$100k salary, packing up from Boise
changea dispatch from
grand rapids
MI
42.96°N
85.67°W
Grand Rapids has won Beer City USA multiple times, hosts ArtPrize (one of the world's largest open art competitions every fall), and built itself on furniture (Steelcase, Herman Miller). The Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park is a sleeper world-class attraction. Downtown is walkable, the surrounding farmland is gorgeous in autumn, and Lake Michigan beaches are 30 minutes west. Quietly excellent.
the verdict
under Boise, every month
Grand Rapids gives you room Boise doesn't. Same gross salary, lower monthly cost of living.
a quick ledger.
$1,620/mo
10% cheaper than Boise(vs $1,794/mo)
4.25%
$129/mo less in state tax than Boise
vs 5.8% in Boise
$6,359/mo
$303 more than Boise
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$353k
28% cheaper than Boise
vs $490k in Boise
1.2M
vs 827k in Boise
field notes, weather & such.
151
pleasant days a year, in grand rapids.
Boise gets 166 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. Winter has bite, though: 50 days drop below 20° vs Boise's 24.
Nights and weekends fill up faster. 1.8× more on the calendar than Boise.
56/100
32% lower than Boise
vs 82/100 in Boise
Closest outdoor draw: White Pine Trail State Park, 5.4 mi.
97/100
1% higher than Boise
vs 96/100 in Boise
20
25% more than Boise
vs 16 nonstops in Boise
neighbors of grand rapids on the map of tradeoffs:
