Things as they are now

Well.  As of now, both me and my wife ("Ace") have jobs that pay a decent salary.  We're both college graduates, so we make decent money, we have health insurance, and we're pretty well off.  We have a house in the suburbs (good school district), no kids, no pets, and not many financial obligations (other than a mortgage).  I mean, I have a car loan, she's got a student loan payment, and I have a little bit of a balance on my credit card.  Other than that, though, we're putting (a pretty good amount of) money away for retirement, we have savings accounts, and we're secure if one of us was to lose their job.  The question is, do we continue to work these jobs to save a bunch of money over the next few years and move out west when we're ready?  Or do we just bite the bullet and move out west now?

Complicating things a little bit, she HATES her job.  Her boss is borderline crazy, her pay sucks (compared to what she should be making), and she has to travel a lot.  She wants out.  We're not at the position where we could comfortably live on one income (especially with car payment and student loan payment), so she would have to work at something.  That opportunity may have come along, though.  She has been offered the position of Alpine Ski Coach for a local High School Team.  At first glance, it looks good.  Dream job, grreat hours, and the chance to make a difference with some kids (and feed the competition jones that she's had since high school field hockey).  The problem is that it doesn't pay well, and the hours would probably force her to quit her real job.  We'd be on a tight budget for the rest of the winter, and there would be no guarantee of a job when she started looking again in the Spring.

I still think she should take it, though.  If we're serious about this skiing thing, she should take this job, and any other job she can get in the ski industry (anything from Factory Rep to Ski Tuner).  That way, if we ever do get the money to move out west, she won't have any problem getting a job.  The economy isn't THAT bad anymore, and I don't think she'll have a problem finding work in the Spring (she already has a couple of leads).  She needs this for herself and she should do it.

The thing is, though, this might delay moving out west.  One and a half incomes will not be able to save money as fast as two incomes.  And what if she's still not happy with her life?  These are things she has to think about, but I told her that if she doesn't take this job, she's always going to wonder what might have been.