This will be lengthy, so I apologize in advance. Here's the deal: my husband and I moved to a new state in the Lower 48 about 3 months ago for better job opportunities. Unfortunately, no one seems to be hiring. Or if they are, it's at a snail's pace. My husband has applied for roughly 100 jobs and had exactly 1 interview (with a group he didn't want to work for even if they did offer him a job, so he mostly used it as interview practice). My field is a bit trickier, so I've now applied for four jobs: three full-time, and one part-time which I applied to out of desperation in between the first and second/third full-time jobs I found.
I did not expect to hear back from the first job I applied to, since I sent my application in mid-July and didn't get asked for an interview until last Friday. I had my interview yesterday, and I think it went pretty well. However, just before getting the call from them I'd found two other jobs in my field which I think I'd like much better for a variety of reasons. I can do job A, but jobs B and C would be what I was doing in my previous job, which I really enjoyed. Jobs B and C also pay better.
In addition to all of these other factors, where we're staying is temporary, with family. We're in an area outside of Big City, but most of our friends are in Big City and whatever job my husband (finally) gets will probably be inside Big City as well so we were going to move there once we get the job situation settled. That would mean, for me, at least an hour's commute out to our current location if I took job A. By car or by bus + bike, it would probably be about the same. Jobs B and C are both in Big City, so while I'd have to commute a fair distance initially, it would be easier once we move into the city. There's also a bus that goes from my location to jobs B and C, so in the meantime I wouldn't be driving the commute.
Lastly, there's childcare to be thought of, after we move. (It wouldn't be a concern until then.) Jobs B and C have childcare available on-site, but I'd have to pay for it and it's somewhat pricey. If I took the job here, my parents could probably help out with childcare 2 days a week, so we'd only have to pay for childcare 3 days a week. However, my mother has early onset Alzheimer's so I don't think the childcare situation would last more than another year or two. At some point, it will become much more than she and my dad could handle. If my husband and I have a second kid at some point, forget it. There's no way they could handle that.
So, if I do get offered this job, what should I do? Should I turn it down in the hope of getting an interview with either (or both) job B or C? Should I take the job because having a job faster is better than taking a risk? I can't be a douche and take the job, then quit two months later if I get a better job offer. That's just not me, so if I take this job I'll be backing away from the other two.
The breakdown:
Job A: pays a bit less than my last position (stated in the job post as a definite number), but is very close to where I currently am. Parents could take care of some childcare for a while after we move into Big City, at which point my commute would be well over an hour each way, but mostly by bus and bicycle (I assume--we'd try to limit driving because I freaking hate driving in heavy traffic). However, I'd be starting work sooner if I took this job, as I haven't even heard back from the others yet.
Jobs B and C: pay more, even potentially more than my last position (gave a range going from about what my last position paid to quite a bit higher, DOE). The commute would be longer initially, definitely by bus and bike, but we will be moving closer to that job soon enough. I haven't heard back from them yet (I applied about a week and a half ago, the same day the jobs opened) so there's no guarantee they'll like me enough to call me back. I do have a lot of experience, however, so I know I'd be a good candidate and would be very surprised if they didn't call me back for an interview.
We're mustachian, so we haven't been spending much (mostly groceries to help out the family while we stay with them) and we've got quite a bit of savings so we're not hurting for money. Still, it would be nice to have some positive cashflow soon. What would you do?