$100k salary, packing up from Lansing

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Seattle, WA cityscape

if you left lansing

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

$580

the monthly premium over Lansing

Seattle costs meaningfully more. Whether it earns that back in the day-to-day is the actual question.
landable, recorded on the seattle entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,193/mo

74% more expensive than Lansing(vs $1,259/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$354/mo less in state tax than Lansing

vs 4.25% in Lansing

03after rent

$6,140/mo

$580 less than Lansing

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

04a house here

$791k

225% more expensive than Lansing

vs $244k in Lansing

05metro size

4.0M

vs 473k in Lansing

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

182

pleasant days a year, in seattle.

Lansing keeps to 153 pleasant days a year.

Nights and weekends fill up faster. 14.1× more on the calendar than Lansing.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

93/100

63% higher than Lansing

vs 57/100 in Lansing

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

·walk score®

98/100

23% higher than Lansing

vs 80/100 in Lansing

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

90

1400% more than Lansing

vs 6 nonstops in Lansing

04 · see also

same energy as seattle, different zip code:

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