$100k a year, no longer in Richmond

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Sarasota, FL cityscape

if you left richmond

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.

metro262k

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$49

less monthly outlay than Richmond

Sarasota and Richmond land close on cost. The reasons to move are about how you'd live, not what you'd save.
landable, recorded on the sarasota entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,121/mo

25% more expensive than Richmond(vs $1,691/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$479/mo less in state tax than Richmond

vs 5.75% in Richmond

03after rent

$6,212/mo

$49 more than Richmond

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

04a house here

$423k

7% more expensive than Richmond

vs $394k in Richmond

05metro size

262k

vs 1.4M in Richmond

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

249

pleasant days a year, in sarasota.

Richmond barely cracks 172 pleasant ones.

95% fewer events than Richmond. The pace eases up.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

59/100

9% lower than Richmond

vs 65/100 in Richmond

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

·walk score®

96/100

39% higher than Richmond

vs 69/100 in Richmond

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

6

68% fewer than Richmond

vs 19 nonstops in Richmond

04 · see also

neighbors of sarasota on the map of tradeoffs:

see also

myrtle beach

more flight options

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see also

wilmington

$71/mo cheaper

turn the page

see also

pensacola

$369/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare sarasota with:

Myrtle BeachWilmingtonPensacola