 9.3% in Santa Maria

03after rent

$5,805/mo

$1,599 more than Santa Maria

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

04a house here

$456k

57% cheaper than Santa Maria

vs $1059k in Santa Maria

05metro size

381k

vs 441k in Santa Maria

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

206

pleasant days a year, in eugene.

Santa Maria has the edge here, logging 337 pleasant days a year.

·outdoorscore

75/100

27% higher than Santa Maria

vs 59/100 in Santa Maria

Closest outdoor draw: Willamette National Forest, 47.5 mi.

·walk score®

97/100

11% higher than Santa Maria

vs 87/100 in Santa Maria

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

9

350% more than Santa Maria

vs 2 nonstops in Santa Maria

04 · see also

cities that play in eugene's register:

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