I am turning into an emotional mess over a job opportunity, and I don't even like work and want to retire as soon as possible, so I could use some Mustachian perspective please!
My current job is not perfect, but is a fairly good fit for me, I have a lot of seniority in the company and have arranged my hours to suit my family. If I continue to earn what I do now I can probably retire in 4-5 years. My boss requires a high level of managing up but I am learning to do it and think I can stick it out till I'm FI.
A recruiter contacted me about an incredible job opportunity, but the commute would be to downtown Boston every day (over an hour at rush hour traffic times). I said thanks but no thanks. They said they were so interested they really wanted me to come in for interview even with my concerns. I did, and the job is really one of those jobs where I would be a SWAMI. Blue sky intellectual thinking and research and thought leadership and all that kick ass awesome stuff that made me feel smart (but I don't care about that, right?). Also, 10K increase in salary at least. It was clear that while the job is super cool I definitely could not work from home consistently.
So I sent a thank you note and again said no, this won't work for me, please keep me in the mind in the future (cause the job is very cool). I think I'm done. Nope--hiring manager writes me back asking me to propose a commuting arrangement that would work for me. (They have not made me an offer, just to continue the interview process to next round).
What do I do? Do I propose a 7am-3pm schedule that would ensure that I can be home every day to pick up my kids? I still have to make the drive, and pay to park downtown every day, so not great. My current drive is shorter and cheaper, with free parking. (I know I should ride a bike but there is nothing near my house that could pay nearly what I make, and I can't move my kids out of school.)
Help! Why am I so conflicted?