$100k salary, packing up from Denver

change
Providence, RI cityscape

instead of denver

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

$397

the monthly premium over Denver

Providence costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
landable, recorded on the providence entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,127/mo

14% more expensive than Denver(vs $1,863/mo)

02state income tax

5.99%

$133/mo more in state tax than Denver

vs 4.4% in Denver

03after rent

$5,707/mo

$397 less than Denver

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

04a house here

$528k

12% cheaper than Denver

vs $599k in Denver

05metro size

1.7M

vs 3.0M in Denver

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

159

pleasant days a year, in providence.

Denver actually gets more: 174 pleasant days a year.

But the calendar thins out: Denver stays 21.6× busier.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

63/100

26% lower than Denver

vs 85/100 in Denver

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

·walk score®

96/100

1% lower than Denver

vs 97/100 in Denver

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

17

90% fewer than Denver

vs 169 nonstops in Denver

04 · see also

neighbors of providence on the map of tradeoffs:

compare providence with: