I understand what you’re saying, yamashi1 and FIH. But by being able to walk in on a Friday morning and say “hi” to your coworkers and then leave for skiing (without having it come off your vacation balances), you are trading lifetime job security for an at-will position. I hope you are preparing well for when the time comes that you are out of work and no one will hire you anymore. In spite of advances in technology over the past ~20 years, the working conditions of a “represented gubment employee” are not much different today than they were before the advent of the internet. They still have to “show up” in proper attire (whether that be a uniform or strict dress code) and work a full day or 8 or more hr shift, depending on classification. If they leave early, it will come off their leave balances. This is especially true for employees within agencies which serve the public. These employees will eventually earn a defined benefit pension (although with less generous formulas then in the past but computed on higher salaries) but you won’t. Ditto for medical personnel. In SD, Sharp Healthcare and Scripps Health both offer generous funds-matching retirement pkgs, generous annual leave after a certain number of years of service and lifetime job security but in order to attain these perks for yourself, you have to “show up” each and every day and every time you are called in with 20 mins notice.
Yamashi, the “freedom” you are allowed to take today is coming at a huge cost in my mind which could be the difference between you being able to support yourself when you are eventually hung out to dry from the “hiring pool” …. or not (not sure if you are the sole support of your family). You say here that you have 3 young kids and moved far out into the suburbs (exurbs?) after your third kid was born … but you and your spouse don’t really want to be there. If you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t you just buy a place in the city and raise your kids there?
You stated that when your last kid enters college, you and your spouse are going to sell and beat feet back to the city so you can “enjoy yourselves” again. Well, that’s what I thought 1.5 years ago when my youngest left for college. I wanted to move to a ski-area (S. Lake Tahoe) so I could ski anytime I wanted to and possibly work a PT gig for socialization and grocery/utility money. Even though the housing is still quite reasonably priced up there, I have lots of equity in my home (at least 70%) a steady income and plenty of assets, practically speaking, it’s not as easy to do as I thought. The “math” keeps me in place for the time being as I am still helping my youngest thru college (room & board only). You have THREE kids you may need to put thru college! You have a l-o-o-ong road ahead of you and I hope it all works out for you and you can afford to move back to the city as you envision and life’s surprises don’t get in the way of your goals.
And btw, my kids were NEVER “latchkey kids.” They went to afterschool care thru the 6th grade and then a homework assistance program in 7th grade and transitioned back to extracurricular activities/home in 8th grade. They are far apart in age so my “child-rearing years” spanned a longer period of time than that of most parents.
