$100k a year, no longer in San Jose
changea dispatch from
reading
PA
40.33°N
75.93°W
Reading is the Pagoda lit up on Mount Penn (a Japanese-style pavilion built in 1908 that's become the city symbol), old factory bones, and the surrounding Berks County farmland. The downtown food and art scene is growing into the old factory bones, with breweries and galleries opening steadily. Pretzels, scrapple, and Pennsylvania Dutch baking are everywhere. Cheaper than nearby Lancaster.
the verdict
less monthly outlay than San Jose
Reading sits well below San Jose on cost. Same paycheck, a noticeably lighter month.
a quick ledger.
$1,478/mo
57% cheaper than San Jose(vs $3,470/mo)
3.07%
$519/mo less in state tax than San Jose
vs 9.3% in San Jose
$6,600/mo
$2,512 more than San Jose
gross of federal tax. a comparison, not a paycheck.
$311k
83% cheaper than San Jose
vs $1796k in San Jose
433k
vs 1.9M in San Jose
field notes, weather & such.
157
pleasant days a year, in reading.
San Jose gets 283 pleasant days a year, so you'd be trading some sunshine. A real winter, not a brutal one: 32 days under 20°, vs 0 in San Jose.
But the calendar thins out: San Jose stays 2.1× busier.
65/100
7% lower than San Jose
vs 70/100 in San Jose
Closest outdoor draw: French Creek State Park, 9.6 mi.
85/100
11% lower than San Jose
vs 95/100 in San Jose
0
100% fewer than San Jose
vs 29 nonstops in San Jose
neighbors of reading on the map of tradeoffs:
compare reading with:
