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→Gainesville
Gainesville is the University of Florida, the Gators, and a college town with serious natural assets: 30+ named springs within an hour's drive, including Ginnie, Devil's Den, and Ichetucknee for tubing. The food scene is solid and cheap (it's still a college town), and downtown's grown up with breweries and music venues. Surrounded by oak forests and prairie. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got their start here.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,145/mo
$1,645/mo
$1,500/mo less than Boston (91%)
Median home price
Median home price
$771k
$317k
$454k less than Boston
State income tax
State income tax
5.0%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,772/mo
$6,688/mo
Gainesville has $1,916/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
206 days
46 more than Boston
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
2 days
17 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
33 days
0 days
days below 20°F per year
Gainesville has 15 more days above 95°F each year than Boston. Boston drops below 20°F on 33 more days per year than Gainesville.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
71 / 100
63 / 100
8.0 pts behind Boston
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
103 routes
5 routes
98 fewer direct routes than Boston
Metro size
Metro size
4.9M metro
350k metro
Boston has 56.0x more events per month than Gainesville.
the verdict
3
Boston
categories won
6
Gainesville
categories won
Gainesville wins on money and weather. Boston has the edge on lifestyle.
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