Hi all. I'm a young-ish lawyer at a relatively big firm in the upper midwest. Salary is $126k/year base. My wife stays home with our toddler and we have another kid on the way. I have $70k left to pay off in law school debt (have been paying $3k/month toward loans).
We are considering a move to Tennessee to be closer to the in-laws. The new job would only offer $115k base with comparable bonus. It looks like partners at that firm make a little more than partners at my current firm, on average, though. My wife and I have a home here in the north that we bought for $165k, with about $30k of equity. We remodeled the kitchen and are tentatively optimistic we could get close to $180k (or ideally more) for it.
We have about $25k in savings and $5k in checking.
Three questions:
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How much should the pay cut factor in my decision-making process? Would you take the job if it meant being closer to family (assume you like your in-laws and they are obsessed with your kid)?
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Home prices in Nashville are much, much higher than where we are now. We would need to get a $400k house there to have a similar standard of living. My in-laws have generously offered to make us an interest free loan to subsidize the down payment. If I took the job, could we justify getting a house that expensive? Seems crazy to me, but renting is a very unappealing alternative.
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Are there any other financial issues I should spend some time considering before making my decision?
Submitted February 19, 2017 at 08:19AM by jptubington http://ift.tt/2kBrXkM
