My wife and I (no kids) live in Houston TX. I am in oil and gas. She is a successful family law attorney. Here is our info:
ME: 33yrs - Oil and Gas - Safety Professional - $130k.
I think it's important to note that this us a relatively high salary for my position, and I would be very hard pressed to find anything close to this.
HER: 27yrs - Family law attorney - $75k.
She got lucky finding the firm she is with and she loves it.
I've worked with the same company for the last 14 years, however things have not been good lately. After numerous rounds of lay offs, they finally got around to me. However they offered me a transfer instead. If I accept, they expect for me to be moved by mid December. If I dont accept, they will lay me off on Monday and give me a severance of 6 weeks.
My biggest concern in this decision is my wife. She has an amazing stable job which she loves and I really dont think she will adjust well to North Dakota. She loves the sun, the pool, the city, etc. And, her job is very stable compared to mine. Even though I make more money, my company is not doing well. There is a chance that I get moved up to ND and get laid off in 3 months (I dont think I'm exaggerating; however things could improve). The last thing I would want is for us to move, turn her world upside down, give up her stable job, just for me to get laid off in ND.
As I think on the financial aspect of it, and the risk involved, I believe the best decision would be to take the job in ND. At least in the short term. If I allow myself to get laid off on Monday, I could get another job in 1 week or 6 months (it's an unknown). And there is no telling where the salary would be (it's an unknown). To me it's similar to the old saying, "one in the hand is worth two in the bush". And right now, the job in ND is my one on the hand.
If I get three more months with the company, that's worth more than 6 weeks of severance. Also, I dont think it's a smart move to willingly be laid off, without a similarly paying job lined up.
This leads me to my question, what's the best financial and caring thing to do for our family? No decision is easy here. I would appreciate any thoughts you all might have.
Its probably important for me to note that she is the type of person who will put a smile on her face and say "let's go." She wants to support me. But she has never been to ND. She has never been in weather colder than ~20 degrees.
The best plan I've come up with is:
I go to North Dakota, while my wife stays in Houston; at least for 2 or 3 months. During that time I can search for and apply for jobs in Houston. During that time if i get laid off, she still has her job and i can come back. During that time maybe things become more stable and she finds a good job posted in Williston? It's all about trying to buy more time to see which way the wind blows. More time = better decision. The cost is our time together; and I see it as a great cost. It pains me to think of not being together that long.
I dont know. But this seems like the most responsible choice, both financially and out of respect for my wife. It breaks my heart to have to think about moving her away from friends and a city and job she loves, all so I can keep my job which is located in a horrible place (subjective) and which is (at this time) an unstable career.
EDIT: My wife and I have saved up ~6 months worth of expenses. I also believe we could get by on her salary, along with the unemployment without even needing to dip into the emergency fund. That obviously comes at the cost of not contributing to a 401k or her IRA, and other cut backs. But we could do it.
Submitted November 12, 2019 at 05:16PM by steamin661 https://ift.tt/2Qcvche
