with $100k coming in, swapping out of San Jose

change
Seattle, WA cityscape

if you left san jose

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

$2,052

below San Jose's monthly cost

Move to Seattle and the monthly math gets easier. San Jose's rent is the headline; Seattle's is a footnote.
landable, recorded on the seattle entry

02 · the money

a quick ledger.

01rent

$2,193/mo

37% cheaper than San Jose(vs $3,470/mo)

02state income tax

0%

$775/mo less in state tax than San Jose

vs 9.3% in San Jose

03after rent

$6,140/mo

$2,052 more than San Jose

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

04a house here

$791k

56% cheaper than San Jose

vs $1796k in San Jose

05metro size

4.0M

vs 1.9M in San Jose

03 · the life

field notes, weather & such.

182

pleasant days a year, in seattle.

San Jose has the edge here, logging 283 pleasant days a year.

4.1× the events of San Jose, and the calendar shows it.
on a typical month
·outdoorscore

93/100

33% higher than San Jose

vs 70/100 in San Jose

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

·walk score®

98/100

3% higher than San Jose

vs 95/100 in San Jose

Walk Score® methodology

·nonstops

90

210% more than San Jose

vs 29 nonstops in San Jose

04 · see also

if seattle appeals, also worth a look:

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