Planning the Right Move at the Wrong Time

[Alax]

There are changes coming to my current employer that are likely to lead me to seek work elsewhere (won't accept a huge step backwards in benefits and frozen pay). My wife and I have been in denial that we would like a change in scenery for some time, but now a new city sounds very appealing. We have a target city and number of career options in the area, but we have a problem.

We made a poor decision, and rushed into buying our first home with a baby on the way. Now we are stuck with two more years of PMI and only 14K in equity on our home. We have spent the last two years paying down 13K of bad debt and are now left with the following:

$5K @ 9% (home improvement loan: bad decision)
$14K @ 6.5% student loans
$150K @ 3.64% mortgage (3 years into 30 year with 164K home value, PMI that we cannot get out of until end of 5th year)

To avoid PMI on another loan, it looks like we might need to get an apartment for a while or stay where we are for a few more years. I don't love the idea of getting an apartment since it feels like even more money being thrown away than with PMI. We can put off some payment on our debt to get a down payment faster, but I would like to avoid this. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation or have recommendations for ours?

Thanks!

[retired?]

Do you already have job offers in the new city?

If not, I'd start the search and see what happens.  If the opportunities are good enough, you go ahead and move.  I don't think being in an apartment for a bit is a bad thing. 

Perhaps too early to judge your situation.

[Alax]

I don't have any offers at the moment, but I don't think that will be a problem for long. There is plenty of opportunity in my field in the area.

For now, I am primarily interested in creating a plan for the scenario that the changes with my current employer come out as I expect and I do receive an offer in a city where I would like to end up. If I need to change what I am doing right now to be in a better position when I pull the trigger, in six months or a year, I can get started on the right foot.

[One Day]

Unless you are very familiar with the new city, or have family/close friends there, I think renting first is smart, regardless of financial situation. Neighborhoods can be really different from each other. It probably would be helpful to get an excellent feel for all the options before buying.