with $100k coming in, swapping out of Charlotte

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Sarasota, FL cityscape

next stop after charlotte

Sarasota

fl · metro 262k

photo: Jeffrey Eisen / pexels

a dispatch from

sarasota

FL

27.34°N

82.54°W

Sarasota is the home of the Ringling Brothers Circus (the museum is wild, and yes, there's a vintage clown college history), and Siesta Key's beach is regularly named the best in America for its pure quartz sand. The cultural scene is heavy for a Florida city of its size (theater, opera, art museum). Gulf sunsets here are the brochure shot. The food scene has caught up to the city's wealth and the retirees' time.

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$18

the monthly cost of moving past Charlotte

Almost a wash on cost. The case for Sarasota is about what you'd do there, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the sarasota entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,121/mo

23% more expensive than Charlotte(vs $1,728/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$375/mo less in state tax than Charlotte

vs 4.5% in Charlotte

03after rent

$6,212/mo

$18 less than Charlotte

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

04a house here

$423k

8% more expensive than Charlotte

vs $391k in Charlotte

05metro size

262k

vs 2.8M in Charlotte

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

249

pleasant days a year, in sarasota.

Charlotte barely cracks 200 pleasant ones.

Charlotte hosts 37.7× more events.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

59/100

16% higher than Charlotte

vs 51/100 in Charlotte

Closest outdoor draw: Myakka River State Park, 15.9 mi.

·walk score®

96/100

2% higher than Charlotte

vs 94/100 in Charlotte

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

6

96% fewer than Charlotte

vs 141 nonstops in Charlotte

04 · see also

neighbors of sarasota on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

myrtle beach

more flight options

turn the page

see also

wilmington

$71/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

pensacola

$369/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare sarasota with:

Myrtle BeachWilmingtonPensacola