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I grew up in Charlotte. The COL change is going to be so much bigger than you are thinking. 80K down here (I am currently in the Raleigh area) will buy you A LOT more. I have friends who moved down here and were SO surprised by what their money could buy here. Houses, for example...you can get a 3000 sq foot house in a suburb pretty close to a city for less than 300k, often 250k is about normal for that. My parents still live in Charlotte and there is a lot to do there. I love to go downtown now, the scene has really changed. lots of activities. I would do it. I lived in NY for 2 years and the snow was just enough to make me crazy lol.
IT's a tough call. Is this purely for financial reasons or do you look forward to warmer weather... nicer home (I guess that is financial but in a sense lifestlye also...)? How will your commute differ?
If it was me with 2 little ones and a good secure job I would stay put until I reached an age I could retire. That is in fact what I did and was able to retire early.Often 25 years of service or age 50 or 55 will get you out the door with your pension. Then I would head out to wherever struck my fancy. Which is what I did and will do again soon.
I wanted to apply to NY because of feeling "comfortable". I later on took a long look at my life and noticed how there is nothing in NY for me. I decided to adventure out. I feared change and I was scared of the unknown. I NEVER lived outside of Ny, my place of comfort. Little did I know, that way of living was killing me. Plus, I was getting bored. I have lived here in CT for a year now. I attend medical school here and I am enjoying it. I want to travel more now! A lot of opportunities have opened to me as well as soon as I decided to take a risk. I wouldn't have met a lot of people and made the connections I have now if I would have stayed in NY. I left my family behind too, but they understand. That was another thing, I cared about what my friends would think. Most of them stayed in NY because of family. It made me feel guilty for some reason. I felt like I was abandoning my family. But I wasn't. I had to do what was best for me. I still call and visit them, so no, I did not abandon them. My parents wanted me to adventure out and I am grateful I have their support! Some parents want you to stay by their side forever, no matter if it was damaging to your career. Anyways, my next move is in the pacific northwest. I visited Washington, and I loved it there too. Like it was stated above, life is an adventure and life is too short to be scared and think about "What ifs". But, it depends on what you want. Make a list of pros/cons for staying and leaving. That can help. For me, the pros outweighed the cons when moving. Good luck!
This statement is so true and I keep telling myself this. Being in the same place for too many years I'm starting to get that feeling that I need a change. Add to that the brutal winters here in CT and it should definitely seem like a no brainer and that's why its driving me crazy. I guess I'm holding on to what I've known all my life.
The winters are horrible in CT though. Upstate Ny was pretty bad this year too. Schools were canceled so many times this year!
There! You said it yourself. You would be making a mistake to think that you're safe in your current job. No one is safe in any job anymore. Haven't you noticed how globalization, technology, and political trends are changing things everywhere? Unless you are the owner of the business you can be fired, and you will be fired as soon as the people above you realize that they can get somebody else to do your job for less. If the job is easy and they are paying you a reasonably decent salary to do it, its only a matter of time.
I'm surprised that as an experienced registered nurse your wife has not been able to get steady full time work. Is that by choice? If I were you I would move. Do not be afraid to embrace change. If you plan it right it usually works to your advantage. Just research this new company thoroughly before you make a decision.
I guess the worst case is that I may hate the job and regret losing the flexibility I'm giving up. I wouldn't feel guilty about leaving family but I would miss them and my oldest son has developed a good relationship with his cousins and grandparents.
In all honesty its really only one level above my current job so I shouldn't be this nervous right?
I'd calculate how often you could get enough time to fly in the whole family, factor it into the annual fixed budget, and determine how many days (exclude flying days) that would mean your family would spend with the relatives they are close to.
No way in hell would I give up a situation like the one you're in. No way, not when the US in the economic situation that it is.
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