Location or money?

[lmbebo]

So I'm currently in a po dunk place, job is ok, bosses are great, money is great. But really resent where I live. Its a small town, fine dining is the local outback steak house. 2-3 hour drive to get anything other than meat and potatoes.

I may have a job opportunity in a big city, which would make my wife and I happy, but it comes with a lot issues: mainly I would have to start doing research, something I haven't done (I would get mentored), I'd lose some of my general skills for my profession, but get better at one particular skill set. It would also come with a pretty heft pay cut (as well as a loss of vacation).

What would everyone do?

I'm really torn ..

[benefactor]

Quality of life is important. Even with the pay cut, if you still feel like you can live fairly comfortably take the job in the city. However, I would not sacrifice day to day comfort for the availability of amenities. If you are going to have to stretch yourself financially then stand pat and wait for something better.

[The Reckoning]

move to the city and only drive when you absolutely need to. your life will be so much easier.

[leemajors]

Learn to cook

[xmas1997]

Here is the thing, the grass always looks greener on the other side.
So weigh your opportunities that you already have and make a "life" plan.
There will always be jobs in the big cities.
Make a life plan taking into consideration family planning and employment advantages that will be more forth coming once you have gained a great deal of experience in your chosen profession.
That would be the better time to move, when you have more leverage.

[Rogue]

living can be very expensive in big cities imho. living in a small town has its own charm which you would realize if you move to a big city- a decision that you would probably regret.

[DeadlyDynasty]

living in a small town is horrible...will never do it again

[The Reckoning]

there's a reason why people who live in small towns gauge success on how fast one gets out

[lmbebo]

I always hesitant to take the job, but didn't have many options.

The pay cut will hurt, but I'm more concerned about the job environment and job expectations about the big city job. I've never really done academics, so its hard to know if I can succeed doing it...

Another issue I thought about, is that my skills in my subspecialty work would continue to erode as my bosses hired another person to start this summer with the same skill set. Only so much work to go around.

I could argue that my wife could find work in the big city, which she could - she can't here, but then it would be offset by the high costs of day care etc

Life is never easy ..

[GoodOdor]

I always hesitant to take the job, but didn't have many options.

The pay cut will hurt, but I'm more concerned about the job environment and job expectations about the big city job. I've never really done academics, so its hard to know if I can succeed doing it...

Another issue I thought about, is that my skills in my subspecialty work would continue to erode as my bosses hired another person to start this summer with the same skill set. Only so much work to go around.

I could argue that my wife could find work in the big city, which she could - she can't here, but then it would be offset by the high costs of day care etc

Life is never easy ..

Nah, tell her lazy ass to get off the couch and get a job - she can find one if she looks hard enough:lol

[Blake]

Paying for daycare sucks. What exactly do you want from the "big city"?

[I. Hustle]

Meth labs don't pay the same in the "big city". I say stay where you are.

[lmbebo]

Paying for daycare sucks. What exactly do you want from the "big city"?

Meet people we can socialize with, most people who we might get along with are pretty much the age of our parents. Place where we can get involved with our religion. No place of worship within 100 miles of where we are now.

For the work my wife does, she needs to be in a bigger city. She's tried getting jobs where she could work remotely, but they all wanted her to be in Houston or Dallas.

Everything out here is christian based (we aren't). My wife has volunteered at the public schools locally was really upset about how there was essentially no separation between church/god and the school.