$100k salary, packing up from Lexington
changea dispatch from
gainesville
FL
29.65°N
82.32°W
Gainesville is the University of Florida, the Gators, and a college town with serious natural assets: 30+ named springs within an hour's drive, including Ginnie, Devil's Den, and Ichetucknee for tubing. The food scene is solid and cheap (it's still a college town), and downtown's grown up with breweries and music venues. Surrounded by oak forests and prairie. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got their start here.
in our guides
the verdict
below Lexington's monthly cost
The gap is real. Gainesville costs noticeably less than Lexington, every month.
a quick ledger.
$1,645/mo
11% more expensive than Lexington(vs $1,488/mo)
0%
$375/mo less in state tax than Lexington
vs 4.5% in Lexington
$6,688/mo
$218 more than Lexington
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$317k
2% cheaper than Lexington
vs $324k in Lexington
350k
vs 520k in Lexington
field notes, weather & such.
206
pleasant days a year, in gainesville.
Lexington barely cracks 171 pleasant ones.
93% fewer events than Lexington. The pace eases up.
63/100
5% higher than Lexington
vs 60/100 in Lexington
Closest outdoor draw: Ocala National Forest, 29.5 mi.
91/100
3% higher than Lexington
vs 88/100 in Lexington
5
62% fewer than Lexington
vs 13 nonstops in Lexington
neighbors of gainesville on the map of tradeoffs:
compare gainesville with:
