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→Spokane
Spokane is eastern Washington's anchor city, very different from Seattle: drier, sunnier, with the Spokane River tumbling through downtown in actual waterfalls. Riverfront Park (built for the 1974 World's Fair) is the city's living room. Bing Crosby was born here. Mt. Spokane and Coeur d'Alene Lake are nearby. The Bloomsday run every May draws around 40,000 people. Affordable and outdoorsy.
full dispatch→02 · the money
Median rent
Median rent
$3,145/mo
$1,520/mo
$1,625/mo less than Boston (107%)
Median home price
Median home price
$771k
$420k
$351k less than Boston
State income tax
State income tax
5.0%
0%
Gross left after rent
Gross left after rent
$4,772/mo
$6,813/mo
Spokane has $2,041/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
164 days
Extreme heat days
Extreme heat days
2 days
6 days
days above 95°F per year
Extreme cold days
Extreme cold days
33 days
34 days
days below 20°F per year
Boston and Spokane have remarkably similar weather profiles overall.
04 · the life
OutdoorScore
OutdoorScore
71 / 100
81 / 100
10.0 pts ahead of Boston
Nonstop flights
Nonstop flights
103 routes
10 routes
93 fewer direct routes than Boston
Metro size
Metro size
4.9M metro
600k metro
Boston has 4.5x more events per month than Spokane.
the verdict
1
Boston
categories won
5
Spokane
categories won
Spokane wins this comparison, leading on money.
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