$100k salary, packing up from Birmingham

change
Providence, RI cityscape

instead of birmingham

Providence

ri · metro 1.7M

a dispatch from

providence

RI

41.82°N

71.42°W

Providence is what a college town looks like wearing a former industrial capital's old leather jacket. Brown and RISD pour creatives in by the thousand, Federal Hill has been feeding them red sauce since forever, and on summer nights WaterFire literally lights bonfires up and down the river. It's cheap enough that Boston refugees actually stay. The state capitol has the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world, and you'll be told within an hour of arrival.

metro1.7M

01 · the verdict

the verdict

$803

more each month than Birmingham ran you

Providence is the expensive option. The argument has to be entirely about the place, not the price.
landable, recorded on the providence entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,127/mo

51% more expensive than Birmingham(vs $1,407/mo)

02state income tax

5.99%

$82/mo more in state tax than Birmingham

vs 5% in Birmingham

03after rent

$5,707/mo

$803 less than Birmingham

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

04a house here

$528k

103% more expensive than Birmingham

vs $261k in Birmingham

05metro size

1.7M

vs 1.2M in Birmingham

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in providence.

Birmingham edges ahead with 171 pleasant days. A real winter, not a brutal one: 35 days under 20°, vs 4 in Birmingham.

Noticeably quieter than Birmingham. About 77% fewer events on a typical month.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

3% higher than Birmingham

vs 61/100 in Birmingham

Closest outdoor draw: Acushnet Cedar Swamp State Reservation, 23.8 mi.

·walk score®

96/100

22% higher than Birmingham

vs 79/100 in Birmingham

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

17

15% fewer than Birmingham

vs 20 nonstops in Birmingham

04 · see also

same energy as providence, different zip code:

compare providence with: