on $100k a year, leaving Boston

change
Seattle, WA cityscape

if you left boston

Seattle

wa · metro 4.0M

photo: Thom Milkovic / unsplash

a dispatch from

seattle

WA

47.61°N

122.33°W

Seattle is coffee snobs, ferries crossing the sound, mountains in two directions, and misty mornings that make the espresso taste better. Pike Place still throws fish, the salmon is genuinely better here, and the Cascades sit right outside your window like a movie backdrop. The hippie greenmarket soul still runs through everything the tech money has built. Bring layers.

metro4.0M

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01 · the verdict

the verdict

$1,368

below Boston's monthly cost

Seattle is the kind of cheap that changes the math. Same salary, a different life on the other side.
landable, recorded on the seattle entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,193/mo

30% cheaper than Boston(vs $3,145/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$417/mo less in state tax than Boston

vs 5% in Boston

03after rent

$6,140/mo

$1,368 more than Boston

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

04a house here

$791k

3% more expensive than Boston

vs $771k in Boston

05metro size

4.0M

vs 4.9M in Boston

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

182

pleasant days a year, in seattle.

Boston only logs 160 pleasant days.

A month here packs 1.5× the events of Boston.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

93/100

31% higher than Boston

vs 71/100 in Boston

Closest outdoor draw: Mount Rainier National Park, 59.8 mi.

·walk score®

98/100

0% lower than Boston

vs 98/100 in Boston

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

90

13% fewer than Boston

vs 103 nonstops in Boston

04 · see also

cities that play in seattle's register:

see also

portland

similar overall lifestyle

turn the page

see also

trenton

more flight options

turn the page

see also

salt lake city

$198/mo cheaper

turn the page

compare seattle with:

PortlandTrentonSalt Lake City