same $100k income, fresh start from Phoenix

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Pensacola, FL cityscape

if you left phoenix

Pensacola

fl · metro 530k

photo: Viktoria B. / pexels

a dispatch from

pensacola

FL

30.42°N

87.22°W

Pensacola is the Blue Angels' home base (you can watch their practices for free at the National Naval Aviation Museum), with sugar-white sand beaches on the Gulf and a charming historic district that goes back to the Spanish. It's the western-most Florida city, closer to New Orleans than to Miami in feel. Affordable, sunny, and serious about seafood.

metro530k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$195

lighter monthly cost than Phoenix

Pensacola and Phoenix land close on cost. The reasons to move are about how you'd live, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the pensacola entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,752/mo

1% more expensive than Phoenix(vs $1,739/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$208/mo less in state tax than Phoenix

vs 2.5% in Phoenix

03after rent

$6,581/mo

$195 more than Phoenix

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

04a house here

$303k

34% cheaper than Phoenix

vs $458k in Phoenix

05metro size

530k

vs 5.1M in Phoenix

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

226

pleasant days a year, in pensacola.

Phoenix keeps to 181 pleasant days a year.

But the calendar thins out: Phoenix stays 7.7× busier.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

69/100

5% higher than Phoenix

vs 66/100 in Phoenix

Closest outdoor draw: Gulf Islands National Seashore, 6.9 mi.

·walk score®

64/100

34% lower than Phoenix

vs 97/100 in Phoenix

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

11

88% fewer than Phoenix

vs 91 nonstops in Phoenix

04 · see also

same energy as pensacola, different zip code:

see also

eugene

better park access

turn the page

see also

daytona beach

similar overall lifestyle

turn the page

see also

greenville

more things to do

turn the page

compare pensacola with:

EugeneDaytona BeachGreenville