This Time I'm Really Telling

Okay, sorry for all the forced suspense. You've all certainly earned the public answer for your support. Before I forget, thanks for that and for all the advice and discussion. Now then, the moment this has all been leading up to.

For those who guessed I took the second job, you are correct.

The salary disparity between Job 1 and Job 2 mentioned in the previous post concerns me a little bit because there's a pretty reasonable cost of living question. In looking at it, Job 2 put me in a better spot - or at least put me in a spot I'm okay being in - if something goes wrong. Between the resources being given to me which will allow me to do more travel and research, and the courses I'd get to teach which are much closer to what I've been wanting to teach all along, it just seemed like the better option.

What made it a tough call, though, was that Job 1 is much closer to my aging parents. Of course, as you may have suspected from various posts, being too close to my family is also a concern. So a large part of the temptation to go that route was the ability it would have lent me to be close to them. But that felt like part of a two pronged trap, because if Job 1 didn't feel right - and there were some concerns about it, largely in terms of teaching and lack of resources - being so close to family makes it harder (for me at least) to seek out a better position.

Obviously, of course, I hope all of that is hypothetical, and that this is, indeed, the position I stay at all my days. We shall see.