01 · the cities
Boston
Boston is brick sidewalks, dive bars older than most states, and an accent that turns 'park the car' into a love language. The city is densely packed with colleges (Harvard, MIT, BU, BC, plus 30 more), which keeps it perpetually 22 years old in spirit. The Freedom Trail literally paints a red line through 400 years of American history. Dunkin' is not a chain here, it's a way of life.
full dispatch→Boise
Boise is basically Denver before Denver got Denver-y: walkable downtown, foothills you can run into on your lunch break, and a river slicing right through the middle of town. The Basque Block downtown anchors the biggest Basque community in the U.S., which nobody sees coming. The vibe is 'we close our laptops and go outside,' and the trails make that very easy to do. Locals would prefer you didn't tell anyone.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,145/mo
$1,794/mo
$1,351/mo less than Boston (75%)
Median home price
Median home price
$771k
$490k
$280k less than Boston
State income tax
State income tax
5.0%
5.8%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,772/mo
$6,056/mo
Boise has $1,284/mo more gross after rent at $100k
Gross left after rent reflects state income tax but not federal, based on $100k salary. Enter your salary to find your ideal city.
03 · the weather
Pleasant days/yr
Pleasant days/yr
160 days
166 days
6 more than Boston
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
2 days
27 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
33 days
24 days
days below 20°F per year
Boise has 25 more days above 95°F each year than Boston. Boston drops below 20°F on 9 more days per year than Boise.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
71 / 100
82 / 100
11.0 pts ahead of Boston
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
103 routes
16 routes
87 fewer direct routes than Boston
Metro size
Metro size
4.9M metro
827k metro
Boston has 4.3x more events per month than Boise.
the verdict
3
Boston
categories won
6
Boise
categories won
Boise leads on money and weather and wins overall.
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