with $100k coming in, swapping out of Durham

change
Pittsburgh, PA cityscape

from durham

Pittsburgh

pa · metro 2.4M

photo: Jay Brand / pexels

a dispatch from

pittsburgh

PA

40.44°N

80.00°W

Pittsburgh has more bridges than Venice (446, and locals will tell you the exact number), three rivers crashing together downtown, and a sandwich tradition where the fries go inside. The mills are long gone but the neighborhoods they built (Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip) still feed you like a great aunt. Carnegie Mellon and UPMC turned the old industrial bones into a robotics and medical research scene. The skyline reveal coming through the Fort Pitt Tunnel is the cheapest awe in America.

metro2.4M

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$331

less monthly outlay than Durham

You'd feel the difference in Pittsburgh. Not life-changing money, but real breathing room next to Durham.
landable, recorded on the pittsburgh entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$1,473/mo

13% cheaper than Durham(vs $1,684/mo)

02state income tax

3.07%

$119/mo less in state tax than Durham

vs 4.5% in Durham

03after rent

$6,605/mo

$331 more than Durham

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

04a house here

$223k

46% cheaper than Durham

vs $415k in Durham

05metro size

2.4M

vs 609k in Durham

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

161

pleasant days a year, in pittsburgh.

Durham gets 178 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. A real winter, not a brutal one: 28 days under 20°, vs 5 in Durham.

A real upgrade on things to do: 2.3× Durham's pace.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

69/100

38% higher than Durham

vs 50/100 in Durham

Closest outdoor draw: Raccoon Creek State Park, 21.4 mi.

·walk score®

99/100

24% higher than Durham

vs 80/100 in Durham

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

37

5% fewer than Durham

vs 39 nonstops in Durham

04 · see also

neighbors of pittsburgh on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

cincinnati

more flight options

turn the page

see also

cleveland

more flight options

turn the page

see also

buffalo

more things to do

turn the page

compare pittsburgh with:

CincinnatiClevelandBuffalo