$100k salary, packing up from Ann Arbor

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San Francisco, CA cityscape

if you left ann arbor

San Francisco

ca · metro 4.6M

photo: Andrew Whitmore / unsplash

a dispatch from

san francisco

CA

37.77°N

122.42°W

San Francisco is hills, fog, Mission burritos the size of forearms, and pastel Victorians stacked like dominoes. Karl the Fog has his own Instagram, the cable cars are still mechanically pulled by cables running under the street, and the Pacific shows up at the end of every west-bound avenue. The food is wildly good, the views are theatrical, and yes, you'll get cardio just walking to the corner store.

metro4.6M

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$1,485

more each month than Ann Arbor ran you

San Francisco doesn't pretend to be affordable. Move here for what San Francisco is, not for what it leaves on your monthly ledger.
landable, recorded on the san francisco entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$3,146/mo

51% more expensive than Ann Arbor(vs $2,082/mo)

02state income tax

9.3%

$421/mo more in state tax than Ann Arbor

vs 4.25% in Ann Arbor

03after rent

$4,412/mo

$1,485 less than Ann Arbor

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

04a house here

$1239k

189% more expensive than Ann Arbor

vs $429k in Ann Arbor

05metro size

4.6M

vs 366k in Ann Arbor

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

312

pleasant days a year, in san francisco.

Ann Arbor barely cracks 154 pleasant ones.

A month here packs 18.4× the events of Ann Arbor.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

83/100

48% higher than Ann Arbor

vs 56/100 in Ann Arbor

Closest outdoor draw: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 1.5 mi.

·walk score®

99/100

2% higher than Ann Arbor

vs 97/100 in Ann Arbor

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

111

18% fewer than Ann Arbor

vs 135 nonstops in Ann Arbor

04 · see also

neighbors of san francisco on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

san diego

$256/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

honolulu

$162/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

los angeles

$247/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare san francisco with:

San DiegoHonoluluLos Angeles