The pressure is mounting.... The Bremerton folks called my boss and my old boss for references today. Both gave me positive references and told me to expect an offer, soon.
I had breakfast with my mentor, the Captain, today to mull over the positives and negatives:
positives:
- a geographic move would all but guarantee I make O-5 during next year's promotion cycle (my first year up for it). That represents a modest raise ($270 a month) and of course much more "prestige" and all that.
- We'd be in the mainland, which means more fun stuff to do and we'd be closer for visiting my family and our daughter, wherever she ends up in college
- It would be a cool job.
- It would be a beautiful area to live in
- We wouldn't (couldn't) have to pay a housekeeper any more, and no associated liabilities
- Schools would (presumably) be better for my son
negatives:
- my job now is really good, and I would miss out on some really good resume stuff over the next couple of years (developing new programs, publications, big projects, etc.)
- I have a coveted and very "cool" job now, in a place where my work actually makes a difference - I've been told it's not as much that way for the Bremerton job (all my references and mento worked there before). So for USPHS purposes, the only thing that would keep the new job from looking like a step down, is that it satisfies the geographic move, which is still viewed as the holy grail of "mobility".
- I would be dropped from the Region 9 Rapid Response Team, which I just got on to, and is something that would help me get my next promotion.
- the new job is temporary - max of 4 years, while my current job has no time limit.
- my boss and I have recently worked out new duties for me, which will translate to new orders/a new position here, so that partially satisfies the "mobility" criteria, and potentially puts me into an O-6 billet, which makes promotion to O-5 much easier.
- I would take a hit of nearly $11,000 per year by moving to Bremerton, purely due to the difference between the overseas allowances I get here and BAH there.
- I would take an indeterminate hit on my paycheck due to taxes, but this may be less than I thought because there is no state tax in WA (plus I can still claim residency in the CNMI).
- I would take a huge financial hit because I would have to pay for housing. My house now is all mine - I don't pay a dime for rent or mortgage, but I also can't sell it.
- I would take an additional financial hit because my wife wouldn't be working, but she doesn't contribute much these days anyway - her salary goes mostly to paying the housekeeper (which keeps increasing every year) and her family.
- my wife would no longer have her own money to give to her family, when they ask.
- my wife would be away from her family (could be bad...)
- my wife would not be working (which could also be bad, although she thinks it sounds great)
- my son would be away from his "friends" (his cousins), and he doesn't make friends too easily with his autism symptoms.
- No housekeeper (I have forgotten how to take care of myself)
- Not a tropical island
Just the financials alone are reason enough to reject it, but it is going to cost me more to live in the states no matter what, so this is less of an issue than it otherwise may seem. In other words, if I am going to ever move to the states, I might as well just do it now, since it would give me more time to pay off a small house or condo before I retire. Otherwise, if I wait to long, it just becomes even more unattractive. Kind of like ripping off a bandaid - it's going to hurt no matter what, so might as well just get it over with. So "being in the states" is really the only argument in favor of moving, otherwise I would be moving only to satisfy some primitive, ladder-climbing instinct, which I really don't need because I am doing very, very well as I am.
Ugggghhhhh..... I just want to drink and not think about this stuff.
