$100k salary, packing up from South Bend
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
more each month than South Bend ran you
Grand Rapids costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
a quick ledger.
$1,620/mo
16% more expensive than South Bend(vs $1,391/mo)
4.25%
$104/mo more in state tax than South Bend
vs 3% in South Bend
$6,359/mo
$333 less than South Bend
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$353k
53% more expensive than South Bend
vs $230k in South Bend
1.2M
vs 324k in South Bend
field notes, weather & such.
151
pleasant days a year, in grand rapids.
South Bend has the edge here, logging 157 pleasant days a year.
306% more happening than in South Bend.
56/100
6% higher than South Bend
vs 53/100 in South Bend
Closest outdoor draw: White Pine Trail State Park, 5.4 mi.
97/100
18% higher than South Bend
vs 82/100 in South Bend
20
122% more than South Bend
vs 9 nonstops in South Bend
same energy as grand rapids, different zip code:
